The National Global Change Research Plan 2012-2021, NRC 2012
From the transmittal letter:
I am pleased to transmit a copy of The National Global Change Research Plan 2012-
2021: A Strategic Plan for the U. S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP). The
USGCRP coordinates and integrates scientific research across thirteen agencies of the United
States Government whose missions focus, to some degree, on changes in the global environment
and their implications for society.
This plan was mandated by the Global Change Research Act of 1990 (GCRA, P.L. 101-
606) and will serve as the guiding document for USGCRP for the next decade. It is built around
four strategic goals: advance science, inform decisions, conduct sustained assessments, and
communicate and educate.
In addition to these four goals, the Plan emphasizes the importance of national and
international partnerships that leverage Federal investments and provide for the widest use of
Program results. This Plan builds on the Program’s strengths in integrated observations,
modeling, and information services for science that serves societal needs and fully addresses the
GCRA’s mandate to “understand, assess, predict and respond to human-induced and natural
causes of global change.”
In accordance with the GCRA, the Plan was developed by a team of over 100 Federal
scientists in collaboration with the USGCRP leadership. The team drew on the advice of the
National Academies and feedback from public sessions with stakeholder groups.
The USGCRP is committed to building a knowledge base that informs human response to
global change through coordinated and integrated Federal programs of research, education,
communication and decision support. I look forward to working with the Congress in the
continued development and implementation of this essential National program.