IAI Science Policy Advisory Committee (SPAC) Report to the Conference of the Parties

The 2016 SPAC report proposes a strategic framework to increase the visibility of global change research among decision-makers in the Americas. The plan focuses on four key areas: developing an outreach plan to diffuse research results, coordinating with the Science Advisory Committee (SAC) to refine the science agenda, improving engagement with public and private sector decision-makers, and identifying diverse financial mechanisms for research. Key recommendations to the Conference of the Parties include strengthening the IAI directorate's capacity, training scientists in policy communication, and increasing linkages with international environmental conventions such as the UNFCCC and CBD.

• The SPAC has identified three primary goals for its future action: increasing the visibility of the IAI as a reference organization for global change research in the Americas, identifying regional policy demands to guide research activities, and diversifying the volume and sources of funding.
• To improve the integration of science and policy, the SPAC recommends that the IAI increase its connection to international policy processes, specifically mentioning environmental conventions like the UNFCCC and CBD, and that the Conference of the Parties (CoP) include science/policy items on future agendas.
• The committee emphasizes the need for capacity building to translate scientific data into policy-relevant information, suggesting the use of policy summaries and cost-benefit analyses, as well as training scientists to communicate effectively with decision-makers.
• The report identifies specific regional financial mechanisms and institutions that could support global change research and sustainable development projects, including the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF), and El Fondo para la Convergencia Estructural del MERCOSUR (FOCEM).
• The SPAC notes that the current capacity of the Science-Policy Liaison Directorate (SPLD) is insufficient to implement the proposed actions and recommends that the directorate be adequately enabled to support science-policy integration.

APA

Gracia-Garza, J., Baethgen, W., Baptiste, B., Basterra, L. E., Cruz, C. H. D. B., Corell, R., Kakabadse, Y., Lucas, N., Schneider, M. N., & Rusak, J. (2016). IAI Science Policy Advisory Committee (SPAC) Report to the Conference of the Parties. Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-cop-24-spac-report-e.pdf

Chicago

Gracia-Garza, Javier, Walter Baethgen, Brigitte Baptiste, Luis E. Basterra, Carlos Henrique de Brito Cruz, Robert Corell, Yolanda Kakabadse, et al. IAI Science Policy Advisory Committee (SPAC) Report to the Conference of the Parties. Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research, 2016. https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-cop-24-spac-report-e.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{graciagarza2016iai, author = {Gracia-Garza, Javier and Baethgen, Walter and Baptiste, Brigitte and Basterra, Luis E. and Cruz, Carlos Henrique de Brito and Corell, Robert and Kakabadse, Yolanda and Lucas, Nicolas and Schneider, Maria Netto and Rusak, James}, title = {{IAI Science Policy Advisory Committee (SPAC) Report to the Conference of the Parties}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2016}, month = jun, url = {https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-cop-24-spac-report-e.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }