IPY 2007–08 and Social/Human Sciences: An Update

THIS REVIEW OF THE CURRENT STATUS OF ACTIVITIES in the social sciences and the humanities under the forthcoming International Polar Year (IPY) 2007 – 08 covers critical steps in the IPY planning and implementation process during the last 18 months (from January 2005 to July 2006). Unlike the earlier statements and preliminary outlines for the IPY (e.g., ICSU, 2004; NRC, 2004; Krupnik et al., 2005), this evaluation is based on the analysis of several hundred proposals submitted for consideration to the Joint Committee (JC), the main steering body for the IPY, between June 2005 and January 2006. The proposals were evaluated and endorsed by the JC as IPY “initiatives” in three rounds between June 2005 and January 2006. We believe that those proposals offer an insightful view of the general research interests and concerns of the polar science community on the eve of the IPY, which begins in March 2007. Our paper is written in appreciation of the great effort put forth by many people in the ongoing IPY planning and implementation process and in the hope that this spirit will be carried through to the funding agencies and towards actual research.