SIC Integrity Policy
As stated in the NAO, “the purpose of this National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrative Order (NAO) is to promote a continuing culture of scientific excellence and integrity – and to establish a policy that ensures the integrity of the agency’s scientific activities used to inform management and policy decisions. This NAO upholds the Presidential Memorandum Restoring Trust in Government Through Scientific Integrity and Evidence-based Policymaking (January 27, 2021) to ensure policy decisions are informed by the best available science and data, to achieve uniformity of scientific integrity across agencies – and to support directives therein. To enhance NOAA’s culture of scientific excellence, this policy supports scientists and researchers of all genders, races, ethnicities, and backgrounds; and strives to advance the equitable and accessible delivery of scientific information to the Federal Government’s programs. This policy reinforces the incorporation of NOAA’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA)-related policies in science planning, execution, and communication. It also denotes the agency’s commitment to a culture of support for NOAA’s employees, which are its principal science asset. In addition, the intent of this policy is to strengthen universal confidence – from scientists to decision-makers to the general public – in the quality, validity, and reliability of NOAA science. For those reasons, this policy establishes that Research and Scientific Misconduct by any covered individual are prohibited.”
The NAO was originally revised in 2011 in response to a memo from the Office of Science and Technology Policy on the topic of scientific integrity. The policy has since been revised in 2020 and 2024.
Under the NAO, scientific misconduct results when there is fabrication, falsification, plagiarism of or interference with scientific work conducted by the agency and its partners. When misconduct is discovered within NOAA, the agency corrects the scientific record. To clarify the process for identifying potential scientific misconduct, a Procedural Handbook is also available.
On January 27, 2021, President Biden issued a Memorandum on Restoring Trust in Government Through Scientific Integrity and Evidence-Based Policymaking. The 2024 version of NOAA’s Scientific Integrity Policy is compliant with the Presidential Memorandum.
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