Kathy Jacobs, director of the National Climate Assessment for the US Global Change Research Program, gives her keynote address, "Connecting Science and Decision-making: Building a Foundation for Adaptation through the National Climate Assessment." This talk was the keynote address at the GLISA Symposium 2011, which occured at the University of Michigan on November 3, 2011. To watch all videos from the symposium, please visit http://www.glisa.umich.edu/great_lakes_climate/glisa_symposium.php. Synopsis: Managing the National Climate Assessment is an act of faith – faith that connecting people and information, building community, and doing a better job of synthesizing science and experience from multiple disciplines will help us make better decisions. It is also an act of faith because the intellectual and technical challenges are so large that reasonable people might question whether it can be done, and whether it can be sustained over time. Fortunately, this Assessment is informed by wisdom and experience from the leaders of previous assessments, National Academy reports, and years of working on collaborative governance and exploring the interface between science and society. If we succeed, this effort should yield benefits previous assessments have not – including building a foundation for adaptation decisions at multiple scales. For more information about GLISA, its projects and its work, please visit www.glisa.umich.edu.
