In May, NCAR dissolved SERE (Societal-Environmental
Research and Education Laboratory) in the face of
prolonged budget stress.
SERE’s programs—ISSE, CCB, and ASP—are
now housed in other parts of NCAR. ISSE receives
management and administrative support through RAL,
while ASP and CCB are stand-alone programs that
report to the NCAR Director’s Office. The
three programs retain their physical locations at
the Mesa Lab.
“It’s a win for both groups, as the
transition extends a number of strong research collaborations
that already exist between the two groups,” says
ISSE interim director Lawrence Buja, adding that
ISSE brings a unique social sciences capability
to RAL in the areas of weather, climate, and
health.
The dissolution of SERE, which reduced
staff in the lab’s directorate, is expected
to save immediate and recurring direct and indirect
costs, capitalize on economies of scale in other
labs, and enhance synergy and collaboration through
new partnerships.
“We want to emphasize that these changes in
no way diminish UCAR’s and NCAR’s commitment
to ASP, ISSE, and CCB,” says NCAR director
Tim Killeen. “Despite the current budget challenges,
we remain dedicated to our vision of developing
leadership in the social science components of climate
and weather research, creating societal and policy-relevant
research and information products, and conducting
research on human-environment interactions.”
Tim adds that NCAR is facing significant
financial challenges as the NSF base budget has
risen at a rate less than the cost of business in
each of the past six years. This has put major stresses
on NCAR’s budget.
In response, NCAR has taken measures
to allocate budgets based on strategic priorities
and NSF mandates. The organization has also reduced
direct and indirect costs, including the elimination
of 36 positions over the past four years.
