The Ocean Research Advisory Panel (ORAP) is scheduled to meet on May 21, 2026 to discuss opportunities for partnerships (such as through the National Oceanic Partnership Program) relating to the topic of emerging technology (which could include Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning, eDNA, and similar technology) with ocean industry and other sectors over the next 5-10 years.
To view the complete May 21 agenda and get the WebEx registration link, click HERE.
Self-selected by the ORAP for consideration, the second May 21 agenda item will be the topic of accessible, interoperable, interdisciplinary, and trusted ocean data, which has been deemed to be critical to meeting research and user needs and warranted immediate attention.
The ORAP delivered its first report, “Toward a National Ocean Data Strategy,” to the OPC in September 2024. At this meeting on May 21, 2026, ORAP will discuss the draft of its second report, “Recommendations for Supporting Public-Private Partnerships to Advance Emerging Ocean Technologies,” and decide if it is ready for approval and submission to the national Ocean Policy Committee (OPC). Additionally, the OPC Co-Chairs will provide an update on OPC priorities.
Part of the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP), these two groups, together with the Ocean Science and Technology Subcommittee and Ocean Resource Management Subcommittee, facilitate partnerships among Federal agencies, academia, and industry members to advance ocean science research and education.
Through this collaboration, Federal agencies can leverage resources to invest in priorities that fall between agency missions or that are too large for any single agency to support. Members of the IWG-NOPP include agencies across the Federal government, and partnerships may include non-government sectors.
Since 1997, NOPP has funded over 200 projects that address ocean and climate science, climate adaptation change, education, economic development, quality of life, and national security. NOPP projects span a broad range of topics in oceanographic research, including environmental monitoring, ocean exploration, earth systems modeling, technology development, and marine resource management.
Beginning in 2021, the Ocean Policy Committee became responsible for monitoring the management of the NOPP Program Office as directed by legislation. The NOPP continues to support the activities of its Federal partners, the interagency committees under the Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology, and Ocean Resources Advisory Panel in carrying out and reporting activities that work towards achieving the goals in the National Ocean Policy for the Stewardship of the Oceans, Coasts, and Great Lakes.
About the Ocean Research Advisory Panel
The Ocean Research Advisory Panel (ORAP) advises the Ocean Policy Committee (OPC) and provides independent recommendations to the Federal Government on matters of ocean policy. Membership consists of individuals who represent the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine; individuals who represent the views of ocean industries, state, tribal, territorial or local governments, and academia, and such other views as the co-chairs of OPC consider appropriate; and individuals eminent in the fields of marine science, marine technology, and marine policy, or related fields. The ORAP membership reflects a balance of academic, scientific, and geographic interests.
To view the members of the ORAP, click HERE.
