BALTEX Phase II 2003 – 2012. Science Framework and ...

BALTEX Phase II Science Framework and Implementation Strategy 49
5. Strengthened Interaction with Decision Makers
As global change research results are expected to be policy-relevant, BALTEX Phase II research goals
should take advantage of stakeholder involvement from the beginning. It is our wish to establish at
least one working group with members from both governmental and non-governmental organisations.
The selection of the themes is driven by the societal needs and its ordering does not give any priority.
The working group should start activities immediately after the adoption of this strategy. The new
BALTEX Phase II goals and the related implementation measures are new approaches for the Baltic
Sea basin, and the suggested stakeholder involvement can also be seen as an additional motivation for
trans-disciplinary research in the fields covered.
5.1. Interaction with Governmental Organisations
The impact of the scientific work on society can be viewed, in a simplified fashion, as a chain of
events starting from basic research programs, leading to applications by service organisations and
finally ending as benefits for the society and economical life. The governmental organisations
including research and service institutes may thus be considered as stakeholders from the point of
view of academic research programs, such as BALTEX. As the governmental institutes, for example
national Hydro-meteorological Services, often perform research of their own, they can also be
considered as partners of the research programs.
The governmental organisations thus have at least two different roles to play:
i. To serve the whole society with information and facts in the area of their responsibility;
ii. to develop the services in their field of competence.
As a first step, dedicated workshops for stakeholders will be organized with the aim to acquire a
common understanding of these roles of the governmental organisations in the context of the
BALTEX programme. The focus of these discussions should be on common responsibilities and
opportunities. Examples include the cooperation with respect to an assessment of climate variability
and change for the Baltic Sea basin, background material on the “National Communication on Climate
Change”, a common view on quality assurance of the reporting to the Baltic Marine Environment
Protection Commission (HELCOM) and the European Environment Agency (EEA), the common use
of large investments in model systems, and data policy.
5.1.1. Suggested Activities
The governmental agencies and institutes are encouraged to compile their common needs to address
the BALTEX community. The scope may even be broader and wider than outlined in the BALTEX
Phase II Science Plan. For instance, not only the impacts of climate change but also how to adapt to
the envisaged impacts, tailored with relevant risk analyses, could be listed as needs. Some suggestions
are detailed in section 5.3, see below.