SEI US announces a new program that signals a novel research area in the centre’s portfolio: the Informed Resilience Initiative (IRI).

Senior Scientist Simon Mason, an international award-winning climatologist of more than 35 years, is IRI Program Director. He is joined by Senior Scientist Mary Thompson-Hall, a leading climate adaptation, capacity strengthening, and social equity specialist, and Ed Carr, the SEI US Centre Director.

This diverse team, and the IRI acronym, reflect a deliberate intention to impart new life to Columbia University’s late International Research Institute for Climate and Society. We maintain the principles of the original IRI’s wealth: a mix of technical and operational expertise in climate, social science, and international development combined with a rich network of collaborators. With SEI’s broader expertise in climate adaptation and mitigation across the globe, the IRI will extend its former commitment to short-term adaptation to address longer-term resilience. 

Flagship IRI tools and research projects include the Climate Predictability Tool (CPT+), working with partners in sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean to strengthen climate forecasting services, and the CASCADE program to support local understanding of climate-related health risks in African cities.

IRI’s research and technical endeavours will also intersect with other SEI specialties, such as hydrology.

“I am particularly excited to draw upon SEI’s strength in tools development,” Mason says. “Coupling CPT+ with tools such as WEAP, which has a strong operational and research user base in water management and research, provides a fantastic opportunity to address the underutilization of climate forecasts. Combine that technical solution with SEI’s social science expertise in overcoming barriers to adopting information on climate risks and opportunities, and the prospects for seeing measurable impact are highly promising.”