The National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will create a Standing Committee on Oil Spill Research and Recovery to advise the Gulf Research Program (GRP) on GRP activities in the event of a Spill of National Significance (SONS) in the waters along the Gulf Coast. This standing committee can identify and help prioritize GRP spill-related activities to ensure that GRP responses to a SONS are aligned with program goals and are scientifically defensible. The Standing Committee would also develop or refine questions and identifying issues to guide GRP decision-making at the time of such an event, with the aim of reducing the “likelihood of future harm resulting from spills associated with offshore oil drilling, hydrocarbon production, and the transportation of petroleum resources in Gulf Coast waters and on the United States outer continental shelf,” as per the GRP’s settlement agreement language. This preparatory work will help GRP proactively develop informed action plans. The committee may also be asked to review relevant materials for GRP or provide programmatic advice on GRP’s oil spill-related projects.