Regional architecture for Future Earth

This policy brief, prepared for the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI), outlines a proposed regional governance architecture for Future Earth. It defines the roles, eligibility criteria, and interactions between National Committees, Regional Committees, and Regional Centres to ensure that global research agendas incorporate regional priorities and stakeholder needs.

• Future Earth's sub-global governance is structured around three primary elements: National Committees, Regional Committees, and Regional Centres. National Committees act as bridging points between the global platform and national stakeholders, promoting Future Earth principles and engaging policymakers. Regional Committees advocate for regional interests within the global platform and ensure the global agenda addresses regional science priorities. Regional Centres serve as the operational arms of the distributed Executive Secretariat, providing core functions such as coordination, capacity building, and synthesis within their respective regions.
• To be officially recognized by Future Earth, National Committees must be self-organized and meet specific eligibility criteria. These include having only one committee per country, including both scientists and societal partners, demonstrating consultation with existing ICSU/ISSC adhering bodies or precursor program committees (IGBP, DIVERSITAS, IHDP), and ensuring gender, disciplinary, and sectoral balance with a membership rotation process.
• Future Earth initially designates five world regions: Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, and Europe and North America. Regional Committees within these areas must include natural and social scientists and societal partners, limit membership to no more than 18 members selected through a transparent process, and develop annual activity plans communicated via the Regional Centre.
• Regional Centres are integrated into the distributed Executive Secretariat and report to the Executive Director. To achieve official recognition, an entity must embrace Future Earth principles—such as commitment to trans-disciplinary and transformative research—and possess a funding strategy and facilities adequate to support regional network activities. There is a limit of one Regional Centre per Future Earth Region.
• The document identifies several non-formal governance structures that can support regional capability. These include Regional Forums for stakeholder engagement and co-design, and Regional Thematic Centers to address specific critical issues or functions identified through consultation. Other multinational activities may focus on specific biomes, such as mountain regions, or specific issues, such as cities in Asia.
• The implementation of this regional architecture is contingent upon the availability of adequate resources for the Executive Secretariat, specifically the provision of Regional managers and annual travel funds to support Regional Centres.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (2015). Regional architecture for Future Earth. https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-cop-23-future-earth-consortium-e.pdf

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Regional architecture for Future Earth. 2015. https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-cop-23-future-earth-consortium-e.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=Regional architecture for Future Earth |date=April 2015 |url=https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-cop-23-future-earth-consortium-e.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearch2015regional, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{Regional architecture for Future Earth}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2015}, month = apr, url = {https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-cop-23-future-earth-consortium-e.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }