National Academies Press: OpenBook

Accomplishments of the U.S. Global Change Research Program (2017)

Chapter: Appendix E: Table of USGCRP Strategic Planning Goals and Objectives

« Previous: Appendix D: List of National Academies Reports for the USGCRP
Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Table of USGCRP Strategic Planning Goals and Objectives." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Accomplishments of the U.S. Global Change Research Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24670.
×
Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Table of USGCRP Strategic Planning Goals and Objectives." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Accomplishments of the U.S. Global Change Research Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24670.
×
GCRA ELEMENTS
(P.L 101-606)
1989 Strategic Plan
(CES, 1989)
2003 Strategic Plan
(CCSP, 2003)
2012 Strategic Plan
(USGCRP, 2012b)

Understanding

Studies of earlier changes in the Earth system, using evidence from the geological and fossil record. (§104(c)(3))

Focused research initiatives to understand the nature of and interaction among physical, chemical, biological, and social processes related to global change. (§104(c)(5))

Integrating priority 2: Conduct a program of focused studies to improved our understanding of the physical, geological, chemical, biological, and social processes that influence Earth system processes and trends on global and regional scales.

Goal 1: Improve knowledge of the Earth’s past and present climate and environment, including its natural variability, and improve understanding of the causes of observed variability and change.

Goal 2: Improve quantification of the forces bringing about changes in the Earth’s climate and related systems.

Goal 4: Understand the sensitivity and adaptability of different natural and managed ecosystems and human systems to climate and related global changes.
Approach 1: Scientific Research. Plan, sponsor, and conduct research on changes in climate and related systems

Goal 1: Advance Science: Advance scientific knowledge of the integrated natural and human components of the Earth system.

Specific Science Elements

Science priorities:

  • Climate and Hydrologic Systems
  • Biogeochemical Dynamics
  • Ecological Systems and Dynamics
  • Earth System History
  • Human Interactions
  • Solid Earth Processes
  • Solar Influences

Research elements:

  • Atmospheric Composition
  • Climate Variability and Change
  • Water Cycle
  • Land-Use/Land-Cover Change
  • Carbon Cycle
  • Ecosystems
  • Human Contributions and Responses to Environmental Change

Objective 1.1: Earth System Understanding

  • Climate Change and Global Change
  • Integration of the Biological Sciences
  • Integration of the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences
  • Multiple Space and Time Scales, Natural Variability, and Extremes
  • Complexity, Thresholds, and Tipping Points

Objective 1.2: Science for Adaptation and Mitigation

  • Understanding Vulnerability to Global Change
  • Science to Support Regional and Sectoral Responses
  • Science to Support Global-Scale Responses
  • Tools and Approaches for Iterative Risk Management

Predicting

Predictions, using quantitative models of the Earth system to identify and simulate global environmental processes and trends, and the regional implications of such processes and trends. (§104(c)(4))

Integrating priority 3: Develop integrated conceptual and predictive Earth system models.

Goal 3: Reduce uncertainty in projections of how the Earth’s climate and related systems may change in the future.

Objective 1.4: Integrated Modeling

  • Model Complexity
  • Model Interpretation, Conceptual Modeling, and Hierarchies of Model Complexity
  • Integrated Modeling of Complex Systems Dynamics and Decision Support
Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Table of USGCRP Strategic Planning Goals and Objectives." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Accomplishments of the U.S. Global Change Research Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24670.
×

Monitoring

Global measurements, establishing worldwide observations necessary to understand the physical, chemical, and biological processes responsible for changes in the Earth system on all relevant spatial and time scales. (§104(c)(1))

Documentation of global change, including the development of mechanisms for recording changes that will actually occur in the Earth system over the coming decades. (§104(c)(2))

Integrating priority 1: Establish an integrated, comprehensive long-term program of documenting the Earth system on a global scale through

  • Observational programs
  • Data management systems

Approach 2: Observations. Enhance observations and data management systems to generate a comprehensive set of variables needed for climate-related research

Objective 13: Integrated Observations

  • Sustaining and Integrating Earth System Observational Capacity
  • Integrating Socioeconomic and Ecological Measurements
  • Integrating Observations and Modeling

Objective 1.5: Information Management and Sharing

  • Integrated and Centralized Data Access
  • Integrated Knowledge for Stakeholders and Decision Makers

Assessing

Integrates, evaluates, and interprets the findings of the Program and discusses the scientific uncertainties associated with such findings (§106(1))

Analyzes the effects of global change on the natural environment, agriculture, energy production and use, land and water resources, transportation, human health and welfare, human social systems, and biological diversity (§106(2))

Analyzes current trends in global change, both human induced and natural, and projects major trends for the subsequent 25 to 100 years. (§106(3))

Goal 5: Explore the uses and identify the limits of evolving knowledge to manage risks and opportunities related to climate variability and change.

Goal 3: Conduct Sustained Assessments. Build sustained assessment capacity that improves the Nation’s ability to understand, anticipate, and respond to global change impacts and vulnerabilities.

Objective 3.1: Scientific Integration

Objective 3.2: Ongoing Capacity

Objective 3.3: Inform Responses

Objective 3.4: Evaluate Progress

Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Table of USGCRP Strategic Planning Goals and Objectives." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Accomplishments of the U.S. Global Change Research Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24670.
×
GCRA ELEMENTS
(P.L 101-606)
1989 Strategic Plan
(CES, 1989)
2003 Strategic Plan
(CCSP, 2003)
2012 Strategic Plan
(USGCRP, 2012b)

Informing
Decisions

Combine and interpret data from various sources to produce information readily usable by policymakers attempting to formulate effective strategies for preventing, mitigating, and adapting to the effects of global change. (§104(d)(3))

Approach 3: Decision Support. Develop improved science-based resources to aid decision making

Goal 2: Inform Decisions. Provide the scientific basis to inform and enable timely decisions on adaptation and mitigation.

Objective 2.1: Inform Adaptation Decisions

Objective 2.2: Inform Mitigation Decisions

Objective 23: Enhance Global Change Information

Communicating and Educating

Approach 4: Communications. Communicate resub to domestic and international scientific and stakeholder communities, stressing openness and transparency.

Goal 4: Communicate and Educate: Advance communications and education to broaden public understanding of global change and develop the scientific workforce of the future.

Objective 4.1: Strengthen Communication and Education Research

Objective 4.2: Reach Diverse Audiences

Objective 4.3: Increase Engagement

Objective 4.4: Cultivate Scientific Workforce

Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Table of USGCRP Strategic Planning Goals and Objectives." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Accomplishments of the U.S. Global Change Research Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24670.
×
Page 65
Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Table of USGCRP Strategic Planning Goals and Objectives." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Accomplishments of the U.S. Global Change Research Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24670.
×
Page 66
Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Table of USGCRP Strategic Planning Goals and Objectives." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Accomplishments of the U.S. Global Change Research Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24670.
×
Page 67
Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Table of USGCRP Strategic Planning Goals and Objectives." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Accomplishments of the U.S. Global Change Research Program. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24670.
×
Page 68
Next: Appendix F: Committee Member Biographies »
Accomplishments of the U.S. Global Change Research Program Get This Book
×
Buy Paperback | $35.00 Buy Ebook | $28.99
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) is an interagency program, established by the Global Change Research Act (GCRA) of 1990, mandated by Congress to "assist the Nation and the world to understand, assess, predict, and respond to human-induced and natural processes of global change". Since the USGCRP began, scientific understanding of global change has increased and the information needs of the nation have changed dramatically.

A better understanding of what is changing and why can help decision makers in the public and private sectors cope with ongoing change. Accomplishments of the U.S. Global Change Research Program highlights the growth of global change science in the quarter century that the USGCRP has been in existence, and documents some of its contributions to that growth through its primary functions of interagency planning and coordination, and of synthesis of research and practice to inform decision making.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    Switch between the Original Pages, where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  9. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!