A University of Colorado at Boulder science policy center has received a $2.4 million grant from the National Science Foundation to study the process of decision making in uncertain situations as part of the U.S. Climate Change Research Initiative.
Awarded to the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research, the five-year grant will focus on improving the connection between the nation's multi-billion dollar investment in climate research and those making climate-related decisions, said Director Roger Pielke Jr.
Titled "Science Policy Assessment and Research on Climate," or SPARC, the research, education and outreach project will be conducted in partnership with Arizona State University's Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes.
The CU-Boulder science policy center is part of the campus-based Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences. Pielke also is a professor in CU-Boulder's Environmental Studies Program.
Faculty and students involved in the SPARC grant will examine decision makers' expectations about what science can deliver, whether policy makers can use available information and what future information might be useful to them, Pielke said. The SPARC effort also will assist the scientific community in focusing its research on topics useful to decision makers.
"We want to improve the efficiency of how science is used in decision making," said Pielke. "Billions of dollars are spent on climate research yet we continue to argue over just one policy option in the Kyoto Protocol. We would like to expand the policy options available on climate, for example, by exploring what sorts of actions make sense under climate change for the people of Colorado."
Two types of decisions are involved in linking science and policy, said Pielke. One decision involves choices about the types of climate science undertaken by government agencies focused on providing useful information to decision makers.
The second type of decision involves what people do with such information, he said. In Colorado, this might include local open space officials, water resource managers and even individual homeowners. "Almost everybody makes climate decisions," he said. "What's important is how science connects to policy."
The Center for Science and Technology Policy serves as a resource for people, groups or institutions that make decisions about science and technology, said Pielke. Center personnel conduct research, education and outreach to improve the relationship between societal needs and science and technology policy.
CIRES is a joint program involving CU-Boulder and the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration.
ASU's Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes is aimed at enhancing the contribution of science and technology to society's pursuit of equality, justice, freedom and overall quality of life. Daniel Sarewitz is the director.