Marine Board

The Marine Board provides a pan-European platform for its member organisations to develop common priorities, to advance marine research and to bridge the gap between science and policy, in order to meet future marine science challenges and opportunities.

The Marine Board facilitates enhanced cooperation between national organisations involved in marine science (both research institutes and research funding agencies), European stakeholder networks and wider marine and maritime stakeholder communities, towards the development of common positions on the research priorities and strategies for marine science in Europe.

As an independent non-governmental advisory body, the Marine Board develops insight and foresight, recognising opportunities and trends, presenting compelling and persuasive arguments that shape the future of marine research in Europe. The Marine Board provides the essential components for transferring knowledge for leadership in marine research. Adopting a strategic role, the Board serves its Member Organisations by providing a forum within which marine research policy advice to national agencies and governments and to the European institutions and agencies is developed, with the objective of promoting the establishment of the European Marine Research Area.

The Marine Board operates via four principle approaches which underpin the Board’s main objective of bridging the gap between science and policy

• Forum – bringing together European marine research stakeholders to share knowledge, to identify common priorities and approaches, to develop common positions and perspectives, and to collaborate; 
• Synergy – fostering European added value to national programmes, facilitating access and shared use of national marine research facilities, and promoting synergy among international programmes and organisations; 
• Strategy – identifying disciplinary and inter-disciplinary marine scientific issues of strategic importance for Europe, initiating analysis and studies, and providing high-level recommendations for European and national programme managers, research funders and policy makers as well as the scientific community; 
• Voice – expressing a collective vision of marine research priorities towards a European strategy for marine research, in order to meet future science and societal challenges and opportunities.