The Oceans Research in Canada Alliance is a community of Canadian experts working together to advance the coordination of ocean science and technology (S&T).
The community came together in 2017 to build an organization that would address the challenges facing Canadian ocean S&T, namely the vision gap, coordination gap and information gap identified by the Canadian Council of Academies. The community set into motion the creation of ORCA based on a set of foundational principles (Figure 1), set out the proposed structure for ORCA (Figure 2), and identified six key Challenge Areas (Figure 3). For each of these Challenge Areas, the community identified the “preferred future” and provided insight on pathways to achieve these goals.
Figure 1. The foundational principles of ORCA drive all of the collaborative work that we do.
Figure 2. The structure of the Oceans Research in Canada Alliance.
Figure 3. The six Challenge Areas that ORCA will address as a community.
ORCA is now a community of practice with over 450 members from 150 organizations, from coast to coast to coast. All sectors and disciplines related to the oceans are represented in its membership. It provides a national forum for important ocean research-related discussions, to improve information sharing, coordination and networking.
In 2018, members met to take part in community building activities and to identify and refine key collaborative initiatives that the community should undertake to advance coordination in Canadian ocean S&T. Over the last year, progress has begun on key community-led initiatives in all Challenge Areas.