ALBERT

Description: This document outlines the main communication objectives, messages, audiences, and tools of the EuroSea project

Description: Dissemination of project’s results and engagement with stakeholders towards a sustained results’ exploitation are intrinsically evolving. The vision of the project’s dissemination at the start of it should evolve as the activities progress. This plan presents an update on the EuroSea dissemination plans as seen a year after the kick-off.

Description: The Mediterranean community represented in this paper is the result of more than 30 years of EU and nationally funded coordination, which has led to key contributions in science concepts and operational initiatives. Together with the establishment of operational services, the community has coordinated with universities, research centers, research infrastructures and private companies to implement advanced multi-platform and integrated observing and forecasting systems that facilitate the advancement of operational services, scientific achievements and mission-oriented innovation. Thus, the community can respond to societal challenges and stakeholders needs, developing a variety of fit-for-purpose services such as the Copernicus Marine Service. The combination of state-of-the-art observations and forecasting provides new opportunities for downstream services in response to the needs of the heavily populated Mediterranean coastal areas and to climate change. The challenge over the next decade is to sustain ocean observations within the research community, to monitor the variability at small scales, e.g., the mesoscale/submesoscale, to resolve the sub-basin/seasonal and inter-annual variability in the circulation, and thus establish the decadal variability, understand and correct the model-associated biases and to enhance model-data integration and ensemble forecasting for uncertainty estimation. Better knowledge and understanding of the level of Mediterranean variability will enable a subsequent evaluation of the impacts and mitigation of the effect of human activities and climate change on the biodiversity and the ecosystem, which will support environmental assessments and decisions. Further challenges include extending the science-based added-value products into societal relevant downstream services and engaging with communities to build initiatives that will contribute to the 2030 Agenda and more specifically to SDG14 and the UN's Decade of Ocean Science for sustainable development, by this contributing to bridge the science-policy gap. The Mediterranean observing and forecasting capacity was built on the basis of community best practices in monitoring and modeling, and can serve as a basis for the development of an integrated global ocean observing system.

Description: The OceanGliders program started in 2016 to support active coordination and enhancement of global glider activity. OceanGliders contributes to the international efforts of the Global Ocean Observation System (GOOS) for Climate, Ocean Health, and Operational Services. It brings together marine scientists and engineers operating gliders around the world: (1) to observe the long-term physical, biogeochemical, and biological ocean processes and phenomena that are relevant for societal applications; and, (2) to contribute to the GOOS through real-time and delayed mode data dissemination. The OceanGliders program is distributed across national and regional observing systems and significantly contributes to integrated, multi-scale and multi-platform sampling strategies. OceanGliders shares best practices, requirements, and scientific knowledge needed for glider operations, data collection and analysis. It also monitors global glider activity and supports the dissemination of glider data through regional and global databases, in real-time and delayed modes, facilitating data access to the wider community. OceanGliders currently supports national, regional and global initiatives to maintain and expand the capabilities and application of gliders to meet key global challenges such as improved measurement of ocean boundary currents, water transformation and storm forecast.

Description: This report provides recommendations to foster collaboration and cooperation between technologies and disciplines and for implementing truly integrated ocean observing systems. Based on an intensive literature review and a careful examination of different examples of integration in different fields, this work identifies the issues and barriers that must be addressed, and proposes a vision for a real implementation of this ocean integration ambition. This work is a contribution to the implementation of EOOS, a much-needed step forward in Europe, following the international guidance of GOOS.

Description: The purpose of this report is to provide a compilation of the communication and dissemination activities in EuroSea. It also proposes, as a guide, some guidelines and considerations to be included in the Communication and Dissemination Strategy in European projects. Dissemination and communication activities are essential for the success of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation Programme, and the EuroSea project is no exception. The project has focused on improving ocean observing and forecasting for a sustainable ocean, and effective communication has been a crucial element in bringing together the interest groups, ensuring all stakeholders are to work towards the common goal of sustainable, science-based ocean management, as well as promoting and fostering public understanding of the importance and value of the ocean and its crucial role in climate change. This document offers a summary of the consortium's activities carried out during the whole life of the project (November 2019 - October 2023) related to all EuroSea communication and dissemination tools (official website, social media, newsletter, press release), as well as materials generated for the project (visual identity, printed and audiovisual materials) and the events-based dissemination. Key considerations in planning and strategy include defining project objectives, identifying target audiences, crafting effective messages, and selecting appropriate communication channels and tools. Evaluation and adjustment are also vital to measure the effectiveness of communication and dissemination activities. Overall, this guide could serve as a resource for any team involved in communication and dissemination activities in projects from Horizon 2020. This information will be instrumental in enhancing future efforts, maximizing the impact of the activities and ensuring the success of the project.

Description: Understanding and sustainably managing complex environments such as marine ecosystems benefits from an integrated approach to ensure that information about all relevant components and their interactions at multiple and nested spatiotemporal scales are considered. This information is based on a wide range of ocean observations using different systems and approaches. An integrated approach thus requires effective collaboration between areas of expertise in order to improve coordination at each step of the ocean observing value chain, from the design and deployment of multi-platform observations to their analysis and the delivery of products, sometimes through data assimilation in numerical models. Despite significant advances over the last two decades in more cooperation across the ocean observing activities, this integrated approach has not yet been fully realized. The ocean observing system still suffers from organizational silos due to independent and often disconnected initiatives, the strong and sometimes destructive competition across disciplines and among scientists, and the absence of a well-established overall governance framework. Here, we address the need for enhanced organizational integration among all the actors of ocean observing, focusing on the occidental systems. We advocate for a major evolution in the way we collaborate, calling for transformative scientific, cultural, behavioral, and management changes. This is timely because we now have the scientific and technical capabilities as well as urgent societal and political drivers. The ambition of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030) and the various efforts to grow a sustainable ocean economy and effective ocean protection efforts all require a more integrated approach to ocean observing. After analyzing the barriers that currently prevent this full integration within the occidental systems, we suggest nine approaches for breaking down the silos and promoting better coordination and sharing. These recommendations are related to the organizational framework, the ocean science culture, the system of recognition and rewards, the data management system, the ocean governance structure, and the ocean observing drivers and funding. These reflections are intended to provide food for thought for further dialogue between all parties involved and trigger concrete actions to foster a real transformational change in ocean observing

Description: The overall goal of this report is to analyse the EuroSea itinerant exhibition as a case study of public engagement activity. Aimed at the general public, this modular and itinerant exhibition raises awareness about the EuroSea project while also promoting ocean literacy and highlighting the importance of ocean observing and forecasting. Public engagement plays a crucial role in Horizon 2020, the EU's research and innovation funding program. It aims to bridge the gap between researchers and society, ensuring that their work is aligned with societal needs and values. This involves bringing together various stakeholders, including researchers, policymakers, industry representatives, civil society organizations, NGOs, and citizens, to foster inclusive and transparent dialogue. The benefits of public engagement are evident in the research and innovation process. It stimulates creativity and innovation, brings ocean science to a broader audience, builds trust and credibility and promotes ocean literacy and empowerment among citizens. Within Horizon 2020, the EuroSea Communication Work Package 8 focuses on public engagement activities related to ocean observing and forecasting, among other activities. To raise awareness about the EuroSea project and ocean observation, the EuroSea itinerant exhibition was created. This exhibition features printed panels, audiovisuals, and a photobooth that could be adapted and translated for different locations. The exhibition has been presented at 8 events and locations across Europe, aiming to engage the general public, promote ocean literacy, and emphasize the importance of ocean observation and forecasting. This report specifically focuses on three events targeted to the general public where the EuroSea exhibition was showcased: 1) 2022 European Researcher’s Night. 2022, September 30th in Palma (Mallorca, Spain); 2) 25th Galway Science & Technology Festival. 2022, November 13th in Galway (Ireland); and 3) 10th ‘Science for all’. 2023, May 11-13th in Palma (Mallorca, Spain). To evaluate the impact of the EuroSea exhibition, an online survey was conducted. The survey assessed visitor satisfaction, knowledge acquisition, interest in the topic, prior knowledge of EuroSea and ocean observation, and preferences for future engagement activities. A total of 41 people participated in the survey. The main results obtained from the analysis of the data demonstrate an overall positive satisfaction with the exhibition and a high level of interest in the topic. Participants reported acquiring new knowledge and expressed a desire for future engagement activities. Additionally, the survey provided valuable demographic insights into the participants, including their age, gender, employment status, educational background, and frequency of engagement in ocean science outreach activities. The findings from the survey will contribute to the improvement of future public engagement activities by better understanding the needs and interests of the public regarding ocean observation and forecasting. This document emphasizes the significance of public engagement in research and innovation, specifically within the EuroSea project. The EuroSea itinerant exhibition was developed to raise awareness and promote ocean literacy, while the survey conducted during the exhibition provided valuable insights into participant satisfaction and preferences. This information will be instrumental in enhancing future engagement efforts.

Description: This deliverable presents the Final Assessment of the observation and thematic networks as those represented in work package 3 of EuroSea, taking as a reference the information on Deliverable 3.2 Observing Network Initial Assessment. Following the same approach with D3.2 the original questionnaire was modified accordingly in order to depict the progress made on the same Network Attributes, Commitments and Benefits following the GOOS, OCG guidelines. The unforeseen COVID-19 pandemic had significant effects upon WP3 activities since the main mechanism foreseen to advance progress within the different networks was the organization of in person workshops. Moreover, adequate funds were allocated towards this in order to promote inclusivity and participation. Adapting to the new situation the first series of workshops had to be changed into online only events which despite the inherent difficulty, proved to have significant advantages as well. In particular they gave the opportunity for a significant number of people to join from all around the globe and participate in the events (for example the Sea Level WS). Another challenge proved to be the variability within some networks with sub-components or sub-groups having significantly different characteristics. In particular Eulerian platforms comprise a wide range of platforms - fixed moorings, surface buoys, cable bottom platforms - with some of them being part of mature and well-developed networks (OceanSITES, EMSO etc) while other are loose partners of on-going programs and projects (JERICO RI, coastal buoys). EuroSea activities had a significant positive impact on all the observing and thematic networks, actively promoting synergies and collaboration, with most of them successfully reaching Framework Processes Readiness Criteria Level 7 and above. Although progress at many different aspects must continue beyond EuroSea, it is important that the framework has been set. It is thus suggested that an annual evaluation/assessment process for each network/task team is adopted within EuroGOOS. By going through this exercise annually, each EuroGOOS Task Team (observing network) will be able to describe its current state, assess progress and most importantly to define next targets and priorities.