CEOS NEWSLETTER NO.6

page 5

CONTENTS
Report from the 9th CEPS Plenary in Canada
Australian Research Agency Chairs CEOS
CEOS Working Group on Information Systems and Services (WGISS)
CEOS and Ocean Color
What is the international Group of Funding Agencies for Global Change Research (IGFA)---This page
The Centre for Earth Observation (CEO) Technical Activities in the CEOS
Framework
Framework/CEOS Holds First Open ForumsNews Highlights/ Meeting Calendar
Summary of User Requirement Workshop
1993 CEOS Meeting Calender

---

What is the International Group of Funding Agencies for Global Change Research (IGFA)

John Marks
Hans de Boois
IGFA Secretariat

IGFA was established in 1990 as a platform to facilitate international global change research. IGFA mainly deals with the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme, the World Climate Research Programme and the Human Dimensions Programme. Data and observing are part of the agenda as well.

The rationale of IGFA is that for the funding of these ambitious international research programmes by national funds, international communication between funding agencies is essential. Representatives of the main funding agencies in twenty one countries and European Union are on the membership list. The funds IGFA members spend on global change research amount to US$2 billion per year.
IGFA aims to:
･exchange information
･consider integration and phasing of implementation in the light of available resources.
･promote access to specialized research facilities
･optimize allocation of national contributions
At the international level it is the task of the programmes to set scientific priorities. At the same time however, the programmes should take a realistic view of the funding limitations at the national level. IGFA's role is to foster coherence between the national funding priorities, and to ensure that the requirements of the global programmes are adequately taken into account in the process of national priority setting. This is a complex process, but in global research cooperation there is no better mechanism. In fact at the conference of science ministers of the OECD, the role of IGFA in global change research was cited as a good example of how international collaboration in large scale scientific programmes could be organized.
The most important impact of discussions in IGFA is at the national level. In quite a number of IGFA countries the issues raised at IGFA have been an input in the national funding priority setting. Being part of the international global change programmes has in some countries become an advantage, and sometimes even a requirement to obtain funding for global change research.
IGFA is not a super funding agency. However, the platform function means that national agencies are made aware of existing need and problems at the international level.In several cases this has led funds being made available through the normal national procedures.
The agenda of IGFA currently includes four main items;
･human dimensions research
Through its working group on Human Dimensions,IGFA is actively monitoring the development of HDP.
･data and observing systems
･interactions with development aid agencies for the support of START
First steps have been set towards multi-donor funding of certain START activities.
･resource assessment
The resource assessments is a major enterprise to build an international database of research projects, their funding and the relevance for the core projects of WCRP,IGBP and HDP. The database enables the programmes to reinforce their networks and to identify crucial shortfalls of funding. The assessment is an important for the funding agencies to create transparency and to evaluate national funding efforts in a global perspective. Yhis serves to build justifications for budgets for global change research at a time these budgets are under severe pressure in many countries.
Society increasing demands accountability for the resources it makes available for research. Accuntability in terms of the real value for the advancement of science. accountability also in terms of the potential value for society. The latter does not mean purely policy driven research,but rather the charge to present the results in terms that can be communicated to decision makers. This trend dictates the conditions which funding agencies must apply. Political priorities in environment research tend to shift towards solution: questions of developing a sustainable society, sometimes with the naive assumption that this only requires assessment and research in adaptation,or in new technology. There is a need for communication with the decision makers about the role of research programmes. It should for instance be made clear how much the IPCC draws from results of IGBP and WCCRP research. But that is not enough; IPCC deals with climate change, whilst global change is broader. It is important to demonstrate how global change research relates to the issue of sustainability.

---

Previous Page

Next Page

image in print

---

Back to a Newsletters list