IAI Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) Report to the Conference of the Parties

The IAI Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) evaluates the implementation of an interdisciplinary research model combining natural and social sciences to create policy-relevant solutions in the Americas. The report highlights the success of specific projects, such as meteorological data compilation for crop yield modelling and ecosystem service vulnerability assessments. However, the SAC identifies a critical lack of regional data infrastructure to serve decision-makers and the public. Key recommendations include integrating social scientists from the start of projects, establishing a regional data services framework, and improving capacity building through interdisciplinary workshops.

• The IAI employs a unique interdisciplinary model that integrates social and natural sciences to produce policy-relevant solutions, a method currently being studied by other global regions.
• Specific IAI-managed projects demonstrate the application of this model: project CRN 3035 has compiled South American meteorological data since 1961 for crop yield modelling, and project CRN 3095 models population vulnerability to the loss of ecosystem services, such as soil salinity and hydrology changes caused by deforestation.
• There is a significant regional deficiency in infrastructure for hosting and distributing data and products to the public and decision-makers in the Americas, leaving the region dependent on US-based products from NASA and NOAA.
• The SAC recommends three primary improvements for future research calls: involving social scientists from the project's inception rather than as an 'add-on', providing a priori training for interdisciplinary teams to design solutions with policy makers, and fully integrating capacity-building efforts into science programs.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (2015). IAI Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) Report to the Conference of the Parties. https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-cop-23-sac-report-e.pdf

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. IAI Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) Report to the Conference of the Parties. 2015. https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-cop-23-sac-report-e.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=IAI Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) Report to the Conference of the Parties |date=June 2015 |url=https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-cop-23-sac-report-e.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearch2015iai, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{IAI Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) Report to the Conference of the Parties}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2015}, month = jun, url = {https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-cop-23-sac-report-e.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }