science
Norwegian Government Strengthens Research Leadership in Svalbard With Updated Strategy and New Research Office
To strengthen Norwegian research leadership in Svalbard and facilitate safe international research collaboration, the government is now launching an updated strategy for research and higher education and a new research office in Svalbard.
Published
The new research office will facilitate high-quality research, be a resource for research communities in Svalbard, and reduce the overall impact on nature.
This was reported by the Ministry of Education and Research in a press release.
"Svalbard is important for the overall global knowledge of the Arctic. Norway is the world's eyes and ears in the North, and this is particularly important now. We have facilitated international research collaboration in Svalbard for over 60 years, and we will continue to do so. It is both more important and more demanding than before in today's security situation. We are now strengthening Norwegian research leadership and facilitating safe, high-quality research collaboration," says Minister of Research and Higher Education Sigrun Aasland (Labor).
She is in Svalbard from the 3rd to the 5th March for the official opening of the Svalbard research office. In addition, there will be an official opening of Svea, which UNIS will use for field-based teaching and research.
The new office will be staffed by employees from the Research Council of Norway and the Norwegian Polar Institute.
The security policy developments have implications for how Norway, also in Svalbard, collaborates with foreign research institutions and organises research activities. National security and research security are even more important than before. As elsewhere in the knowledge sector, the goal is for research in Svalbard to be as open as possible and as secure as necessary.
"In Svalbard, we exercise research management by keeping an overview and coordinating research activities, and the updated strategy will become an important tool in this work," says Minister of Justice and Public Security Astri Aas-Hansen (Labor).
Svalbard is one of Europe's last great wilderness areas and a unique reference area for climate and environmental research.
"The nature in Svalbard is among the most vulnerable in the world, and activities related to research also put pressure on the environment. Therefore, it is important that we now ensure better coordination to reduce the overall burden and ensure that nature can withstand the pressure," says Minister of Climate and Environment Andreas Bjelland Eriksen (Labor).
About the strategy for research and higher education in Svalbard
The strategy for research and higher education in Svalbard was first adopted in 2018. Since 2018, the security policy landscape has changed, and Svalbard has undergone significant changes, including societal transformation, increased activity and field travel, as well as the consequences of climate change.
This necessitates an update of the strategy. It is now updated in line with the new Svalbard report from 2024 and the parliamentary report on secure knowledge in an uncertain world from 2025. The strategy now provides clearer guidelines for research and educational activities, and thus becomes a strengthened tool for Norwegian research management.
About the Svalbard Research Office
The Svalbard Research Office is based in Longyearbyen and consists of resources from the Research Council of Norway and the Norwegian Polar Institute.
The main tasks of the office will be to follow up on the research strategy for Svalbard, serve as a clear contact point and resource for research communities, facilitate high-quality research, coordinate research to reduce the overall impact on nature, and prepare an annual report.
The office will contribute to fulfilling the ambitions in the Svalbard white paper and the strategy for research and higher education in Svalbard.
The update of the strategy and the establishment of the research office are also key measures to promote long-term work on research security and responsible international knowledge collaboration in Svalbard.
