International coordination 2016-2020 of the International Permafrost Association at the University Centre in Svalbard

In the period 2018-2020 the IPA Executive Director Sarah Strand and the IPA President Hanne H. Christiansen run the IPA Executive Committee, produced the annual newsletter, handled all communication for the IPA and run its Council. Both the IPA Executive Director and IPA President participated in the First International Southern Hemisphere Conference on Permafrost in December 2019 in New Zealand, IPA's regional conference in 2019. The planned 12th International Conference on Permafrost (ICOP) should have taken place in June in Lanzhou, China. It was cancelled and postponed till 2022 due to COVID-19. But the IPA Secretariat enabled the associated IPA Council meeting digitally in June 2020 and then the IPA got a new President Dr. Chris Burn from Canada by the end of June 2020. The IPA Secretariat conducted a handover to the new Secretariat in Canada over summer and early autumn 2020.

Vi har kjørt IPA Secretariatet i en 4-årig periode som var hovedformålet med dette prosjekt. Effekten har vært at IPA har vært tilfreds med arbeidet og ledelsen som Norge har gjort på denne måte i denne periode.

In this project we apply for support to allow Norway to coordinate the International Permafrost Association, IPA during the period 2016-2020 when Norway will have the Presidency of this association for the first time ever. The mission of the International Permafrost Association (www.permafrost.org) is to promote research in permafrost and permafrost-related fields within the global scientific and engineering communities, to support the activities of researchers in these disciplines, and to disseminate findings concerning permafrost to the decision-makers, the general public and educators. Thus operating the International Secretariat of the IPA is a contribution to international research cooperation and outreach primarily within cryospheric and engineering sciences, but also with links to biogeochemistry and social sciences. We apply for funding to support on a part-time basis the position of the IPA Executive Director who runs the Secretariat. We also plan to provide assistance to the establishment and operation of a Norwegian Permafrost Association (NPA), which will combine the different engineering and science environments working with permafrost in Norway. With the IPA President 2016-2020 Prof. Dr. Hanne H. Christiansen working at the University Centre in Svalbard, UNIS, we hereby apply for support to locate the IPA Secretariat with her at UNIS in the Svalbard Science Park in Longyearbyen, ensuring a good and efficient operation of the IPA during the Norwegian Presidency, which will also be the first female IPA President ever.