Metro East Coast Regional Assessment of Climate Variability and Change: Policy Lessons and Responses

The recent Metro East Coast (MEC) Regional Assessment of the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change provides a laboratory for raising questions regarding policy-relevant versus policy-driven research. A regional component of the U.S. National Assessment sponsored by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, the MEC Assessment engaged area researchers and stakeholders from a spectrum of agencies at differing levels of jurisdiction in seven sector teams. The stakeholders participated actively in the assessment process, i.e., they were involved in shaping research questions, providing data and models, and drawing major conclusions. Stakeholders participating in the assessment had specific science-based information needs, as well as policy-based considerations. Conflicts arose, at times, as policy considerations mutated over time within the agencies. Continuity of funding emerged as a major issue regarding effectiveness of researcher-stakeholder engagement.