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Supporting preparedness and resilience in a changing climate: RISA announces FY16 awards

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NOAA’s Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) Program is announcing three new five-year awards totaling $11.6 million to research institutions in Alaska, the Carolinas, and the Mid-Atlantic to improve the expertise and ability of managers and planners to prepare for and adapt to climate variability and change.

The three regional teams will work closely with communities, resource managers, land planners, public agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector to advance new research on how climate variability and change will impact the environment, economy, and society. These teams will also develop innovative ways to integrate climate information into decision-making. Over the next five years, these teams will build upon their ongoing relationships with decision makers in their regions and develop new partnerships.

The new awards cover a range of topics, including water resources, ecosystems, energy, agriculture, human health, transportation, decision science, and resilience of urban and rural communities to extreme events. Each team focuses on the topics of most importance to their region, which they identify through iterative engagement and partnerships with decision makers and stakeholders..

 

 The three new RISA FY16 awards include:

  •  Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy (ACCAP) – University of Alaska Fairbanks (team established in 2006):  Focus on climate, sea ice, coastal, and living marine resource issues in Alaska.
  • The Carolinas Integrated Sciences and Assessments Program – University of South Carolina (team established in 2003): Focus on climate issues across water, coasts, and health in North and South Carolina.
  • Mid-Atlantic Consortium for Climate Assessment and Decision Support – RAND Corporation and The Pennsylvania State University (a new region & team): Focus on assessment of climate risks, decision support, and adaptation planning in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

These awards were chosen competitively by an independent, expert review panel. NOAA has supported RISA teams for over 20 years. RISAs represent an effective method to co-design and co-develop knowledge about climate and its impacts through partnerships among scientists and decision-makers.

RISA teams work closely with NOAA’s regional efforts as well as its federal, state, and local partners. The teams have strong connections with federal initiatives such as the Department of Interior’s Climate Science Centers and Landscape Conservation Cooperatives and USDA’s Climate Hubs.

The new RISA partnerships join a network of RISAs including:

RISA is a program in the Climate Program Office, within NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, that supports research teams that help expand and build the capacity of those seeking to prepare for and adapt to climate variability and change. To learn more about the RISA program and teams, visit: http://cpo.noaa.gov/ClimatePrograms/ClimateandSocietalInteractions/RISAProgram.aspx.

For a full list of CPO’s grants and awards for 2016, visit: http://cpo.noaa.gov/AboutCPO/AllNews/TabId/315/artmid/668/articleid/617026/Default.aspx

NOAA’s Climate Program Office helps improve understanding of climate variability and change in order to enhance society’s ability to plan and respond. NOAA provides science, data, and information that Americans want and need to understand how climate conditions are changing. Without NOAA’s long-term climate observing, monitoring, research, and modeling capabilities we couldn’t quantify where and how climate conditions have changed, nor could we predict where and how they’re likely to change.

 
 

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