Report of the 2nd Joint Meeting of the Scientific Advisory Committee and the Science Policy Advisory Committee

The report details the 2nd Joint Meeting of the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) and the Science-Policy Advisory Committee (SPAC) of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research, held on 18 June 2018 in Antigua, Guatemala. The meeting focused on the Small Grants Program (SGP), the coordination between the SAC and SPAC, and the need for a new IAI Strategic Plan.

• The IAI Directorate reported on the co-funded Small Grant Program (SGP) regarding the role of ecosystem services in adaptation to global change for human wellbeing (SGP-HW). Out of 91 pre-proposals received, 24 were reviewed by the SAC, and 11 were selected to proceed to a transdisciplinary proposal writing workshop. The final number of funded projects is estimated to be five, depending on available funds.
• Participants recommended a hybrid approach for the transdisciplinary training phase of the SGP, combining face-to-face meetings with an online system. The Directorate was tasked with developing a plan incorporating both formats. Additionally, participants emphasized the necessity of including transdisciplinarity in project design and providing a clear definition of the term.
• The IAI aims to use the SGP-HW call to create a model for long-distance electronic education. This model is intended for use by Parties and other organizations to increase awareness of IAI training programs and demonstrate the Institute's leadership in interdisciplinary science training.
• The meeting addressed the need for better coordination between the SAC and SPAC. Proposed recommendations for the Conference of the Parties (CoP-26) include retiring Decision XXI/13 (which established the SPAC) and instead establishing a sub-committee under the SAC, composed of current SPAC members, to provide advice on science-to-policy processes.
• The SAC discussed conflicts of interest regarding members submitting proposals to the IAI. While existing policy allows SAC members to participate as investigators if they do not contact the IAI directly and use an alternate investigator for negotiations, the SAC expressed the view that active members should not be part of proposals and decided to recommend a policy amendment to the Parties.
• The IAI Executive Director noted that the IAI Strategic Plan had not been extended per Decision XVIII/16 and stated that it is now appropriate to draft a new plan. This topic, along with research in the Central America and Caribbean region and the role of researchers in policy making, was deferred to the Science-Policy Workshop on 19 June 2018.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (2018). Report of the 2nd Joint Meeting of the Scientific Advisory Committee and the Science Policy Advisory Committee. http://iai.int/pdf/en/sac-spac-2-fnrpt-e.pdf

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Report of the 2nd Joint Meeting of the Scientific Advisory Committee and the Science Policy Advisory Committee. 2018. http://iai.int/pdf/en/sac-spac-2-fnrpt-e.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=Report of the 2nd Joint Meeting of the Scientific Advisory Committee and the Science Policy Advisory Committee |date=18 June 2018 |url=http://iai.int/pdf/en/sac-spac-2-fnrpt-e.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearch2018report, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{Report of the 2nd Joint Meeting of the Scientific Advisory Committee and the Science Policy Advisory Committee}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2018}, month = jun, url = {http://iai.int/pdf/en/sac-spac-2-fnrpt-e.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }