Readout of the 2022 Annual Interagency Arctic Research Committee Principals Meeting

The annual meeting of the Interagency Arctic Research Committee (IARPC) Principals was held Wednesday, September 28, 2022 as a hybrid event. Agencies and offices in attendance included: Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Commerce, Marine Mammal Commission, Smithsonian Institution, Department of Agriculture, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Science Foundation, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of the Interior, Department of Transportation, Department of Defense, Health and Human Services, Denali Commission, Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of State, Office of Management and Budget, and Office of Science and Technology Policy.  Official engagement from OSTP included Climate and Environment as well as the Arctic Executive Steering Committee.

Dr. Alondra Nelson, performing the duties of Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), provided opening remarks; Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan, Director of NSF and IARPC Chair, led the meeting. IARPC welcomed the Denali Commission and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as new IARPC agency members.

The meeting included a review of the Draft Biennial Implementation Plan for the 2022-2026 Arctic Research Plan. All agencies indicated support for the draft Plan, highlighting the importance of both fundamental and applied research that is responsive to the needs of a changing Arctic, and welcomed the addition of the Participatory Research and Indigenous Lead Research Foundational Activity.

IARPC agencies heard updates on a draft report to Congress on a sustained Arctic Observing Network (AON), across atmospheric, marine, and terrestrial systems to support decision making across scales. IARPC agencies, with leadership from the Federal U.S. AON Board, developed the draft report in response to the Committee Report accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022. The committee asked OSTP to submit an analysis “on the need to establish and maintain a sustained Arctic observing network, including recommendations on the implementation and construction of such a network.” Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Deputy Director for Climate and the Environment at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, led discussion of this report and the need for a sustained Arctic Observing Network.

The meeting highlighted shared priorities between the U.S. Arctic Research Commission and IARPC, enhancing the alignment across the Federal government on Arctic research priorities.

IARPC is an interagency working group of the National Science and Technology Council that brings together leaders from across the Federal government to enhance research in the Arctic.

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