El Dr

This report details the contributions of Dr. Armando Rabuffetti, former Executive Director of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI), regarding the institution's institutional design, scientific achievements, and strategic challenges in engaging governments for global change research in the Americas.

• Between 1990 and 1994, key figures from government, administration, and scientific research in the Americas established the IAI's institutional design. Starting in 1993, the institute focused on creating research networks through thematic workshops, start-up grants, and an Initial Scientific Program, leading to the 1998 implementation of Collaborative Research Networks (CRN), which serve as the primary mechanism for generating scientific information.
• The IAI expanded its capacity and impact through several initiatives: a GEF-funded project providing infrastructure and training in Geographic Information Systems and climate prediction software; the creation of Summer Institutes in partnership with the University of Miami starting in 1998 to integrate social, physical, and natural sciences; and collaborations with NOAA to develop seasonal climate prediction teams across various regions of the Americas.
• The IAI faces challenges regarding its visibility and the consistency of support from governments. This instability is attributed to the heterogeneity of the institutions the IAI links with—including National Councils of Science and Technology, Ministries of Environment, Meteorological Services, and Universities—which results in inconsistent internal power and linkage strength with respective governments.
• To improve its effectiveness, the IAI needs to shift from producing academic papers to providing viable recommendations for environmental policy makers. Dr. Rabuffetti suggests that technology transfer should be a priority and that decision-makers should be more involved in defining the research priorities of the Scientific Agenda (SAC) to better capture environmental problem demands.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (n.d.). El Dr. https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/foro-iai.pdf

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. El Dr. n.d. https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/foro-iai.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=El Dr |url=https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/foro-iai.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearchnd, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{El Dr}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, url = {https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/foro-iai.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }