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IARPC leadership
Acting Assistant Director for Polar Sciences and Executive Director, IARPC
Nancy Sung
IARPC Acting Executive Secretary
Lesley Anderson, leanders@associates.nsf.gov
What is the IARPC?
The "Arctic Research and Policy Act of 1984," as amended (ARPA), established the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC), chartered as a subcommittee under the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC).
The "ARPA," Public Law 98-373, July 31, 1984, as amended, enables comprehensive national policy for research priorities, needs and objectives in the Arctic. ARPA establishes an Arctic Research Commission (USARC) and an IARPC to help implement the act. Formally created by Executive Order 12501, IARPC is chaired by the director of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), and its activities are coordinated through a secretariat supported by NSF and other agencies.
A July 2010 presidential memorandum redefined IARPC as a subcommittee of NSTC, reporting directly to the Committee on Environment.
IARPC, which consists of principals from 18 agencies, departments, and offices across the federal government, is charged with enhancing the scientific monitoring of and research on local, regional and global environmental issues in the Arctic. To meet the nation's economic, scientific and environmental needs, IARPC envisions a prosperous, sustainable and healthy Arctic, which is understood through research coordinated among Federal agencies and domestic and international collaborators.
IARPC external collaborations
IARPC collaboration teams are co-chaired by federal and non-federal leads and provide the structure for the implementation of IARPC's five-year Arctic Research Plan. Many team activities involve establishing and enhancing inter-institutional and interdisciplinary conversations. Harnessing diverse talent requires broad participation, and therefore, all collaboration teams are open to the public through the IARPC Collaborations Portal.
U.S. Arctic Observing Network
The U.S. Arctic Observing Network (US AON) is a sub-body of IARPC, mirroring the IARPC structure, with a federal advisory board and an open observing team through IARPC collaborations. US AON is co-funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NSF, with additional in-kind support from its member agencies.
Resources and reports
- IARPC Collaborations Portal
- Implementation Plan 2025-2026
- IARPC Report to Congress, 2022-2024
- Arctic Research Plan: FY 2022-2026
- Arctic Research Plan: FY 2017-2021
- Report to Congress, On the Need to Establish and Maintain a Sustained Arctic Observing Network, 2022
- Report to Congress on the Arctic Research Plan, 2017-2021
- IARPC Biennial Report 2018-2019
- IARPC Biennial Report 2016-2017
- IARPC Biennial Report 2015
- Arctic Research Plan: FY 2013-2017
- Principles for Conducting Research in the Arctic
- "Arctic Research and Policy Act of 1984" (ARPA), Public Law 98-373, July 31, 1984, as amended by Public Law 101-609, November 16, 1990
- July 22, 2010, Presidential Memorandum
- National Strategy for the Arctic Region
- National Strategy for the Arctic Region: Implementation Report
- 2015 Year in Review: Progress Report on the Implementation of the National Strategy for the Arctic Region
- U.S. Arctic Research Commission