IAI-NCAR Colloquium on knowledge innovation at the science-policy interface

The Colloquium was held 12-23 April, 2010 at the University for International Cooperation in San José, Costa Rica. This activity was funded by the US National Science Foundation (NSF). Additional support was provided by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) through the International Hydrological Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean.

The goal of the colloquium was to teach participants how to integrate scientific data and knowledge for risk assessment, mapping and decision making. Participants learned strategies and tools for practical communication of scientific data to non-scientific decision makers, using GIS and other “intuitive” communication tools, through lectures, presentations, hands-on-training and development of actual risk-assessment projects. Through lectures, discussions and hands-on exercises, we explored the themes of risk and vulnerability to global environmental change, used graphic and geographic representations of data and knowledge for science-policy interactions, examined the roles of statistics and uncertainty, and explored tools for knowledge dissemination – how to work with decision makers, synthesize science and interact with the media.