In February 2002, President George W. Bush announced the formation of a new management structure, the Climate Change Science Program (CCSP), to coordinate and direct the U.S. research efforts in the areas of climate and global change. These research efforts include the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) authorized by the Global Change Research Act of 1990, and the Climate Change Research Initiative (CCRI), launched by the President in June 2001 to reduce significant uncertainties in climate science, improve global observing systems, develop science-based information resources to support policymaking and resource management, and communicate findings broadly among the international scientific and user communities. This "Strategic Plan for the Climate Change Science Program" describes a strategy for developing knowledge of variability and change in climate and related environmental and human systems, and for encouraging the application of this knowledge. The strategy seeks to optimize the benefits of research that is conducted, sponsored, or applied by 13 agencies and departments of the U.S. government. These agencies coordinate their research through the Climate Change Science Program (CCSP), which incorporates the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) and the Climate Change Research Initiative (CCRI). Scientists and research program managers from the 13 participating agencies and the Climate Change Science Program Office drafted the Strategic Plan. It reflects a commitment by its authors to high-quality science, which requires openness to review and criticism by the wider scientific community. The process by which the plan was drafted proceeded with the transparency essential for scientific credibility.