[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 72 (Friday, April 13, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22286-22288]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-8931]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Docket No. 120314189-2189-01]


NCAnet: Building a Network of Networks in Support of the National 
Climate Assessment (NCA)

AGENCY: Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the establishment of and invites 
participation in NCAnet, a network of partners who extend the National 
Climate Assessment (NCA) process and products to a broad audience of 
assessment users through the development of assessment-related 
capacities and products, such as collection and synthesis of data or 
other technical and scientific information relevant to current and 
future NCA reports, dissemination of NCA report findings to various 
users of assessment information, engagement of assessment information 
producers and users, supporting NCA events, and producing 
communications materials related to the NCA and NCA report findings.

DATES: Comments and expressions of interest may be submitted at any 
time and will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

ADDRESSES: General inquiries and expressions of interest should be 
submitted via email to Emily Therese Cloyd, NCA Public Participation 
and Engagement Coordinator, at [email protected]. Prospective partners 
may also use the online submission tool at http://ncanet.usgcrp.gov/home/sign-up to submit their expression of interest.
    Responses to this notice cannot be accepted by the government to 
form a

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binding contract or issue a grant. Information obtained as a result of 
this request may be used by the government for program planning on a 
non-attribution basis. Do not submit any information that might be 
considered proprietary or confidential.
    More information about the NCA process, including the strategic 
plan, engagement strategy, and information about the National Climate 
Assessment Development and Advisory Committee can be found at http://assessment.globalchange.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any questions about the content of 
this request should be sent to Emily Therese Cloyd, NCA Public 
Participation and Engagement Coordinator, US Global Change Research 
Program National Coordination Office, 1717 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Suite 
250, Washington, DC 20006, Telephone (202) 223-6262, Fax (202) 223-
3065, email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The National Climate Assessment (NCA) is being conducted under the 
auspices of the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), pursuant to 
the Global Change Research Act of 1990, 15 U.S.C. 2936, which requires 
a report to the President and the Congress every four years that: 
Integrates, evaluates, and interprets the findings of the USGCRP; 
analyzes the effects of global change on the natural environment, 
agriculture, energy production and use, land and water resources, 
transportation, human health and welfare, human social systems, and 
biological diversity; and analyzes current trends in global change, 
both human-induced and natural, and projects major trends for the 
subsequent 25 to 100 years.
    The National Climate Assessment Development and Advisory Committee 
(NCADAC) is an advisory body convened to produce the 2013 NCA report 
and to provide advice and recommendations toward the development of an 
ongoing, sustainable national assessment of global change impacts and 
adaptation and mitigation strategies for the United States. Although 
this NCA report and subsequent reports will continue to depend heavily 
on Federal agency leadership and corresponding technical reports, 
NCADAC recognizes and seeks to leverage the important and growing 
distributed science capabilities and core competencies across the US. 
Indeed, it is a goal of the NCA process to increase assessment 
capacity--that is, the ability to conduct and use scientific 
assessments--both within and outside of the Federal government. 
Expertise within state and local governments, non-governmental 
organizations, impacted communities, professional societies, and 
private industry represent currently untapped assets and diverse 
scientific and technical perspectives, especially as they relate to the 
value of climate and global change information for decision making.
    As a way of engaging expertise outside of the federal government, 
the Engagement, Communication, and Evaluation Working Group of the 
NCADAC has established NCAnet as a network of partner organizations 
that can support and extend the NCA process, convey NCA products to a 
broader audience, and encourage submission of data and other technical 
inputs from non-federal sources. The NCADAC is seeking to build 
sustained assessment capacity to conduct and use assessments by 
cultivating partnerships with organizations that will participate as a 
part of the sustained assessment process. Partners may contribute a 
variety of technical and assessment capacities, such as collection and 
synthesis of data or other technical and scientific information 
relevant to current and future NCA reports, dissemination of NCA report 
findings to various users of assessment information, engagement of 
assessment information producers and users, supporting NCA events, and 
producing communications materials related to the NCA and NCA report 
findings.
    The NCADAC has identified a number of characteristics that it seeks 
in NCAnet partners. These include:
 Organization's ability to support its own participation
 Interest (and experience) in climate-related issues
 Support for the objectives of the NCA (http://www.globalchange.gov/what-we-do/assessment/nca-overview/objectives)
 Ability to contribute knowledgeably and meaningfully to the 
NCA
 Capacity to link to key regions, sectors, and stakeholder 
groups for the NCA
 Responsive point of contact within the partner organization
 Willingness and ability to meet deadlines and participate in a 
collaborative fashion

    Partners in NCAnet will, individually and in collaboration with 
each other, work to disseminate information about the NCA through their 
networks of members and stakeholders, aggregate and provide information 
from their members and stakeholders to the NCA, help identify 
individuals and groups within their networks who can actively 
contribute to assessment activities, and provide feedback to NCA staff 
and the NCADAC Engagement, Communications and Evaluation Working Group 
on NCAnet and the NCA as a whole. Partners will accomplish this through 
the development and delivery of a variety of technical and assessment 
capacities, including technical inputs that collect or synthesize data 
or other technical and scientific information, facilitation of meetings 
or workshops, development of communications materials, helping to build 
a community of practice and supporting resources around assessment 
activities, or other contributions, including those described in 
``Potential Technical Inputs and Assessment Capacities and Suggested 
Best Practices'', available from http://www.globalchange.gov/what-we-do/assessment/nca-activities/guidance.
    An initial vision for NCAnet is further described in ``An Overview 
of NCAnet'', available from http://ncanet.usgcrp.gov gov. More information 
about the NCA process, including the strategic plan, engagement 
strategy, and information about the NCADAC can be found at http://assessment.globalchange.gov.

Request for Expressions of Interest

    Individuals, organizations, or existing networks (collectively, 
``prospective partners'') with an interest in climate and global change 
who would like to join NCAnet are encouraged to review the online 
materials about NCAnet, available from http://ncanet.usgcrp.gov gov, and 
to prepare a short expression of interest (EOI) describing their 
interest. All EOIs submitted in response to this notice must include a 
primary point of contact and contact information (phone number, mailing 
address, email address, institutional affiliation(s), and web site if 
applicable). In addition, it is recommended that EOIs include the 
following:

 Background information about the prospective partner
 The NCA topic(s) of interest (the most recent strategic 
planning documents and outline of NCA report topics is available from 
http://www.globalchange.gov/what-we-do/assessment/backgroundprocess)
     Description of anticipated contributions of technical and 
assessment capacities

    Please see the ADDRESSES section for more information on how 
prospective partners may submit general inquiries or expressions of 
interest. Comments and expressions of interest may be

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submitted at any time and will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
    Prospective partners submitting an EOI may choose to join NCAnet 
directly or to coordinate their participation through an existing 
partner organization. Upon joining, NCAnet partners will be asked to 
further describe potential contributions to the NCA, including planned 
technical inputs, facilitation of meetings or workshops, development of 
communications materials, or other contributions. All descriptions and 
resulting contributions will be provided to the NCADAC Engagement, 
Communication, and Evaluation Working Group.
    Teams are encouraged to maximize transparency, openness, and 
information quality in any contributions they make. Partners are 
requested to provide written summaries to the Engagement, 
Communications and Evaluation Working Group of their NCA related 
activities, along with any external sources of funding used to conduct 
such activities. Only those contributions centered on documented 
evidence and defensible scientific foundations, and those that document 
their expert and stakeholder engagement and communication methods, are 
likely to be considered by the NCADAC. Contributions that are found to 
be consistent with NCA standards for scientific quality and rigor 
(e.g., http://www.globalchange.gov/what-we-do/assessment/nca-activities/guidance) may be considered by the NCADAC for posting in the 
publicly-accessible NCA online database, referenced on other NCA Web 
pages, or used within the NCA.
    While the NCADAC welcomes submissions from prospective partners and 
subsequent contributions to the NCA, it makes no commitments about how 
contributions will be used in any NCA reports or processes (http://www.globalchange.gov/what-we-do/assessment/nca-activities/guidance). In 
addition, the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), NOAA and the 
NCADAC are not able to fund the development of partners' technical or 
assessment capacities. Partners are free, of course, to seek funding 
from within or outside of their organization to support their NCAnet-
related activities.
    Responses to this notice cannot be accepted by the government to 
form a binding contract or issue a grant. Information obtained as a 
result of this request may be used by the government for program 
planning on a non-attribution basis. Do not submit any information that 
might be considered proprietary or confidential.

    Dated: April 10, 2012.
Terry Bevels,
Acting Chief Financial Officer/Chief Financial Officer, Office of 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2012-8931 Filed 4-12-12; 8:45 am]
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