The NOAA Strategic Plan establishes its vision, its mission, and the strategic goals toward which all agency functions are aimed. The plan guides management decisions by providing a consistent framework for Line Office, Staff Office, and cross-organizational plans, initiatives, and performance measures. The Five Year Research Plan supports the four mission goal areas identified in the NOAA Strategic Plan - Ecosystems, Climate, Weather and Water, and Commerce and Transportation - while underscoring the importance of research that cuts across traditional disciplinary boundaries. The Five Year Research Plan includes milestones for NOAA's research that are aimed at improving products and information services in the near term, while the 20-Year Research Vision adopts a longer-term perspective of the environmental and ecological challenges our nation faces and the technological and scientific advances needed to help meet those challenges.