Report of the SAC-XXVII - Toronto

The document is a summary of the 27th meeting of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), held in Toronto, Canada, on May 7-8, 2008. The meeting focused on SAC governance, including the appointment of new leadership, the renewal of committee memberships, and the development of a science-policy proposal. It also detailed updates on IAI Directorate activities, strategic planning priorities, and communication improvements.

• The SAC appointed Juan Valdés as Chair for approximately two years and Maria Carmen Lemos as Vice-Chair for approximately one year, with both appointments taking effect on May 10, 2008.
• A science-policy proposal was introduced as an extension to existing CRN II and SGP-HD projects to track and evaluate the policy relevance of selected projects. The plan involves funding a maximum of four projects at 50,000 per project, with a call for proposals to be drafted by mid-June 2008.
• The SAC identified several priority communication issues to improve the delivery of IAI messages, including the need for public PowerPoint presentations, IAI branding, and the creation of project and program fact sheets. The committee also noted that the IAI website is "Difficult to navigate" and that scientific information is "buried".
• The SAC established three specific committees with defined leadership and terms: a Science policy interface / knowledge transfer committee (2 years), a CRN II, SGP-HD – SAC relationships, integrating science committee (over 3 years), and a SAC governance and mandate committee (1 year).
• The IAI Directorate reported several activities, including the translation of the SCOPE 68 book into Spanish, the commencement of an IDRC project on Landuse Change, biofuels and Rural Development on March 1, 2008 (with a 30-month duration), and the planning of an IAI-NCAR Colloquium in Mendoza, Argentina, for the first two weeks of October 2008.
• The SAC's strategic planning priorities, as of December 2007, emphasize maintaining scientific excellence as the premier operating principle and integrating biophysical and social sciences. Goals include developing the next generation of GEC scientists and improving societal understanding of GEC science.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (2008). Report of the SAC-XXVII - Toronto. https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-ec-26-sac-report-e.pdf

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Report of the SAC-XXVII - Toronto. 2008. https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-ec-26-sac-report-e.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=Report of the SAC-XXVII - Toronto |date=15 May 2008 |url=https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-ec-26-sac-report-e.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearch2008report, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{Report of the SAC-XXVII - Toronto}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2008}, month = may, url = {https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-ec-26-sac-report-e.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }