ISGP conferences being planned around the country are designed to give American citizens an opportunity to judge for themselves if climate change is an important issue in their lifestyle choices and in the decisions made by their communities.  ISGP is a not-for-profit organization that does to lobby on specific issues but rather fosters an effective engagement between credible scientists and policy makers at levels that can be understood by the average citizen.  It is exactly what our community needs to reach reasonable conclusions regarding climate change.

In my former role as a Senior Principal Advisor on Chemical & Biological Defence and Head of International Research for the UK Defence Science and Technology Laboratory [...] I was able to participate in all of the ISGP meetings on EPID [Emerging and Persistent Infectious Diseases] until 2013.  The information gained at these meetings was invaluable in providing a diverse perspective on the various views of a wide range of academics, industry and government personnel.  It provided an unique forum in gathering together latest thinking on S&T and policy and highlighting critical gaps that needed to be addressed both at the S&T and policy levels.  Prof Atkinson has shown remarkable leadership and credibility across a multidisciplinary field in his ability in gathering together a wide range of high level thinkers from diverse backgrounds to address these issues. The ISGP conferences on EPID have provided an unique opportunity to get leading experts in both thought leadership on EPID, scientific advancement and policy to agree on key points that need to be addressed. The ISGP forums have highlighted the complexity of dealing with real world problems and how issues cannot be dealt with in isolation but require a multidisciplinary approach across the scientific, social science and policy areas.  Prof Atkinson and the ISGP provide an environment where credible options in addressing these significant issues can be presented and discussed candidly.

Over a number of years, the UK Ministry of Defence science programme has benefitted considerably from interaction with the Institute on Science for Global Policy.  In particular, the series of ISGP Conferences on Emerging and Persistent Infectious diseases was instrumental in my decision to establish an UK MOD research project on the implications for such diseases on the UK Armed Forces.  As a decision maker in the UK Defence science leadership, I have benefitted hugely from the conference format in which renowned world experts are subjected to detailed questioning from their peers in a closely-held confidential process.  From my perspective, the unique format developed by the ISPG is precisely tailored to meet the needs of senior decision-makers from the full range of disciplines affected and involved in the major scientific issues we face now and in the future.

What was most appealing and unusual about this not-for-profit organization, relative to a number of other organizations that sponsor workshops or convene groups of experts, is the caucus format.   [...] The final product of this process is a written publication that captures the essence of the dialogue.  It identifies tangible approaches to fill the gaps in needed action.  Furthermore, it is all developed by the assembled individuals working as a team to hone the message.  The unique ISGP process allows multiple scientific and societal perspectives to be presented, challenged, discussed and then integrated into specific points of consensus and action steps. […] Not only are these events highly effective at improving communication between scientists and policy makers, but also are exceptionally well executed.