North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies

Name

North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies

Legal name

North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies

Website

https://ncics.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Climate Science Research and Data Stewardship

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Audit-Ready Controls, Assurance & Compliance Workflow Tools (CSRD/SEC/ISSB) (EUABAEAG)

Keywords

• Climate science research
• Data stewardship services
• Environmental data analytics
• Climate observing systems
• Machine learning climate

Headquarters

HQ city

Asheville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Federal Government Grants: Primary funding from federal agencies including NOAA, NASA, NSF, NIH, and Department of Defense through various grant programs
2. Research Contracts: Contracted research work for government agencies including US Air Force, RTI International, and other federal organizations

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

NCICS conducts climate science research, provides climate data stewardship and analytics, and operates as a NOAA Cooperative Institute under two core programs (CISESS and CICS-NC). It delivers federally funded research, assessment reports (including National Climate Assessment support and State of the Climate), specialized software tools such as UDUNITS2, and climate observing system services for federal and academic partners.

Product overview

NCICS is a research institute organized as a platform of cooperative institutes and specialized programs. The core structure includes CISESS (NOAA Cooperative Institute for Satellite and Earth System Science) and CICS-NC (Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites-North Carolina). NCICS provides climate data services through the NOAA Big Data Program, offers specialized tools like the UDUNITS2 unit conversion database, and conducts climate science assessments including National Climate Assessment support, state climate summaries, and the annual State of the Climate reporting. Research areas span climate and human health, observing systems, data stewardship, and AI/ML applications for environmental data analytics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CISESS (Cooperative Institute for Satellite and Earth System Science) A NOAA Cooperative Institute program focused on satellite observations and earth system science, serving as a primary organizational unit within NCICS for federal climate research.
• CICS-NC (Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites - North Carolina) A cooperative institute dedicated to climate research and satellite data applications, part of NCICS's core mission.
• UDUNITS2 Database A software package providing recognition and conversion of a wide variety of measurement units, including all units and prefixes by name and symbol, used by the scientific community for climate data interoperability.
• NOAA Atlas 15 Volume 2 Support Scientific foundations work for NOAA's forthcoming Atlas 15, Volume 2, incorporating projections of climate change effects into the National Precipitation Frequency Standard.
• NOAA Big Data Program Data Access Access to climate and environmental data through the NOAA Big Data Project, providing datasets including NCA4 Data, NCA3 Data, TR144 Data, and obs4MIPS.
• Climate Science Assessments Comprehensive climate assessments including National Climate Assessment support, State Climate Summaries for all 50 states, the North Carolina Climate Science Report, and contributions to global climate reports.
• Climate and Human Health Research Research examining the intersection of climate change and public health, including studies on heat impacts on vulnerable populations and integration of climate information into health frameworks.
• Data Stewardship Services Management, curation, and dissemination of climate data including quality control, metadata compilation, and data product development for federal and academic partners.
• Monitoring Tools Drought monitoring and other environmental monitoring tools and dashboards for tracking climate conditions.
• Precipitation Frequency Design Values Tool Interactive website providing new design values for intensity, duration, and frequency of heavy precipitation that account for projected effects of climate change, developed through the SERDP project.

Quantifiable outcome

• 589 scientists from 58 countries contributed to the 2024 State of the Climate report
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and supporting.

• NOAAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNOAA Cooperative Institute (CISESS) - primary federal partner hosting the Cooperative Institute for Satellite and Earth System Science, conducting climate research and data stewardship for NOAA operations
• North Carolina State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic host institution providing faculty appointments, research infrastructure, and administrative support for NCICS operations
• NASAmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNASA-funded research projects including climate observing systems and satellite data analysis
• National Science FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNSF-funded Arctic research, environmental change studies, and collaborative research programs
• US Air Force 14th Weather SquadronmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProviding climate change expertise and projections for future operations at global locations based on downscaled climate model outputs
• RTI InternationalsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorking on scientific foundations for NOAA's Atlas 15, Volume 2, incorporating climate change effects into National Precipitation Frequency Standard
• National Institutes of HealthmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNIH-funded project on climate change and public health in rural Southern Appalachia, addressing health risks and disparities
• Department of Defense (SERDP)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSERDP-funded five-year project developing framework for incorporating climate change impact into Intensity-Duration-Frequency values for heavy precipitation
• University of WashingtonmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCICS staff editing The Nature Record report, creating scientific figures, compiling metadata, and providing software for report production
• CICS-NCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of the Climate Information and Services program, working on climate science and services

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Berkeley Earth: Berkeley Earth is a non-profit climate research organization producing global temperature datasets and assessments; it is comparable to NCICS for its independent climate data analysis and reporting of climate trends.
• CIRES (Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences): CIRES is a NOAA Cooperative Institute at the University of Colorado Boulder conducting climate, atmospheric, and earth-system research; NCICS is a direct peer as another NOAA cooperative institute covering overlapping domains like satellite observations and climate data stewardship.
• CIMSS (Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies): CIMSS is a NOAA Cooperative Institute at the University of Wisconsin–Madison focused on satellite meteorology and climate applications; it is directly comparable to NCICS as a sister cooperative institute working on satellite-based climate analysis.
• JISAO (Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean): JISAO is a NOAA Cooperative Institute at the University of Washington doing climate and oceanographic research; it is a closely comparable peer to NCICS as another NOAA cooperative institute with overlapping atmospheric and climate science scope.
• Woodwell Climate Research Institute: Woodwell Climate is a private non-profit climate research institute producing climate science and data products; it is comparable to NCICS as another non-academic research organization addressing climate change impacts and Earth-system data.
• Climate Central: Climate Central is a non-profit climate research and communications organization producing climate science analyses and visualizations; it overlaps NCICS's science communication and state-level climate summary work.

Broad incumbents

• NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research): NCAR is a federally funded research and development center focused on atmospheric and Earth system science; it is a broader incumbent that overlaps NCICS's climate modeling, observing systems, and assessment work but at significantly greater scale.
• RTI International: RTI International is a large non-profit research institute with federal contracts across many domains; it is a broader incumbent that has worked directly with NCICS on NOAA Atlas 15 Volume 2, making it both a partner and a comparable research-services player.
• Scripps Institution of Oceanography: Scripps is a major academic climate and oceanographic research institution; comparable to NCICS in climate science and observing systems but a broader incumbent operating at much larger scale as a UC San Diego unit.
• Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory: Lamont-Doherty is a Columbia University earth science research institution doing climate and Earth-system research; it is a broader incumbent comparable to NCICS for climate science, observations, and assessments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ncstate_ncics
• Facebookfacebook.com/NCStateNCICS
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cooperative-institute-for-climate-and-satellites---north-carolina

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies