CLIVAR Science

CLIVAR SSG Endorsed Projects

CLIVAR is a very wide-ranging research project. It comprises research activities that are funded mostly from national sources. The Initial Implementation Plan established a set of Principal Research Areas (PRAs) and overarching themes to guide CLIVAR activities but recognised that CLIVAR would evolve. CLIVAR has established a number of panels and Working Groups (WGs) that oversee and attempt to promote CLIVAR research in these PRA and overarching theme areas.

CLIVAR’s Panels and WGs have generated a range of activities which receive formal endorsement through the normal course of CLIVAR business.  Information on these can be found on the individual Panel and WG pages.  From time to time, however, the CLIVAR Scientific Steering Group (SSG) is asked to endorse research (and other activities such as conferences and workshops) and to consider including new research foci in its portfolio which have grown up externally from its Panels and WGs as independent national or international efforts. The objectives of these requests are varied but include,

helping a project/activity to obtain national recognition and funding,

establishing a formal mechanism to enable the representatives of a project/activity to engage discussions with a CLIVAR panel or WG, or the ICPO to assist co-ordination

broadening CLIVAR's scientific remit into include a new emerging research area.

CLIVAR SSG Endorsement Criteria

Since the Initial Implementation Plan recognised that plans would need to be updated and changed based on national interests and and scientific developments. CLIVAR should be seen to be responsive to these requests for endorsement of new activities under the CLIVAR banner.

Below are guidelines on how such requests should be submitted to CLIVAR, how the programme assesses them and formulates a response.

Guidelines to be applied when CLIVAR endorsement is sought for a project

1) A request for CLIVAR "endorsement" for a research project, should be addressed or forwarded to the ICPO (icpo@noc.soton.ac.uk). Such request should include information on the following:

a) A description of the activity

- its objectives (what is it seeking to achieve),
- its scope (e.g., what countries/groups are involved, what activities are planned)
- its duration
- its relevance to CLIVAR's present activities (and to those of other WCRP projects)

b) The proposer's view of the benefits to the proposed activity, and to CLIVAR/WCRP, of the endorsement that is sought.

c) How the project might interact with CLIVAR and the proposed form of any joint activities with CLIVAR

d) Description of any financial implications

2) The information will be passed to the SSG and to members of appropriate CLIVAR Panels and WGs for comment.

3) The ICPO will pass to the proposer (in the name of the SSG co-chairs), CLIVAR's response describing the form of the collaboration/endorsement that CLIVAR is willing to provide.

Note: Whenever possible this process should take no longer than 2 months from receipt of the formal request.