I spent 8 years as a staff scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in their social science group, where I saw little support for this important area of research. So the news that NCAR has decided to downgrade and scatter its meager social science resources comes as no surprise. Though at a time that the world more than ever needs such research, the decision is clearly short sighted. Because NCAR is base-funded by the National Science Foundation, it certainly would be appropriate for NSF to investigate the decision to diminish the role of social science and policy research at NCAR, and why it has been deemphasized at a time when policy makers more than ever need such knowledge.

Here is how NCAR announced the news in an email last week, which one insider characterized to me as being “blindsided”:

To All Staff,

NCAR is facing significant financial challenges. The NSF base budget has risen at a rate less than the cost of business in each of the past six years. Increasingly, this has put major stresses on the NCAR budget. In response to this prolonged budget stress, NCAR and UCAR management have been taking measures to allocate budgets based on NCAR strategic priorities and NSF mandates. We have also had to reduce direct and indirect costs. This included the reduction in staff of 36 NCAR positions over the past four years.

Even with these adjustments, we continue to face significant budget pressures. In response to immediate FY08 budget shortfalls and the outlook for FY09, additional actions are required to address the problem. One important move that we will be taking this week is to dissolve the Societal-Environmental Research and Education Laboratory (SERE) and administratively move the Advanced Study Program (ASP), Institute for the Study of Society and the Environment (ISSE), an Center for Capacity Building (CCB) into other parts of NCAR. This will save immediate and recurring direct and indirect costs, capitalize on economies of scale in other labs, and enhance synergy and collaboration through new partnerships. Unfortunately, this will result in reductions in staff in the SERE Director’s Office.

Next steps include:

* ISSE will receive administrative and management support through the Research Applications Laboratory (RAL).
* ASP will become a stand-alone Program that reports to the NCAR Director’s Office.
* CCB will also become a stand-alone Program that reports to the NCAR Director’s Office

We want to emphasize that these changes in no way diminish UCAR’s and NCAR’s commitment to ASP, ISSE, and CCB. Despite the current budget challenges, we remain dedicated to our vision of developing leadership in the social science components of climate and weather research, creating societal and policy-relevant research and information products, and conducting research on human-environment interactions.

Rick Anthes and Tim Killeen