IAI STRATEGIC PLAN

The IAI Strategic Plan (2010) establishes a framework for addressing global environmental change in the Americas through interdisciplinary research, regional networking, and science-policy dialogue. The plan emphasizes a shift toward 'needs-driven' science that integrates natural and social sciences to address vulnerability, adaptation, and mitigation. Key goals include enhancing capacity building for young scientists, promoting equitable access to research tools across the continent, and implementing adaptive management to respond to rapid environmental changes. The IAI aims to serve as an interface between the scientific community and decision-makers to support evidence-based policy and sustainable development, particularly for populations in developing countries most vulnerable to environmental risks.

• Global environmental change is occurring more rapidly and with greater complexity than previously predicted, with high mountains changing faster than anticipated and the expansion of vector-borne diseases and glacier melt already occurring.
• The IAI employs a dual approach to research funding, combining a top-down method based on the IAI Science Agenda and regional needs with a bottom-up approach via open calls to encourage creativity within the scientific communities of the Americas.
• The institute prioritizes the integration of natural and social sciences, arguing that the complexity of global change and its human causes make interdisciplinarity a necessary condition for research.
• The IAI is shifting its focus from curiosity-driven research toward 'needs-driven' science, which requires the involvement of social and natural scientists, managers, and decision-makers in all stages of research planning and progress.
• Environmental change impacts are most severe in developing countries due to limited adaptive capacity, creating a link between global change and poverty through increased vulnerability.
• The IAI utilizes adaptive management and cyclic project reviews to allow for the assimilation of new information and the flexible adjustment of programs in response to the fast rate of discovery and environmental change.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (2010). IAI STRATEGIC PLAN. https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-cop-18-strategic-plan-proposal-e.pdf

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. IAI STRATEGIC PLAN. 2010. https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-cop-18-strategic-plan-proposal-e.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=IAI STRATEGIC PLAN |date=2010 |url=https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-cop-18-strategic-plan-proposal-e.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearch2010iai, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{IAI STRATEGIC PLAN}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2010}, url = {https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-cop-18-strategic-plan-proposal-e.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }