The Steering Group also reviewed the draft ODIS Progress Report, Work Plan and Budget for 2028–2029, expressing general support for its direction while identifying areas for further refinement ahead of IODE-29, including alignment with GOOS, the emerging IOC Data Architecture, and evolving data principles and readiness frameworks. Members were invited to complete their review of both the draft work plan and the ODIS communications piece by 27 August 2026. The next Steering Group meetings are scheduled for 17 and 18 September 2026. Full meeting details are available on OceanExpert. The full meeting report can be accessed here, and the draft Progress Report, Work Plan and Budget can be accessed here.

This post will be updated once the official meeting report is published.

The group also discussed practical priorities, including restoring the data discovery/search interface and identifying sustainable resourcing to support it going forward. The Steering Group agreed to establish two new Task Teams: one on Communications and Operations, tasked with drafting a Vision Statement for ODIS/OIH, and one on NODC/ADU Support, focused on supporting data centres through the accreditation process. A consultancy to support the IOC Data Architecture Implementation Plan is also in progress, with a Request for Proposals nearing completion. The Steering Group's workplan is due by the end of August 2026, ahead of approval at IODE-29 (5–9 October 2026), and the next meeting is scheduled for 21 April 2026. Full meeting details are available on OceanExpert, and the full report can be accessed here.

We are happy to welcome Mr Adam Leadbetter and Ms Elena Tel as the co chairs to this new ODIS Steering Group.

Mr Adam Leadbetter has been involved in environmental data management for over 20 years: as a staff member at the British Oceanographic Data Centre; leading the data management team at Ireland's Marine Institute; developing a sustainability data and insights function in a multi-national consumer electronics company; and most recently as a consultant to the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission leading the Decade Coordination Office for Ocean Data Sharing. He joined the ODIS Steering Group as a member state nominee from Ireland, having previously being involved with ODIS at the beginning of the OceanInfoHub project. He looks forward to working with the ODIS Steering Group and Operation Group to evolve ODIS to allow for data access and to build new data products to support the work of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable development.

Ms Elena Tel a PhD in Physics and Senior Researcher at the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO-CSIC), her work focuses on the management, standardization, and exploitation of oceanographic data, particularly physical and chemical data. Her research includes the generation of high-quality time series and climatologies, the development of automated data acquisition systems on research vessels, and the maintenance of the institutional tide gauge network. She has participated in 25 oceanographic cruises, many as hydrography lead, gaining extensive experience in in situ data acquisition and validation.

Since 2017, she has headed the Spanish National Oceanographic Data Centre (NODC-Spain), coordinating technical and scientific activities related to marine data management, quality control, and dissemination. Under her leadership, automated workflows have significantly reduced data processing times in line with international standards and FAIR principles. She actively promotes open data and represents Spain in several IOC-UNESCO bodies, including IODE national representation, while also contributing to training, outreach, and academic supervision.

Following the meeting, the co-chairs are set to attend the IODE Management Group meeting in Oostende, Belgium, on 28–29 January 2026, after which they will convene the next meeting of the ODIS Steering Group.

The full list of Steering Group members is available on OceanExpert. The full meeting report is available here, and further meeting details on OceanExpert.

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.

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On 16 May 2024 the final Ocean Infohub meeting took place (online) in 2 different time zones, so that all regional partners could attend. During this meeting the progress (since the SG-IV meeting in October 2023) was discussed, together with a overview on the transition to come of the Ocean Infohub Project to the Ocean Data and Information System as a IODE Programme component. All 3 pilot regions gave an overview on the achievements, the challenges and activities to come. The final meeting report can be found on OceanExpert: https://oceanexpert.org/document/37533

This website will have more information in the months to come