Information on moving research to use, or R2X, is becoming more relevant as documenting project pathways and successes is critical to illustrate tangible outcomes of research investments. NOAA defines R2X as a term used to cover a broad category of R&D transition, including transition to operations (R2O), transition to applications (R2A), transition to commercialization (R2C), and transition to other uses (R2U). R2U includes output such as policy, regulations, resource management, public education and outreach, and related transitions.
NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) created the Office of Research, Transition, and Application (ORTA) in 2020 to facilitate and accelerate transitions across all of NOAA. ORTA’s mission is to advance innovative research and development to support NOAA’s mission and the US economy. ORTA’s role includes: 1) implement policies and processes that guide / manage R&D transitions across NOAA, 2) report transitions in OAR, and 3) support the development of transition plans across all of NOAA. This includes the development, review, and signature acknowledgement process. Transition Plans are living documents that are non-binding, but they do provide a roadmap or vision for the research or technology that ensures acknowledgement with an end user as to its value for their use. ORTA has created multiple resources to simplify the development of transition plans, including templates and tools, all of which are available on the ORTA website. There is no "one-size" transition plan that fits all types of transitions, and each unique transition plan will likely require content specific to the project being transitioned.
This paper will describe resources available from ORTA and other NOAA capabilities in place that facilitate the orderly transition of research capabilities through testing and evaluation.
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