Surveying the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Scientist Voices under President Biden

The 2022 survey of NOAA scientists indicates a positive perception of scientific integrity and evidence-based decision-making under the Biden administration, with higher rates of training on scientific integrity policies compared to the Obama and Trump administrations. However, the findings highlight significant concerns regarding a lack of diversity in senior leadership and the scientific workforce, as well as widespread burnout caused by insufficient scientific capacity.

• A majority of surveyed NOAA scientists believe the agency's actions are generally aligned with scientific findings, and many feel that political interests have not obstructed science-based decision-making. Specifically, 271 out of 361 scientists agreed that actions were "always or frequently consistent with its scientific findings," and 161 out of 358 felt that "political interests did not hinder the agency’s science-based decisionmaking."
• NOAA scientists reported higher levels of training on scientific integrity policies under the Biden administration than under the previous two. 226 out of 353 scientists reported being "adequately trained on the agency’s scientific integrity policy," which is a higher proportion than during the Obama (549 out of 1,612) or Trump (415 out of 1,081) administrations.
• There is a perceived lack of diversity within the agency's workforce and leadership, with 233 out of 370 scientists reporting that they "did not feel that the agency's senior leadership reflected the country’s diversity."
• Scientists reported experiencing burnout over the last two years, primarily attributed to a "lack of scientific capacity" and staffing levels that limit the agency's ability to maintain scientific integrity.

APA

Desikan, A., & Carter, J. (2023). Surveying the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Scientist Voices under President Biden. Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2023-02/fed%20sci%20survey%202023_NOAA_final.pdf

Chicago

Desikan, Anita, and Jacob Carter. Surveying the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Scientist Voices under President Biden. Union of Concerned Scientists, 2023. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2023-02/fed%20sci%20survey%202023_NOAA_final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Desikan |first1=Anita |last2=Carter |first2=Jacob |title=Surveying the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Scientist Voices under President Biden |publisher=Union of Concerned Scientists |date=February 2023 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2023-02/fed%20sci%20survey%202023_NOAA_final.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{desikan2023surveying, author = {Desikan, Anita and Carter, Jacob}, title = {{Surveying the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Scientist Voices under President Biden}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2023}, month = feb, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2023-02/fed%20sci%20survey%202023_NOAA_final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }