EuroSea Legacy Report
Authors: Eparkhina Dina 
Published: January 2024

EuroSea is a holistic large-scale project encompassing the full value chain of marine knowledge, from observations to modelling and forecasting and to user-focused services. This report summarizes the legacy of EuroSea as planned and measured through a dedicated impact monitoring protocol, a holistic assessment of the project's successes in advancing and integrating European ocean observing and forecasting systems. Since its start, EuroSea has been analysing how well the project progresses towards the identified areas of impact. Impact assessment is not performance evaluation. These terms overlap but are distinct: performance relates to the efficient use of resources; impact relates to the transformative effect on the users. The EuroSea legacy report is presented through an aggregation and analysis of the EuroSea work towards achieving its impacts. Overall, over 100 impacts have been identified and presented on the website and in a stand-alone impact report. The legacy report sheds light on 32 most powerful impacts (four impacts in each of the eight EuroSea impact areas). EuroSea Impact Areas: 1. Strengthen the European Ocean Observing System (EOOS), support the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) and the GOOS Regional Alliances; 2. Increase ocean data sharing and integration; 3. Deliver improved climate change predictions; 4. Build capacity, internally in EuroSea and externally with EuroSea users, in a range of key areas; 5. Develop innovations, including exploitation of novel ideas or concepts; shorten the time span between research and innovation and foster economic value in the blue economy; 6. Facilitate methodologies, best practices, and knowledge transfer in ocean observing and forecasting; 7. Contribute to policy making in research, innovation, and technology; 8. Raise awareness of the need for a fit for purpose, sustained, observing and forecasting system in Europe. Ocean observing and forecasting is a complex activity brining about a variety of technologies, human expertise, in water and remote sensing measurements, high-volume computing and artificial intelligence, and a high degree of governance and coordination. Determining an impact on a user type or an area, therefore, requires a holistic assessment and a clear strategic overview. The EuroSea impact monitoring protocol has been the first known such attempt in a European ocean observing and forecasting project. The project’s progress has been followed according to the identified impact areas, through consortium workshops, stakeholder webinars, tracking, and reporting. At the end of EuroSea, we are able to demonstrate how well we have responded to the European policy drivers set out in the funding call and the grant agreement of our project, signed between the European Commission and 53 organizations, members of the EuroSea consortium. The project's impact is diverse, spanning areas from strengthening ocean observing governance to contributing to policymaking or boosting ocean research, innovation, and technology. Each impact area underscores EuroSea's commitment to a sustainable and informed approach to ocean observing and forecasting for enhanced marine knowledge and science-based sustainable blue economy and policies. (EuroSea Deliverable, D8.12)