• Acronym: AP-SOFE
• Parent Committee: SB
• Term: Oct. 2009 - Oct. 2014
  Appoved at PICES-2009
• Past Chairs:
  Phillip Mundy (Oct. 2012 - Oct. 2014, U.S.A.)
  Robin Brown (Oct. 2009 - Oct. 2012, Canada)

The Advisory Panel on Status, Outlooks, Forecasts, and Engagement (SOFE) is focused on identifying major sources of uncertainty and impediments to improving the skill of assessments and forecasts, suggesting research areas for priority development, and providing coordination of potential PICES products. SOFE will provide for a PICES final peer review on information and interpretations, and work on how to engage potential users of North Pacific ecosystem and climate information, including the quality of information and uncertainty.

SOFE will be associated initially with the following expert groups:

• joint PICES/ICES Working Group on Forecasting Climate Change Impacts on Fish and Shellfish (WG 25)
• Study Group on Human Dimensions of Environmental Change SG-HD (and its follower)

1. Establish a list of specific FUTURE priority topics, activities and products for review by the Science Board;
2. Work with existing expert groups associated with FUTURE to review and revise, if needed, their Terms of Reference;
3. Work with the Scientific and Technical Committees and the PICES community to identify gaps in the priorities and activities of the expert groups and to provide recommendations to the Science Board;
4. Coordinate with the Scientific and Technical Committees in developing Terms of Reference for new expert groups to be part of FUTURE;
5. Coordinate with the Editors of the next version of the North Pacific Ecosystem Status Report and advise on how the Report should be updated in the future;
6. Work with the Communication Study Group and the Study Group on Human Dimensions of Environmental Change to commence the review of user characteristics for FUTURE products;
7. Recommend expert groups to identify major sources of uncertainty and impediments to improving the skill of assessments and forecasts, suggest research areas for priority development, and provide coordination of potential PICES products;
8. Provide for a PICES final peer review on information and interpretations