A SCAR Strategic Plan is a forward-looking vision of what SCAR should do to achieve its mission, vision and goals.  It provides an internal and external overview of SCAR and is a framework and guide to conduct SCAR activities in the coming period.

The previous SCAR Strategic Plan 2011-2016 ended in late 2016.  The preparation of a new Strategic Plan for the period 2017+ was begun in 2015 to allow adequate preparation and discussion. This culminated in a document presented to the SCAR Delegates at the XXXIV SCAR Meeting in Malaysia in August 2016, and the finished version being in place by the end of 2016. The new Strategic Plan went into effect on 1 January 2017.

Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research. 2017. Strategic Plan 2017-2022: Connecting and Building Antarctic Research. ISBN: 978 0 948277 53 5. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.229139

A SCAR Strategic Plan is a forward-looking vision of what SCAR should do to achieve its mission, vision and goals.  It provides an internal and external overview of SCAR and is a framework and guide to conduct SCAR activities in the coming period.

Summary

The study of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, and their role in the Earth system, has never been more important as the region experiences change that has global implications. The Antarctic region is a "natural laboratory" for scientific research of importance in its own right and impossible to achieve elsewhere on the planet. SCAR's strategic vision is for a world where the science of the Antarctic region benefits all, excellence in science is valued and scientific knowledge informs policy. SCAR's mission is to be the leading non-governmental, international facilitator and advocate of research in and from the Antarctic region, to provide objective and authoritative scientific advice to the Antarctic Treaty and others, and to bring emerging issues to the attention of policy makers.

SCAR will accomplish its vision and mission by:

• encouraging excellence in Antarctic and Southern Ocean research by developing transformational scientific programmes that address issues of regional and global importance;
• scanning the horizon to identify evolving issues and emerging frontiers in Antarctic science;
• expanding its activities to include the human element (e.g., history, social sciences and the value of Antarctica);
• providing objective and independent scientific advice on the conservation and management of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean;
• partnering with other Antarctic Treaty advisory bodies to provide objective and authoritative scientific advice (e.g., the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources and the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programmes);
• expanding its advisory sphere of influence on global issues to other audiences (e.g., the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change);
• affiliating with organizations with complementary interests to address regional and global issues;
• providing venues for presentation of the latest research results, exchange of up-tothe- minute scientific findings, and promotion of cross- and interdisciplinary communication (e.g., Science Conferences, Symposia, workshops, reviews, assessments, and syntheses);
• promoting an interdisciplinary philosophy and eliminating barriers to crossfertilization of ideas;
• motivating cooperation with Arctic counterparts (e.g., International Arctic Science Committee);
• preserving and building on the legacies of the IPY 2007-2008;
• facilitating unrestricted access to Antarctic scientific data as a portal to repositories;
• developing the capacity of students and early career scientists (e.g., Association of Early Career Scientists);
• encouraging emerging national Antarctic programmes;
• recruiting countries that have not traditionally participated in Antarctic research;
• promoting and facilitating the incorporation of Antarctic science into education at all levels; and
• informing the public and the media of the importance of the knowledge gained by the study of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean.

SCAR re-dedicates itself to its founding values, which are as valid today as they were more than 50 years ago.

The SCAR Implementation of 2009-2010 lists tasks and milestones identified by the SCAR Executive Committee in order to meet SCAR's overall objectives and the goals outlined in the SCAR Strategic Plan 2004-2010.

The SCAR Implementation of 2008-2010 lists tasks and milestones identified by the SCAR Executive Committee in order to meet SCAR's overall objectives and the goals outlined in the SCAR Strategic Plan 2004-2010.

The SCAR Implementation of 2006-2008 lists tasks and milestones identified by the SCAR Executive Committee in order to meet SCAR's overall objectives and the goals outlined in the SCAR Strategic Plan 2004-2010.

A SCAR Strategic Plan is a forward-looking vision of what SCAR should do to achieve its mission, vision and goals.  It provides an internal and external overview of SCAR and is a framework and guide to conduct SCAR activities in the coming period. The 2004-2010 Strategic Plan enabled SCAR to take a long-term view of its evolving role in relation to changing developments, including consideration of its potential role in the International Polar Year 2007-09.

Executive Summary

SCAR, the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, is the principal organisation dealing with Antarctic scientific research. Formed in 1958 to continue activities begun during the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58, it is an interdisciplinary committee of the International Council for Science (ICSU). Its area of interest includes Antarctica, its offshore islands, and the surrounding Southern Ocean including the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.

SCARʼs mission is “to be the leading independent organisation for facilitating and coordinating Antarctic research, and for identifying issues emerging from greater scientific understanding of the region that should be brought to the attention of policy makers”. To achieve its mission, SCAR aims to achieve five main objectives:

1. to initiate, develop, and co-ordinate high quality international scientific research in the Antarctic region, and on the role of the Antarctic region in the Earth system;
2. to provide objective and independent scientific advice to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings and other organizations on issues of science and conservation affecting the management of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean.
3. to facilitate free and unrestricted access to Antarctic scientific data and information;
4. to develop scientific capacity in all SCAR Members, especially with respect to younger scientists, and to promote the incorporation of Antarctic science in education at all levels;
5. to communicate scientific information about the Antarctic region to the public.

To ensure that it can deliver effectively on these objectives, SCAR has undergone a major reorganisation that was completed in 2004 with

1. the transformation of its Secretariat into an Executive Office headed by an Executive Director,
2. the creation of a streamlined structure led by Standing Scientific Groups on Geosciences, Life Sciences and Physical Sciences,
3. a more focused scientific research programme,
4. a new Constitution and Rules of Procedure, and
5. a new financial strategy.

SCAR is focusing its efforts on five Scientific Research Programmes addressing major topical issues of the day. These programmes are:

• Subglacial Lake Exploration (SALE)
• Antarctica and the Global Climate System (AGCS)
• Antarctic Climate Evolution (ACE)
• Evolution and Biodiversity in the Antarctic (EBA)
• Inter-hemispheric Conjugacy Effects in Solar- Terrestrial and Aeronomy Research (ICESTAR)

The bulk of the activities contributing to these programmes will be funded nationally. SCARʼs international coordination is intended to add value to those national efforts.

SCAR also supports a variety of other scientific activities in which value is added to national efforts through international cooperation. These activities are coordinated by Action Groups operating for short periods, and Expert Groups where more time is needed to achieve success.

SCARʼs activities will make significant contributions to achieving the goals of the International Polar Year (IPY) (2007–09). SCAR will work with partner organisations to influence the development of the IPY.

SCAR recognises the growing importance of working in partnership with other organisations having a global remit and including Antarctic interests, in order to place SCARʼs research firmly in the global context.

SCARʼs Standing Committee on the Antarctic Treaty System will work closely with the Standing Scientific Groups and the Executive Committee to bring key scientific issues to the attention of the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting.

In order to improve for the benefit of scientists the way in which data and information are managed and made available, SCAR will

1. review the activities of the Joint SCAR/COMNAP Committee on Antarctic Data Management (JCADM) and the Expert Group on Geographical Information (EGGI), and
2. work with JCADM and EGGI and the scientific community to develop a strategy for data and information management.

SCAR will also develop a strategy setting out how it proposes to meet the requirement to develop scientific capacity in all SCAR Members, especially with respect to younger scientists, and to promote the incorporation of Antarctic science in education at all levels. One key element of this strategy will be the development of a Fellowship programme building on the scheme that was supported in 2003-04 by the Prince of Asturias Prize.

SCAR will in addition develop a strategy to meet the requirement to communicate scientific information about the Antarctic region to the public. Steps have already been taken in this direction with renewal of the SCAR web site, and production of a SCAR poster and Power-Point presentation that are available on the web site.

To ensure that progress is made in these different areas, the members of SCARʼs Executive Committee will each carry a responsibility for a specific activity from a list including: the Antarctic Treaty System; Scientific Affairs; Administration; Data and Information Management; Finance; Communication; and Capacity Building and Education.

SCARʼs performance will be reviewed in depth at intervals of 8 years, and subsidiary groups at intervals of 5 years. The progress of all groups and the Secretariat against stated action plans will be monitored annually.

SCARʼs intentions are set out in this Strategic Plan for three biennial planning cycles covering the period 2004-10. The Plan is intended to show where SCAR fits in the world of science, to enable SCAR to take a longterm view of its evolving role in relation to changing developments, and to provide a blueprint for SCAR activities at the national level. It will be revisited at each biennial meeting of the SCAR Delegates, and revised as appropriate. The work programme and budget that the Delegates approve at each biennial meeting comprise the short-term components of an overall Implementation Plan. The specific requirements of the Strategic Plan for areas such as Communications will be translated into strategic and implementation plans for those specific areas.