About the European Polar Board (EPB)

About

Source: Â/Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Germany

The European Polar Board is Europe’s strategic advisory body on science policy in the Polar Regions. Established in 1995, it acts as a voice and high-level facilitator of cooperation between European national funding agencies, national polar institutes and research organisations. The EPB is concerned with major strategic priorities in the Arctic and Antarctic and has members from national operators and research institutes in 20 countries. The Board is taking a central role in the coordination and management of Polar Initiatives at a European level. Major focus areas for 2009 are the implementation of a new Polar Framework MOU, the launching of joint research programmes such as PolarCLIMATE, the coordination of Polar research Infrastructures, and polar policy issues in the context of the European Research Area. The European Polar Board has active liaison with major polar programmes outside of Europe including the United States, Russia and Canada and has been involved in discussions with other international agencies such as WMO and on international research cooperation and Environmental monitoring in the Polar Regions.  

The European Polar Board is the official coordinator of the ERICON - AURORA BOREALIS (European Research Ice Breaker Consortium), a project supported under EC FP7 as part of the implementation of the ESFRI roadmap projects. This € 4.5 m project will focus on the strategic, management, legal and financial aspects of implementing this large scale research facility.  

EPB was a major managing partner in the European Polar Consortium (EUROPOLAR) composed of 25 ministries and funding agencies and national polar authorities from 19 countries including the Russian Federation and Greenland Home Rule Government, and supported under the European Commission Framework Programme 6 ERA-NET priority.  

Mission Statement

Source: Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Germany

The European Polar Board is a ‘Strategic Board’ of the European Science Foundation facilitating cooperation and coordination between Directors and managers of national funded Polar Programmes with the aim of identifying and prioritising issues of Polar Science Strategy of common European interest and which add clear strategic value to the efforts of national programmes.

 

Overarching European Polar Board Mission areas

  • Influencing European Institutions (European Commission Services, European Parliament, and important supranational actors) in regard to Research investment and strategies in the Polar Regions.
  • Enhancing relations between Europe and key international partners with the aim of achieving critical mass.
  • Building a platform for Polar Education Communications and Outreach at the European Level. Seek opportunities for a long-term Europe-wide effort to convince the public and politicians of the importance of research in Polar Regions, and to secure continued investment.
  • Enabling the development of Polar research or infrastructure partnerships at the European level (based on initiatives of mutual interest identified by several European countries).
  • Facilitating mechanisms for European level coordinated policy advice on Research in Polar Regions especially in relation to the European Commission.

 

Overarching strategic objectives

Source: Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Germany

  • Strategy: to identify and prioritise scientific and technology issues of strategic importance, where relevant in close association with the European Commission.
  • Forum: to bring members together to share information, identify common problems and to seek collective positions and endeavours for European Polar Science.
  • Voice: to express a collective vision for the future European Polar Science and Technology in relation to developments in Europe and worldwide and to improve the public understanding of science in this field.
  • Harmonisation: to give European added value to the EPB members national programmes as well as being consistent with relevant international programmes; to interact with any relevant international scientific organisation and to facilitate the shared use of research facilities.