Who we are

Monitoring of climate, environmental pollutants and biodiversity, and geological and topographic mapping are key activities at the Institute. Another important task is environmental monitoring in the polar regions in cooperation with Russia, and circumpolar cooperation in the Arctic and Antarctica. Fieldwork and data collection have always been central to the Polar Institute, for example examination of polar bears around Svalbard, ice core drilling in the Arctic and Antarctica, and measurements of sea ice thickness in the Arctic Sea. The Institute equips and organises major expeditions and owns the research vessel Lance.

The Norwegian Polar Institute is a directorate under the Ministry of the Environment. The Ministry defines the scope and sets the tasks for Institute. The organisation has grown rapidly in recent years as part of the Government’s strategic initiatives in the High North. Within the research sector, the Centre for Ice, Climate and Ecosystems (ICE) has been created as part of the Institute, to intensify research on climate and ecosystems in polar regions, especially in the north.

The Polar Institute represents Norway in several international forums and collaborates with research institutes all over the world. The results obtained through research and environmental monitoring projects are passed on to the civil administration, research partners, expert groups, schools and the general public. The Institute produces and distributes exhibits, books, reports and a scientific journal, Polar Research, often in collaboration with domestic and foreign partners.

The roots of the Norwegian Polar Institute stretch back to scientific expeditions to Svalbard in 1906–1907: these were the direct predecessors of the institute established in 1928. The Polar Institute has its head office in Tromsø’s Fram Centre – a network of nineteen institutes with special competence related to the High North. The Institute also has staff members stationed in Ny-Ålesund and Longyearbyen in Svalbard and at the Troll Station in Dronning Maud Land in Antarctica. The Polar Institute has an office at its disposal in Cape Town, South Africa, and is a cooperating partner in running the Fram Laboratory in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The Ministry of the Environment defines the Institute’s responsibilities and sets its tasks. The Institute also has commissions financed by other Ministries, other environmental agencies, research institutes, the Research Council of Norway, and the EU.