Periodic Reporting for period 2 - EU-PolarNet 2 (Co-ordinating and Co-designing the European Polar Research Area)
Reporting period: 2022-04-01 to 2023-09-30
The Polar Regions are sentinels of climate change and human resilience and they are also a proven bastion for international cooperation in research and nature protection. The last IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate clearly shows the dramatic effects of the ongoing climate change on the Polar Regions and its inhabitants, but also how significantly the changing climate in the Polar Regions is influencing the climate and weather patterns of the lower latitudes. Decision makers therefore critically need better evidence-based information on the ongoing changes affecting the Polar Regions, and their feedbacks to global and regional processes, to identify and support relevant research themes, and to develop and implement effective policies in response. Enhanced coordination of the European Polar research community will strengthen a common unified European voice and will allow EU-PolarNet 2 to provide evidence-based advice to decision makers on behalf of the European Polar research community.
The overall objective of EU-PolarNet 2 is to provide a platform to further develop the coordination of Polar research actions in Europe and with overseas partners. By involving all relevant stake- and rightsholders it will support the development of transdisciplinary and transnational Polar research actions. These will contribute new knowledge to the international protocols to which the EC has committed, and enable EU-PolarNet 2 to provide evidence-based advice with impact on policymaking. To ensure that such an important platform is sustained after the end of EU-PolarNet 2, the project will work towards creating a permanent European Polar Coordination Office (EPCO).
The overall objective of EU-PolarNet 2 is to provide a platform to further develop the coordination of Polar research actions in Europe and with overseas partners. By involving all relevant stake- and rightsholders it will support the development of transdisciplinary and transnational Polar research actions. These will contribute new knowledge to the international protocols to which the EC has committed, and enable EU-PolarNet 2 to provide evidence-based advice with impact on policymaking. To ensure that such an important platform is sustained after the end of EU-PolarNet 2, the project will work towards creating a permanent European Polar Coordination Office (EPCO).
EU-PolarNet 2 has begun on 1rst October 2020. During its first year, EU-PolarNet 2 has concentrated on creating robust structures that should ensure the smooth performance of the project and to facilitate delivering the first objectives of the project. At the centre of those objectives was to set the scene for starting the research prioritisation process, the mapping of stakeholder activities, European Polar research programmes and funding opportunities, the provision of calls for services and the preparations for the European Polar Coordination Office. Progress for safeguarding meaningful stakeholder involvement was made through discussion and decisions on how the stakeholders and end-users who are engaged in the EU Polar Cluster projects can be best included in the EU-PolarNet 2 project. Furthermore, EU-PolarNet 2 identified and engaged a professional company to host the moderated toolbox for coordination, the catalyst platform.
One focus of the second and third project year was the work towards an “identification report of critical future research needs in the Polar Regions”. The process for this research prioritisation included launching three Calls for Services for pre-studies. Three workshops were held with stake- and rightsholders from indigenous communities, the maritime industry and Antarctic and Southern Ocean stakeholders, in order to incorporate the information gathered in these workshops into the process of setting research priorities. Furthermore, EU-PolarNet 2 engaged with Polar operators and funders and identified pilot studies to demonstrate how bi- or multilateral cooperation can provide more efficient resource use and add value in European Polar research. Lastly, the Polar Expert Group, the EU Polar Cluster, the EU-PolarNet 2 consortium were consulted for research topics of high priority.
For its legacy, EU-PolarNet 2 has developed terms of reference for the EPCO, a mission statement and governance structure, as well as proposals for funding models.
One focus of the second and third project year was the work towards an “identification report of critical future research needs in the Polar Regions”. The process for this research prioritisation included launching three Calls for Services for pre-studies. Three workshops were held with stake- and rightsholders from indigenous communities, the maritime industry and Antarctic and Southern Ocean stakeholders, in order to incorporate the information gathered in these workshops into the process of setting research priorities. Furthermore, EU-PolarNet 2 engaged with Polar operators and funders and identified pilot studies to demonstrate how bi- or multilateral cooperation can provide more efficient resource use and add value in European Polar research. Lastly, the Polar Expert Group, the EU Polar Cluster, the EU-PolarNet 2 consortium were consulted for research topics of high priority.
For its legacy, EU-PolarNet 2 has developed terms of reference for the EPCO, a mission statement and governance structure, as well as proposals for funding models.
EU-PolarNet 2 will involve numerous European and international researchers and stakeholders in all its activities. This will substantially advance the scale and ambition of European cooperation in Polar Research and will support the creation of a European Polar Research Area.
The project is entirely structured to initiate and support cooperation between European and International Polar researchers (WP1), stake- and rightholders (WP2), funding organisations (WP4) and decision-makers (WP5) and observing capacities (WP6) as transnational cooperation and coordination of research efforts are decisively important in tackling major societal challenges such as climate change. Furthermore, the networking and strategic coordination of national Polar funding agencies (WP4) will establish synergies between them, creating leverage and the critical mass needed for joint support of the Polar research actions which EU-PolarNet 2 will prioritise (WP3).
EU-PolarNet 2 produced the following two results in its first year, which are expected to strongly impact European research coordination and research prioritisation: A Catalogue of national Polar programmes and other large-scale programmes (WP1), an update of the stakeholder map developed in EU-PolarNet 1 (WP2) and a Directory of European Polar Research funding programmes (WP4).
One of the main cooperation tools developed and launched during the first two project years is the Catalyst Platform that shall improve the information flow within the European Polar community. The Catalyst Platform accommodates a continuous information exchange and an interactive room as a discussion forum for the Polar community to identify synergies and develop partnerships within Europe.
For its legacy, EU-PolarNet 2 has developed terms of reference for the European Polar Coordination Office, which will sustain the coordination platform after the project ends. A mission statement and governance structure, as well as proposals for funding models have been developed within the first three years of the project. This will be complemented with the identification of a host and an initial work plan for the European Polar Coordination Office.
The project is entirely structured to initiate and support cooperation between European and International Polar researchers (WP1), stake- and rightholders (WP2), funding organisations (WP4) and decision-makers (WP5) and observing capacities (WP6) as transnational cooperation and coordination of research efforts are decisively important in tackling major societal challenges such as climate change. Furthermore, the networking and strategic coordination of national Polar funding agencies (WP4) will establish synergies between them, creating leverage and the critical mass needed for joint support of the Polar research actions which EU-PolarNet 2 will prioritise (WP3).
EU-PolarNet 2 produced the following two results in its first year, which are expected to strongly impact European research coordination and research prioritisation: A Catalogue of national Polar programmes and other large-scale programmes (WP1), an update of the stakeholder map developed in EU-PolarNet 1 (WP2) and a Directory of European Polar Research funding programmes (WP4).
One of the main cooperation tools developed and launched during the first two project years is the Catalyst Platform that shall improve the information flow within the European Polar community. The Catalyst Platform accommodates a continuous information exchange and an interactive room as a discussion forum for the Polar community to identify synergies and develop partnerships within Europe.
For its legacy, EU-PolarNet 2 has developed terms of reference for the European Polar Coordination Office, which will sustain the coordination platform after the project ends. A mission statement and governance structure, as well as proposals for funding models have been developed within the first three years of the project. This will be complemented with the identification of a host and an initial work plan for the European Polar Coordination Office.