Investments in Human Capital

Human capital investments are expenses, included in the Department’s Net Cost of Operations, for education and training programs that are intended to increase or maintain national economic productive capacity and produce outputs and outcomes that provide evidence of the constant or increasing national productive capacity. These investments exclude education and training expenses for federal civilian and military personnel. Based on a review of the Department’s programs, the most significant dollar investments in human capital are by NOAA.

NOAA:

National Sea Grant College Program: Sea Grant is a nationwide network, administered through NOAA, of 32 university-based programs that work with coastal communities. With the adoption in 1966 of the National Sea Grant College Act, Congress established an academic/industry/government partnership that would enhance the nation’s education, economy, and environment into the 21st century. The program supports activities designed to increase public awareness of coastal, ocean, and Great Lakes issues, to provide information to improve management decisions in coastal, ocean, and Great Lakes policy, and to train graduate students in marine and Great Lakes science. The Knauss Fellowship Program offers qualified masters and doctoral students the opportunity to spend a year working on Marine and Great Lakes policy issues with the Executive and Legislative branches of the federal government. There is also a Graduate Fellowship Program for Ph.D. candidates in the specialized areas of population dynamics and marine resource economics. Participants in this program can receive up to three years of funding.

National Estuarine Research Reserve Program: This program supports activities designed to increase public awareness of estuary issues, provide information to improve management decisions in estuarine areas, and train graduate students in estuarine science. The National Estuarine Research Reserve System’s Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) Program offers qualified masters and doctoral students the opportunity to address scientific questions of local, regional, and national significance. The result is high-quality research focused on improving coastal management issues. All GRF projects must be conducted in a National Estuarine Research Reserve and enhance the scientific understanding of the reserve’s ecosystem. In FY 2006, 47 Graduate Research Fellowships have been awarded.

Educational Partnership Program: This program provides formal education and internship training opportunities for students attending minority-serving institutions. These funds also support field research and conference attendance where students present their research findings. The Undergraduate Scholarship Program is designed to increase the number of students who undertake course work and graduate with degrees in the targeted areas integral to NOAA’s mission. Appointments are for two years, and are made to students who have recently declared or are about to declare a major in atmospheric, oceanic, or environmental science. The students participate in research, training, and development activities at NOAA offices and facilities during two summer internships. There were 15 students that started the program in FY 2006.

Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship Program: This program was established in 2005 to (1) increase undergraduate training in oceanic and atmospheric science, research, technology, and education, and foster multidisciplinary training opportunities; (2) increase public understanding and support for stewardship of the ocean and atmosphere and improve environmental literacy; (3) recruit and prepare students for public service careers with NOAA and other agencies at the federal, state, and local levels of government; and (4) recruit and prepare students for careers as teachers and educators in oceanic and atmospheric science and to improve scientific and environmental education in the U.S. There were 101 students starting the program in 2006, and the first scholarship recipients are expected to complete the program in May 2007.

The following table summarizes NOAA’s investments in human capital for FY 2002 through FY 2006:

The following table further summarizes NOAA’s human capital investments for FY 2004 to FY 2006 by performance goal: