The NWS OCFO/OCAO plays a role in support of the NWS overall mission and works with other offices to develop initiatives that contribute to the NWS Strategic Goals. The OCFO/OCAO therefore centers its annual operational strategies around helping the NWS to meet the goals of its 2019-2022 Strategic Plan, linked here. Those goals are: 

With these goals orienting the NWS OCFO/OCAO to the NWS Mission, the team aims to continue managing human and financial resources, providing organizational support and a culture of growth, and constantly improving the effectiveness of our internal controls programs. 

The NWS OCFO/OCAO also contributes to strategizing yearly goals according to the objectives of the NWS Governance. The NWS Governance document is parsed into chapters with key subjects aligned to the NWS Mission. The OCFO/OCAO helps to establish the management objectives of the Governance chapters on a yearly basis as a member of the Executive Council (EC) and the Governance Board. These advisory groups play a pivotal role in aligning organizational goals and making decisions that serve to support each office of the NWS. OCFO/OCAO representatives on the EC and Governance Board, in combination with representatives across the NWS, engage in specific activities to help define the NWS strategy for each Governance chapter such as: 

Identify new investments and evaluate, approve, prioritize, and fund programs and projects   Identify decisions, decision makers, and decision processes for corporate decisions within various Governance processes   Update/change NWS strategic goals, objectives, and plans Develop and track strategic performance measures   Develop Budget Planning Guidance Memo and prioritize gaps and offsets for submission to the NOAA planning process; Develop NWS budget submission   Develop Annual Operation Plan (AOP) Program Guidance Memo to guide AOP process Identify, prioritize, and fund the next fiscal year’s milestones and draft spend plans based on the President’s Budget submission, PGM, and AOP meeting Set performance metrics and targets for next fiscal year   Finalize spend plans and AOP milestones Monitor, evaluate, and report on execution and performance   Identify, assess, and prioritize corporate risks and populate NWS risk registry Coordinate, monitor, mitigate, and control corporate risks