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Vision, Mission, & Strategic Plan

Our Vision
A Nation, globally engaged and guided by science, meeting the challenges of climate and global change.
Our Mission
To build a knowledge base that informs human responses to climate and global change through coordinated and integrated Federal programs of research, education, communication, and decision support.
 
Mountains surrounded by clouds
 
The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP)—known as the Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) from 2002–2009—is a Federal program mandated by Congress that coordinates and integrates global change research across 13 Federal agencies to most effectively and efficiently serve the Nation and the world. Through interagency partnerships and collaborations with leading experts, USGCRP works to advance climate science and improve the understanding of how global change is impacting society, both today and into the future. 
 
The vision laid out in USGCRP’s National Global Change Research Plan 2012–2021: A Strategic Plan for the U.S. Global Change Research Program ("the 2012–2021 Strategic Plan") maintains a clear emphasis on advancing global change science, but it also calls for a strengthened focus on ensuring USGCRP science informs real-world decisions and actions. USGCRP’s four strategic goals are to:
  1. Advance Science - Advance scientific knowledge of the integrated natural and human components of the Earth system to understand climate and global change.
  2. Inform Decisions - Provide the scientific basis to inform and enable timely decisions on adaptation and mitigation.
  3. Conduct Sustained Assessments - Build sustained assessment capacity that improves the Nation’s ability to understand, anticipate, and respond to global change impacts and vulnerabilities.
  4. Communicate and Educate - Advance communication and education to broaden public understanding of global change and develop the scientific workforce of the future.
As mandated by Congress, USGCRP develops a new strategic plan every ten years, with triennial revisions and updates. The 2012–2021 Strategic Plan is being implemented by the collective efforts of the 13 agencies that collaboratively help the Nation better understand global change and its impacts.
 
The 2012–2021 Strategic Plan was developed by a team of over 100 Federal scientists in collaboration with USGCRP leadership. The team drew on the advice of the National Academies and feedback from public sessions with stakeholder groups. The plan was revised in response to public comments and reviews by USGCRP, CENRS member agencies, and the National Research Council.
 
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