Final exploitation plans for iAtlantic results and outputs

 Throughout iAtlantic, the project consortium has developed openly accessible exploitable outputs that contribute high quality equipment and software to the ocean science and policy-making communities. These novel methods and technologies, including hyperspectral imaging and eDNA sampling, have been assessed and evaluated for their onward developmental value to the partnership for enhancing research capabilities, creating and securing opportunities for funding ambitious future research, and exploitation by third parties in marine management and the blue economy. Results also have significant impacts at a policy level in forecasting the impact of human activities and global change across Atlantic ecosystems, including the likely consequences that activities in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) might have on exclusive economic zones (EEZs), and in standardising approaches to the production of maps and management tools that facilitate comparisons across regions and improve management of common resources. Results are also highly relevant to industries undertaking area-based management, including deep-sea mining operations, fisheries and future offshore aquaculture. Continuous engagement with stakeholders such as industry and policymakers form a key part of iAtlantic’s exploitation strategy, and iAtlantic is committed to building on these relationships as part of its sustainability plans. Additionally, the project has established effective dissemination channels to disseminate results widely.

iAtlantic has made notable advances since its inception, making significant progress on TRLs and making all of our outputs openly accessible through enhancing data portals and publishing results in international, open access journals. The project has also further addressed the needs and gaps in capacities that were identified during the previous ATLAS project, which ran until 2019 (GA ref: 678760). iAtlantic’s Innovation & Exploitation (I&E) manager based at the University of Edinburgh has supported the development and dissemination of these innovative technologies, working with partners on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and commercialisation so that all outputs may reach their full potential. The project’s commitment to open science provides an important component of the project’s legacy and will continue publishing further scientific papers and best-practices guides beyond the lifetime of the project, and through engagement with the EC’s Digital Two Ocean (DTO) framework. Another key achievement of iAtlantic is the delivery of a strong capacity-building programme established through joint collaborations and designed by partners across the North and South Atlantic, facilitating the sharing of best practices and the testing of new project methods.