During autumn, the research programme Mistra Co-Creating Better Blue (C2B2) has kicked off with SND as one of nearly 40 participating parties. The purpose of the programme is to create a more sustainable, democratic, and open use of the ocean, and in this endeavour, data will be pivotal in ‘giving nature a voice’.
“SND’s role will be to promote access to open data for researchers in marine research projects. We will also contribute to making sure that the entire programme follows open data principles. It’s not only academic organizations who participate, but also many authorities and private entities. It's exciting and will be a bit of a challenge; it's a very extensive collaborative project,” says David Rayner, who coordinates SND’s efforts within C2B2.
Developing a holistic perspective
The programme will run for four years and aims to radically change how we perceive and utilize the ocean to ensure a sustainable blue economy. C2B2 will develop a holistic perspective to move away from strategies that focus on a single sector. Many different stakeholders and activities are covered and expected to collaborate within the programme, including fishing, aquaculture, energy, transportation, and tourism.
To succeed in the extensive transformation towards increased sustainability, the programme emphasizes the creation of new forms of collaboration and dialogue between researchers and the stakeholders who govern the use of the ocean. The focus is on managing marine ecosystems in a science-based, transdisciplinary, and long-term manner.
Support from the SND network;
“The big question is how different interests will find a way forward together. Increased accessibility and use of data are central to this process. From SND, therefore, we have an ambition to involve the SND network to, among other things, connect with researchers and ensure that their data are published and accessible for reuse,” says David Rayner.