On 9 December 2025, the Ocean Data and Information System (ODIS) Steering Group held its Fourth Session, chaired by Joanna Post, Head of Section. The virtual meeting, held across two sessions to accommodate different time zones, marked the first meeting of the newly constituted Steering Group. Attendees heard a presentation from Lucy Scott on the history of ODIS and the Ocean InfoHub Project, tracing its origins from the IODE Committee’s 2017 decision to develop an interoperable global ocean data system through to its formal establishment by the IOC Assembly in 2021 and its designation as an IODE Programme Component in 2023. Dr Pier Luigi Buttigieg, former chair of ODIS, also presented on the foundational principles and technical status of ODIS, and on strategic considerations for the system’s Phase II, while Dr Post presented the Terms of Reference for ODIS and for the Steering Group itself.
The meeting also included a Q&A session covering topics such as the role of the newly constituted ODIS Operations Group, interoperability work between ODIS and WMO’s WIS 2.0, the protection of local and Indigenous knowledge within ODIS data patterns, and the possibility of ODIS offering basic architectural guidance to help national oceanographic data centres and associated data units set up the infrastructure needed to share their data. Dr Post noted that a short Steering Group meeting would be held in early January 2026 to confirm the group’s two co-chairs, who would then be expected to attend the IODE Management Group meeting on 28–29 January 2026. Going forward, the Steering Group intends to meet quarterly. Full details on participants and the meeting proceedings are available on OceanExpert, and the full meeting report can be accessed here.