Attachment 1: Request for Information

National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization Council and National Oceanographic Partnership Program Forum on Building U.S. Ocean Technology and Data Partnerships to Advance Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), on behalf of the National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization (NOMEC) Council and the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP), requests information from interested members of the public regarding opportunities to strengthen cross-sector partnerships in support of U.S. ocean mapping, exploration, and characterization priorities. Responses to this Request for Information (RFI) will inform development of the NOMEC and NOPP Partnership Forum on Building U.S. Ocean Technology and Data Partnerships to Advance Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization. In particular, the NOMEC Council and NOPP seek information regarding stakeholder priorities and capabilities; barriers to effective collaboration with the Federal Government; opportunities for enhanced cross-sector partnerships; and topics and activities that could support actionable outcomes from the Forum.
Respondents need not reply to all questions listed. For all submissions, clearly indicate which questions are being answered. Each individual or institution is requested to submit only one response. Responses may be posted, without change, on a Federal website. Accordingly, respondents should not submit business proprietary information, copyrighted information, personally identifiable information, or other information that should not be made publicly available.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background
The National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization (NOMEC) Council provides a coordinated Federal approach to mapping, exploring, and characterizing U.S. waters. The NOMEC Strategy and Implementation Plan outlines an ambitious suite of goals to completely map the seafloor of all U.S. coastal, ocean, and Great Lakes waters to the boundaries of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone and Extended Continental Shelf and explore and characterize priority areas within them. The plan is available at: https://www.noaa.gov/ocean-science-andtechnology-subcommittee/national-ocean-mapping-exploration-and-characterization-nomeccouncil/nomec-strategy-and-implementation-plan. Achieving these objectives requires capabilities and resources that extend beyond any single Federal agency. Ocean mapping, exploration, and characterization depend on a broad range of