Background

RISA and NCAR – Similar Missions, Complementary Goals

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has a mandate to provide the US public with high quality scientific data and climate services. Fulfilling this mandate requires research, partnerships, and patience, as climate services are still embryonic, though maturing quickly.

The Goals of NOAA’s RISA Program are as follows:

• Identify the climate, physical, and social context in which decision-makers manage.
• Identify climate sensitive constraints facing decision-makers that may be ameliorated by scientific research.
• Collaborate with decision-makers to expand their options in the face of identified constraints by integrating research from a range of physical and social sciences to develop methodologies, prototypes, and policy-related insights.

RISA activities contribute to identifying uses and limitations of observations, data, forecasts, and other projections in decision support for selected sectors and regions; best-practice approaches to characterize, communicate, and incorporate scientific uncertainty in decision-making; and decision support experiments and evaluations using seasonal to inter-annual forecasts and observational data.

NCAR’s Mission is to:

• support, enhance, and extend the capabilities of the university community, nationally and internationally;
• understand the behavior of the atmospheric and related systems and the global environment; and
• foster the transfer of knowledge and technology for the betterment of life on Earth.

NCAR’s work serves to inform public decision making with sound science—at local, regional, and global levels. NCAR supports the community of atmospheric and geoscience researchers with:

• tools — such as aircraft and radar, to observe the atmosphere, and

• technology and assistance — to interpret and use these observations, including supercomputer access, computer models, and user support.