Purpose

 The objective of the ISSI Fora is to bring community leaders together to define the next scientific program of SCOSTEP for the period 2019-2024. SCOSTEP is tasked by the International Council for Science (ICSU) with running long-term scientific programs in solar terrestrial physics (STP). SCOSTEP has formed a committee for the next scientific program (NSP) and the committee has been gathering input from the community. During the For a, the committee will meet with experts from the community in discussing the current inputs and develop a document that identifies the projects that can be carried out over a period of 4-5 years with participation from the widest possible cross section of the STP community. The projects need to be international and interdisciplinary in nature addressing the objectives of a plurality of the constituent organizations (COSPAR, IAGA/IUGG, IAMAS, IAU, IUPAP, SCAR, URSI, and WDS). The Fora will also identify the modus operandi for the projects including metrics for the progress and means for disseminating results. 

These Fora will be modelled after the previous ISSI Forum held in 2012 in Bern, which defined the highly successful Variability of the Sun and Its Terrestrial Impact (VarSITI) program. To minimize the cost and enhancing the input from the community, it has been decided that there will be two Fora, one in Beijing (ISSI-BJ) and the other in Bern (ISSI). The rationale for the ISSI-BJ Forum is to get the input from the large STP communities in China and other Asian countries. Experts from these countries may not be able travel the long distance to Bern for a three-day meeting. The proposed dates are November 14-16, 2018 (Beijing) and February 25-27, 2019 (Bern).

The Bern Forum in 2019 will represent the culmination of the NSP committee activities and draft the final report for NSP to be submitted to the SCOSTEP Bureau for further action. 

 

Last update: June 21, 2018