This report presents the findings of the first specialist meeting of NCGIA Research Initiative 15, held at the Upham Hotel in Santa Barbara, California, March 9-11, 1995. Research Initiative 15 focuses on the role of GIS in global change research. The importance of GIS can only increase as global change research becomes more data- and computation-intensive, as it moves from studies of single processes to integrated modeling, as it struggles to link human and physical processes, and as it places more emphasis on policy formulation and decision-making. The report is in four sections. Following an introductory section describing the NCGIA and the objectives of Research Initiative 15, the second section presents a synthesis of findings from the first specialist meeting. This is followed by more specific reports from each of the three working groups formed at the meeting. A list of participants and the position papers written prior to the meeting by the participants form the appendices.