Note from the Principal Investigator

Published: 27 July 2016

While a week may be considered a long time in politics (and by jiminy what a couple of weeks we’ve had in that arena, with more to come), the scales in time and space over which the Marine Ecosystems Research Programme operates seem to ebb and flow. Some simple things seem to take an age, while other complex tasks fall into place with no trouble at all in the blink of an eye. The major elements of the programme currently operating are roughly half way though and it is perhaps time to consider where we are, or more accurately, when we are in terms of delivering the programme. Accepting that the ERSEM development is on a slightly different time trajectory but well on track, we have roughly two years left to complete the tasks we set ourselves. The first year of the programme was largely taken up with scoping and integration, and the second with clarification of tasks and roles and increased scientific activity. We are now in a position to move forward to what I trust will be the productive period of the programme, working together in cross-disciplinary but self-assembling teams to address the big questions, and to write the types of scientific papers that none of us could write alone, or without the programme. With that in mind I urge everyone to be as inclusive as possible and to think strategically.
 
Currently we are writing our Biannual Science report, including as it does our plans for the next 6 months.  We are also planning our Annual Science Meeting, to take place in October 2016. Now is a good time to give serious thought to which elements of the science that you wish to do will be easier to deliver sooner, with full support from the programme for integrative activities, and which can be delivered later. It is so important, when part of a community, that you value and make use of all the opportunities and support it provides.