Author:
Gyami Shrestha, U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Program and University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

Report Development Process

The SOCCR2 Federal Steering Committee was established in early 2015 to provide guidance and coordination to the report staff and authors. This Steering Committee comprises a subset of CCIWG members, who scheduled sessions, town halls, presentations at relevant conferences, and webinars to further engage the community of experts and the public. The Steering Committee established the scope of the SOCCR2 process and products, ensuring the inclusion of pertinent Global Change Research Act (1990) topics and a scope responsive to several documents and reports, including 1) A U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Plan (Michalak et al., 2011), 2) the 2012–2021 USGCRP Strategic Plan (USGCRP 2012), and 3) other documents highlighted in the SOCCR2 Prospectus. The Steering Committee developed the Prospectus between February and May 2015, and SGCR approved it in May 2015. The Federal Steering Committee also was the primary decision-making body for SOCCR2’s timeline, process, procedural matters, and guidelines and approved draft versions prior to reviews by SGCR; the public; and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2018).

A.4.1 Lead Agency, Legal Oversight, and Federal Register Notices

USDA, specifically USDA NIFA, assumed the primary responsibility for legal oversight and legal support of the assessment process, including submission of Federal Register Notices (FRNs). USDA NIFA issued the first public FRN announcing SOCCR2 on February 12, 2016, and sought submissions of 1) nominations for contributors, 2) comments on the draft Prospectus, and 3) technical input. After completion of a public review of SOCCR2’s “Fourth Order Draft,” USDA, on behalf of USGCRP, issued a second FRN to announce the draft report’s public comment period that started November 3, 2017.

A.4.2 U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Program Office

The U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Program Office, located at the USGCRP NCO, handled assessment coordinating functions. These functions included 1) providing leadership, support, facilitation, and technical advice for the formulation of the Prospectus, assessment guidelines, report content, FRNs, workshops, and engagement activities and 2) assembling federal agency experts and ­non-federal experts during the report development process. As needed, USGCRP staff provided technical advice, the decision tree for Information Quality, and support for reviews conducted via review.globalchange.gov. SOCCR2 workshops and other engagement activities facilitated the scoping and development of report outlines and drafts. The U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Program Office organized weekly teleconference calls for the SOCCR2 federal Steering Committee and provided the Steering Committee, CCIWG, USGCRP, and associated federal and community partners with regular progress (weekly and monthly) updates. The U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Program Office Director served as primary point of contact, liaison, and manager for SOCCR2 development, oversight, communications, and pertinent operations, as part of the SOCCR2 Federal Steering Committee and ex officio CCIWG member.


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