Governance of the IPCC Data Distribution Centre (DDC) by TGICA

1. Mission of the Data Distribution Centre

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Data Distribution Centre (DDC) provides access to data sets, climate and other scenarios, and other materials (e.g., technical guidelines on use of scenarios). The DDC operates under the oversight of the Task Group on Data and Scenario Support for Impact and Climate Assessment (TGICA), which was established by the IPCC to facilitate wide availability of climate change-related data and scenarios to enable research and sharing of information across the three IPCC working groups.

2. Principles

• The activities and membership of the TGICA are defined by its mandate, as approved by the IPCC.
• The TGICA is responsible for the DDC, providing leadership and oversight for its operations. It makes decisions about the materials (observational data, model data)  to be included in the DDC. As specified in the TGICA’s mandate, information provided through the DDC includes IPCC “approved,” “adopted,” “accepted,” and “supporting” material.
• The TGICA makes decisions by consensus. All members of the Task Group participate in decision-making. Decisions regarding model data and scenarios are made in consultation with participating modeling centers. Decisions regarding operations of the DDC are made with the full participation of the DDC managers and reflect the expertise, responsibilities, and operating procedures of the institutions that comprise the DDC.
• The DDC supports research on climate impacts, adaptation, and mitigation, promotes communication and exchange of information across the IPCC Working Groups, and facilitates studies that use consistent scenarios and baseline data for integration into IPCC assessments.
• In its operations, the DDC will seek to build capacity for climate-related research in developing and transition-economy regions and countries.
• The DDC will support users of the data and information it disseminates. TGICA’s membership is designed to include representatives of different research communities who use climate-related data and scenarios. These members are responsible for representing user needs and perspectives.
• The data and information on the DDC are available free of charge to all users.
• The operations of the DDC are primarily funded through voluntary “in-kind” contributions from governments that support the participating data centers that comprise the DDC. The TGICA seeks to maintain regular communication with representatives of supporting governments and the home institutions of the data centers.

3. DDC Structure and Roles of the DDC Managers

• The DDC is a shared operation of the British Atmospheric Data Centre (BADC) in the United Kingdom; the World Data Center Climate at the Max-Planck-Institute for Meteorology (WDCC / MPI-M) in Hamburg, Germany; and the Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC) operated by the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) at Columbia University, New York, USA. Each of these institutions has voluntarily taken on responsibility for managing access to a subset of the data and information provided by the DDC.
• The DDC Managers make decisions by consensus. Lead responsibility for the DDC currently rests with the British Atmospheric Data Centrer, which coordinates the overall management of the DDC. Any one of the DDC Managers may bring matters to the attention of the TGICA.
• The DDC Managers are accountable for the successful operation of the DDC. They are charged with developing and maintaining the DDC in keeping with international standards and “best practices” for user access and support, appropriate cataloging, documentation, quality control, archiving, and preservation of DDC holdings. The DDC Managers are empowered to undertake the following actions:
• Design and modify the DDC site in keeping with the overall direction provided by the TGICA to ensure that the DDC evolves and keeps up with changes in technology and standards. The objective is to make sure that the information on the DDC is easily accessible and usable.
• Carry out performance monitoring and reporting including use and quality statistics.
• Solicit user feedback and reactions to the site and report these regularly to the TGICA.
• Develop proposals for improving the content, data delivery, and user support of the DDC for review and approval by the TGICA. Proposals for new DDC initiatives should be based on knowledge of the DDC managers and their home institutions, monitoring of the Web, and other information sources.
• At each regular meeting of the TGICA, DDC Managers will provide an overview of DDC operations and previously implemented or proposed modifications to the DDC.

4. The Role of the Task Group and Workgroups in Providing Leadership and Oversight for the DDC

• The TGICA provides oversight for the DDC and establishes policies for managing it.
• The TGICA establishes a standing “DDC Workgroup” of at least three members. The DDC Workgroup will periodically review the websites that make up the DDC and provide ongoing feedback to the DDC Managers. More specifically, it will review the DDC site before each TGICA meeting and prepare a report for discussion by the TGICA on its assessment of the state of the DDC and materials or aspects of the site that need to be updated. The DDC Managers may request input from the TGICA or workgroups as needed.
• The TGICA provides leadership for identifying needs for observations, model data, technical guidelines, and other materials in standard formats to facilitate research by scientists in diverse settings. It relies on its members and the DDC Managers for suggestions and proposals for new content.
• The TGICA must approve additions of data, scenarios, technical guidelines, and other materials to the DDC’s holdings.
• Before being added to the DDC, materials must be peer reviewed to ensure quality and reliability for their intended purpose. Climate data and scenarios must meet the requirements established by the TGICA for such data as described at: http://www.ipcc-data.org/. IPCC “approved,” “adopted,” “accepted,” and “supporting” materials do not require further review as they have already been reviewed through processes defined in IPCC’s procedures. The Task Group should review other materials (e.g., technical guidelines; climate, socio-economic, or environmental data produced with models that have not been reviewed through established diagnosis or intercomparison; other websites) before deciding to place them (or links to them) on the DDC. At least three independent reviews must be obtained. A written record of the review process and comments on proposed materials will be maintained as part of the record of the meeting at which the TGICA approves adding the materials to the DDC.