Global Consultation
The Towards IPOS project is currently engaged in developing and refining the potential future IPOS mission, governance, participatory approach, financial model and partnerships, all of which will form foundational building blocks of the future IPOS. Broad consultations are ongoing to ensure co-design of the IPOS concept.
On July 3rd, 2024, the Towards IPOS initiative launched a global consultation running until mid-September. This consultation aims to gather insights from ocean organizations and experts to shape IPOS's vision, mission, and approach.
In case you missed it, you can re-watch the webinar recording on YouTube. Be sure to download the attached presentation slides to stay informed about the key points and discussions.
View the consultation launch webinar
Consultation process
The consultation is structured around 3 modules
Online survey
Open between July and early October
The online survey aims at testing emerging hypothesis and gathering feedback to feed the ToR development.
4 sections in the survey
Context: the need for an improved Ocean knowledge-society-policy interface
Our proposed solution: emerging ideas for an IPOS
Added value and positioning of IPOS
Who should we send the survey to
Fill this form if you want to participate to the ToR development.
Workshops
Between July and early October
As part of the ongoing global consultation process with a survey, the Towards IPOS team have in parallel been running workshops with UN institutions, other institutions and organisations and policy makers from several countries where we have presented our emerging concept followed by an hour of dialogue about feedbacks and comments they have.
Offsite seminar
Early October
In order to finalise the draft ToR so they can be presented to the European Commission and other Towards IPOS stakeholders, a proposed seminar aims to bring together members of the consortium and a small number of selected global experts.
The seminar will take place in Barcelona, the 8th and 9th of October.
What concept is currently tested
An emerging concept of the IPOS is currently being tested
Emerging vision statement for the IPOS
The IPOS envisions a world where political action towards ocean sustainability is enabled by access to timely, contextually relevant, actionable, inclusive and verified knowledge.
Emerging mission statement for the IPOS
Operating with an inclusive and systems approach, the IPOS brokers knowledge to deliver independent, timely, contextually relevant, and actionable support in response to States wanting to accelerate their implementation of international ocean sustainability targets and frameworks.
10 key elements identified to deliver IPOS vision operationally
Demand-driven: Respond to key knowledge questions proactively asked of the IPOS, reflecting the priorities of both decision-makers and of scientists/ocean actors.
Knowledge broker: Leverage data, existing science and knowledge provided by experts and existing organisations, focusing on the aggregation and synthesis of this knowledge to answer the demands.
Inclusive co-production: Involve the voices of local and indigenous communities, and other marginalized groups, and leverage their effective participation within diversified and transdisciplinary working groups including scientists, civil society and the private sector.
Systemic: Take into account the interconnection between climate and biodiversity processes, as well as land-sea interactions, in order to co-produce holistic pathways and coherent policy options.
Actionable: Propose outputs to States that are concrete and adapted to their local, national or regional context (cultural, economic, geographic, etc.), communicated in accessible plain language.
Timely: Ensure knowledge is brought to States within timescales that align with policy cycles and decision makers needs.
Independent: While ensuring the IPOS outputs are relevant to States’ needs, create and follow a set of guiding principles to ensure the independence of the IPOS processes.
Credible and legitimate: Explore hosting options and partnerships within internationally recognised institutions and adhere to clear and transparent procedures to guarantee the credibility and legitimacy of IPOS outputs (e.g; peer review)
Synergistic: Align with ongoing global knowledge production processes to ensure synergy and avoid duplication.
Reflexive: Monitor and evaluate effectiveness and adherence to core principles to foster ongoing reflexivity.
3 services could be delivered by the IPOS
Ocean Action Requests
This service allows countries to submit requests for ocean knowledge, which the IPOS synthesizes through a science-based, inclusive and iterative process to provide actionable insights and options to countries.
These outputs are prepared by hybrid working groups combining scientists, local communities, civil society and private sector experts, and will be publicly accessible.
Target users: Countries and intergovernmental organisations
Timeline for outputs: Up to 12 months after the request is prioritised by the IPOS
Ocean Sentinel
This service gathers inputs, suggestions, and alerts from civil society, the scientific community, and the private sector on ocean topics that should be prioritized by governments.
The IPOS centralizes and anonymizes these suggestions, presents them to relevant states, acting as a neutral whistleblower for crucial ocean issues, encouraging them to solicit the IPOS through services 1 and 3 on these topics.
Target users: Civil society, scientific community, and private sector
Timeline for outputs: Report made to states every 6 months
Ocean Quick Connect
This service provides rapid response to urgent requests from countries needing quick access to synthetized, verified information on ocean topics.
For instance, it can assist countries delegations in preparing a neutral and accurate knowledge base necessary for international negotiations.
Target users: Countries and intergovernmental organisations
Timeline for outputs: Weeks