This overview paper summarizes the objectives of the Tropical Convection and Cirrus Brasil (TroCCiBras) project, as well as those of the European Commission sponsored HIBISCUS (“Impact of tropical convection on the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere”) and TROCCINOX (Tropical Convection, Cirrus and Nitrogen Oxides) projects, which conducted a joint field campaign in the State of São Paulo from January to March 2004. The general objective of the TroCCiBras project was to obtain a set of special measurements throughout the troposphere and the lower stratosphere, to meet specific research needs of Brazilian research institutions, through the realization of the TROCCINOX and HIBISCUS projects in Brazil. Besides IPMet, six other Brazilian research institutions, as well as the German Max Planck Institute for Chemistry (MPIC) and the Lightning Research Group of Osaka University (LRGOU) from Japan, participated actively in the TroCCiBras field campaign. The ten different research sub-projects were grouped into three main topics, viz., “Meteorology, Atmospheric Physics and Forecasting” (radar, radiosonde and lightning observations, as well as numerical modeling), “Atmospheric Chemistry” (lidar and airborne pollutant measurements) and “Validation of Satellite-borne and Ground-based Remote Sensors”, constituting a comprehensive ensemble, which will contribute significantly to the overall knowledge of the atmosphere over the State of Sãao Paulo and thus facilitate the achievement of the two primary goals of TroCCiBras, viz., the validation of satellite-derived measurements (especially those of the HSB) and the improvement of Nowcasting methods. Special emphasis will be given to measurements of the ground-based lidar in Bauru, as well as examples of specialized balloon-borne (HIBISCUS) and airborne (TROCCINOX) lidar sensors. A unique data base has been established for TroCCiBras, covering the period 21 January to 11 March 2004, which is of outstanding value for scientists in the State of São Paulo and Brazil. It includes IPMet’s radar observations (7.5 min volume scans) from Bauru and Presidente Prudente, up to 5 daily radiosoundings from IPMet, aerosol profiles 36km altitude from IPEN’s lidar at IPMet, trace gas and particulate measurements obtained in the lower troposphere by aircraft (MPIC and USP), RINDAT lightning data and 2- and 3-dimensional lightning observations from the LRGOU VHF broadband interferometer network (2 stations near Bauru), AutomaticWeather Station data from 23 stations, radiosoundings from INMET and the Meso-Eta model output specifically run by CPTEC centered on Bauru. Participating research groups have also access to all TROCCINOX Falcon aircraft data (mid-troposphere) and the HIBISCUS stratospheric balloon measurements, through signing the relevant Data Protocols. Reference will be made to published or in-print papers, but the analysis of many data sets is still ongoing.