The following documents are provided as initial guidance and information for technical input and author teams. As these are updated, new versions will be posted here around the 10th of each month.

• General Input Information
• Information Quality
• Uncertainty and Risk
• Sustained Assessment and Long-Term Process
• International & Global Context
• Indicators

General Input Information

• Formatting Guidance for Technical Input
  This document provides formatting guidance for technical inputs, including information about file type, references, images, data, and information quality.


• 2013 Report Production Timeline
  This slide provides an overview of key process milestones for the completion of the 2013 National Climate Assessment.


• Guidance to Chapter Authors on Eight Priority Topics for the 2013 National Climate Assessment
  This document is intended to give guidance to chapter authors on eight topics that are priorities for the 2013 NCA.


• Frequently Asked Questions About the Request for Information and Expression of Interest Process
  This document provides answers to frequently asked questions for technical input teams interested in responding to the NCA Request for Information and Expression of Interest process.


• Potential Technical Inputs and Assessment Capacities and Suggested Best Practices
  Teams interested in providing inputs to the National Climate Assessment (NCA) are encouraged to review the following Potential Technical Inputs and Assessment Capacities and Suggested Best Practices prior to preparing and submitting an expression of interest (EOI).

• Defining Scientific Assessment
  This document outlines a definition of scientific assessments, the process by which they produce findings, key characteristics, and a comparison to a scientific review.

Information Quality

• Guidance on Information Quality Assurance to Chapter Authors of the National Climate Assessment: Question Tools (2/21/2012)
  The Question Tools are intended for use by the chapter authors of the National Climate Assessment (NCA) to consider whether and how to use source material in the NCA under the requirements of the Information Quality Act (IQA). The NCA must comply with the IQA. The chapter authors’ review of each source material under the NOAA IQA Guidelines will provide the building blocks for this compliance.


• Frequently Asked Questions about Information Quality Assurance in Preparing Technical Input for the National Climate Assessment
  
  This FAQ document is intended to provide preliminary guidance regarding information quality for use by teams intending to submit EOIs and technical inputs.


• General Principles Used in the Development of Guidance for Assuring Information Quality in the National Climate Assessment
  This guidance is intended for all CLAs, LAs, and Review Editors, NCADAC, and Government Agencies and Reviewers to assure that information is used in the National Climate Assessment production only in the manner appropriate to its quality. This Guidance will also serve to inform the public.

Uncertainty and Risk

• Uncertainty and Risk Framing Guidelines (2/10/2012)
  This document describes the steps for Author Teams to describe A) the risks (consequences and likelihood) of key vulnerabilities and B) confidence levels and uncertainties for the 3-4 most important findings in their chapter.


• NCA Confidence Assessment Resources (2/10/2012)
  This document has been prepared as a resource for authors of the USGCRP’s National Climate Assessment 2013 Report. It describes a process that authors are requested to follow in explaining their level of confidence in 3-4 of the main conclusions of their chapters selected from among the larger set of issues they are addressing.

Sustained Assessment and Long-Term Process

• NCADAC Sustained Assessments Workgroup White Paper
  
  This document explains the rationale, goal, context, and components of the sustained assessment and long term process for the National Climate Assessment and outlines the roles and upcoming activities for the NCADAC, INCA Taskforce, and NCA staff working on this topic.

International/Global Context

• International/Global Working Group Guidance for NCA Writing Teams
  This document provides an overview, key considerations, and general information about access to international/global working group consultation and approaches.

Indicators

• Vision for Indicators for the National Climate Assessment
  This document explains the NCA indicator vision, goals, and design criteria, and the process of establishing the NCA indicator system.


• NCA Indicators: Background, Development, and Examples
  This report from WG 13 of the NCADAC, "Indicators development and evaluation," builds on results from three NCA workshops (5a, 5b, and 5c) to establish a rationale and lay out a framework for a set of climate-related indicators that have an end-to-end character, e.g. they will provide information on greenhouse gases, variability and change in the climate system, status and trends of important sectors that are known to be sensitive to climate variability, and response strategies. Examples of potential indicators are shown in each category.