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Feedback on the Ocean Decade Discussion Paper: Ocean Data Sharing and National Security (2026)

Thank you for reviewing the Discussion Paper "Ocean Data Sharing and National Security".

The paper explores how governments, research organisations, industry, defence stakeholders, and data managers can balance the benefits of ocean data sharing with legitimate national security considerations.

We invite and very much appreciate your perspective to help strengthen future guidance and recommendations.

This short survey is anonymous, contains only six questions and should take less than 5 minutes to complete.

For more information, please contact oceandecade@unesco.org.
1.Which stakeholder group best describes you?
2.What is your reaction to the paper's central principle: "Default to openness; justify restrictions"?
3.Are there any risks, opportunities, or considerations that you think are missing or underrepresented in the discussion paper?
4.How practical do you believe the discussion paper’s proposed mitigation approaches are (e.g. data aggregation, delayed release, tiered access, metadata standards)?
5.Have you been involved in policies, projects, data-sharing initiatives, or governance frameworks that addressed the balance between data sharing and national security?
6.Can you please share key lessons learned, successful approaches, challenges encountered and examples that could inform future ocean data-sharing practices?