Call for applications: Ocean Knowledge-Action Network Development Team

Future Earth and its partners are seeking motivated experts to serve on the Development Team for the Ocean Knowledge-Action Network. This new collaboration brings together researchers in the natural and social sciences along with leaders in policy, natural resource management, business, civil society and more to address critical questions around ocean health. The Ocean Knowledge-Action Network’s Development Team will include 10-15 members who will guide the collaboration’s early activities and help to draft its research and engagement plan.

Organisers of a recent workshop focusing on the Ocean Knowledge-Action Network have also released a new report highlighting key priorities for ocean research in the years ahead.

The Ocean Knowledge-Action Network is supported by Future Earth, the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) project Climate and Ocean – Variability, Predictability and Change (CLIVAR); the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO; and the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) of the International Council for Science (ICSU).

For more information about this call and how to apply, see the announcement and the terms of reference for the Development Team. Interested individuals must submit their application online here by 30 April.

Members of the Development Team will serve for 18 months. They will be drawn equally from research and non-research communities, including representatives from non-governmental organisations, the private sector and policy and funding communities. Among other tasks, the team will work to:

• develop a broadly scoped and co-designed Ocean Knowledge-Action Network Research and Engagement Plan;
• develop an Implementation and Resource Strategy to support Ocean Knowledge-Action Network activities;
• support the establishment of an adequate administrative capacity;
• engage an international, diverse and cross-sectoral ocean knowledge community to contribute to the success of the Ocean Knowledge-Action Network;
• provide guidance on the implementation of early Ocean Knowledge-Action Network activities.

In December 2016, the Cluster of Excellence “The Future Ocean,” ICSU and Future Earth held a workshop in Kiel, Germany, focused on the Ocean Knowledge-Action Network. The event drew participants from academia, industry, journalism and non-governmental organisations. It included small group discussions and a World Café highlighting topics like “Games and Comics” and “Engaging Society.” During the workshop, participants identified eight areas in ocean sustainability that researchers should focus on in the coming years. They include “What will the Ocean in 2050 and 2100 look like depending on different human-ocean development pathways?” and “How can we share good practice and promote more sustainable behaviour in coastal settings?”

You can learn more about this workshop, its findings and the next steps for ocean research in a new report published by the organisers. See the short or full version of the report