Together, CIOOS and its partners are making knowledge about the oceans more accessible to everyone.
Established in 2019, CIOOS facilitates access to ocean data in collaboration with Canada’s ocean observing community.
The Canadian Integrated Ocean Observing System (CIOOS) is Canada’s national hub for ocean data, turning fragmented information into standardized and accessible knowledge. We give researchers, policymakers, and industry a trusted foundation of interoperable data that strengthens collaboration, supports innovation, and enables responsible ocean stewardship.
CIOOS is part of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), serving as Canada’s Regional Alliance within this international network to advance coordinated, sustained ocean observing worldwide.
Our mission
As Canada’s backbone for ocean data, CIOOS drives impact, generates insight, and fosters collaboration.
Our vision
In 2036…
CIOOS has established itself as Canada’s ecosystem for ocean intelligence, deepening our understanding of the ocean while powering informed decision-making and sustainable innovation.
Working together, we are shaping the future of ocean data in Canada
Our history
Since its inception, CIOOS has embodied the collective desire to better observe and understand Canada’s oceans.
A collaboration between institutional, governmental, and non-governmental partners, CIOOS was designed as a concrete response to the need to centralise, share and make accessible Canada’s ocean data. CIOOS works to integrate fragmented and isolated ocean data by creating an open-access national platform that facilitates data discovery for end-users.
Strategic plan
2026-2031
Turning ocean data into insight
CIOOS Strategic Plan 2026–2031 sets the direction for Canada’s ocean data system.
It outlines CIOOS’s vision to strengthen access to ocean data, advance collaboration across regions and partners, and support informed decision-making. The plan focuses on four strategic directions that position CIOOS as a trusted national backbone for ocean data and information:
National Leader
Affirm CIOOS’s vital role as the trusted national source for key ocean data in Canada.
Goal 1.1. Expand contributions of key ocean datasets to CIOOS, as identified by partners and user communities.
Goal 1.2. Contribute to the development of International Standards and the GOOS.
Goal 1.3. Communicate impact through Ambassadors and sharing success stories.
Empowering Communities
Empower ocean research and knowledge, connecting Canadian decision-makers and ocean-connected and Indigenous communities with high-quality, culturally informed, and FAIR and CARE ocean data and information products.
Goal 2.1. Ensure universal access and facilitate integration of core datasets and ocean models.
Goal 2.2. Advance CIOOS’s capacity to engage with Indigenous knowledge and emerging data types in ways defined by Indigenous partners and rights holders.
Goal 2.3. Provide datasets and information products that are user accessible and actionable for decision makers.
Organizational Development and Structure
Define the organizational structure of CIOOS to include all ocean and coastal bodies of water including the Great Lakes and the Arctic and clarify CIOOS’s relationship to its key partners.
Goal 3.1. Maintain, while constantly working to improve, collaboration between regions and with users and data providers.
Goal 3.2. Build partnerships in the Arctic and Great Lakes regions.
Goal 3.3. Formalize CIOOS’s organizational structure and governance and its relationships with key funding partners.
Goal 3.4. Stabilize funding through diversification of funding sources.
Data Sovereignty
Design or leverage existing, resilient and capable sovereign Canadian digital infrastructure to store, protect and distribute ocean data to the public.
Goal 4.1. Explore options for sovereign Canadian data storage.
Goal 4.2. Develop sovereign AI capacity to manage and support Indigenous and sensitive data.
Goal 4.3. Explore expanding towards a digital ocean twin.
Annual Reports
