D4.6 Selection report of the ARICE Call for proposals

To provide Trans-National Access to research icebreakers is one of the main goals of ARICE. Two calls for proposals were opened in the first half of the ARICE project lifetime, the first in 2018 and the second in 2019, offering transnational access to the following icebreakers: ARICE2018 was open from the 11th of April to 5th of July 2018 to apply for access onboard of: PRV Polarstern (Germany) in the frame of the MOSAiC Expedition, CCGS Amundsen (Canada) and RV Sikuliaq (USA). ARICE2019 was open from the 15th of April to 3rd of July 2019 to apply for access onboard of: RV Kronprins Haakon (Norway), IB Oden (Sweden), and MSV Fennica (Finland). Proposals requesting ARICE ship time were submitted through a unique entry point (see D4.2). A Scientific Liaison Panel (SLP) set up by ARICE (with experts in marine-based Arctic research, less than 50% from ARICE institutions) recommended external evaluators, and proposals were evaluated by at least three external experts. At a later stage of the evaluation process, the SLP convened for the Consensus Meetings to discuss the proposals and the external evaluations and to rank and recommend proposals for funding. In the case of ARICE2018 the consensus meeting was held in person and hosted in Brussels while for ARICE2019 the consensus meetings were organized by videoconference. The scientific evaluation of submitted proposals was followed by the logistic evaluation by the Operational Liaison Panel, a panel composed of the operators of the research vessels