LEAP’s mission is to increase the reliability, utility, and reach of climate projections through the integration of climate and data science. Our mission will be achieved through the following core values:

• Innovation: Integrate new knowledge and methods to explore, learn and create; 

• Diversity: Connect across and respect varied perspectives to achieve shared goals;

• Legacy: Build lasting scientific knowledge and a new research community, so that:

• Impact: Our work will make a difference in the adaptation to climate change.

Driven by a collaboration between Columbia University, NYU, University of California-Irvine, Teacher’s College, and University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, LEAP is working with the nation’s top climate research laboratories and major computing organizations to optimally utilize the wealth of data available for climate modeling in order to better predict the future. LEAP also seeks rich relationships with community organizations, government partners, and academic and research institutions in order to exchange a diversity of knowledge, ideas, and expertise about climate adaptation.

Via critical funding and in-kind collaborations, LEAP’s engagement pathways provide diverse opportunities to support the LEAP’s mission. A relationship with LEAP opens doors to connect with the wide array of experts at the LEAP Center, spanning the fields of artificial intelligence, machine learning, physics, education, climate science, data science, social work, statistics, business, and more. Together, we can ensure that the broadest range of private and public stakeholders will have access to the tools necessary for informed decision-making on behalf of their communities in the face of climate change.