DMUU: Science Policy Assessment and Research on Climate (SPARC) for Decision-Making Under Uncertainty

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Science policy decisions shape the conduct and output of climate research and therefore help determine the knowledge and tools available to support climate policy decisions. Both science policy and climate policy decisions are made under conditions of ongoing uncertainty, but the uncertainties associated with science policy decisions have received little if any attention. To begin to address this neglect, Science Policy Assessment and Research on Climate (SPARC) will investigate the relationship between science policy and climate policy decisions from two perspectives. First, SPARC will explore how climate research agendas are developed and implemented, with a particular focus on understanding how the organization of climate research ("supply") relates to the information needs of climate policy decision makers ("demand"). Second, SPARC will investigate the relative magnitude of various sources of global environmental change in order to better understand the relation between the causes of global change and the priorities of the U.S. climate science portfolio. Key cross-cutting themes in each of these efforts will include the role and behavior of science policy institutions and the influence of ethics and values on science policy decisions.Society's strategy for responding to and preparing for climate change in the face of ongoing uncertainty hinges upon scientific knowledge. But are scientists generating the knowledge that decision makers need to confront this challenge? SPARC will be a first step toward developing the methods, knowledge, and tools that can help science policy decision makers answer this question and help them make decisions that can ensure the maximum social value of the Nation's investment in climate science. SPARC research will combine novel approaches to advance fundamental understanding of the social value of research with the development of practical decision tools for science policy. SPARC will closely involve stakeholders and practitioners in science policy to ensure that its results are available to and understood by those who can benefit from them and to improve mutual understanding among science policy makers, scientists, and those who can benefit from climate science information. This award was supported as part of the Fiscal Year 2003 Human and Social Dynamics priority area special competition on Decision Making Under Uncertainty (DMUU).