The development of PYRN

PYRN has continuously evolved since its establishment at the 2nd ICARP 2005 and IPY 2007–2008. By 2006 it already had 250 members from 20 countries (Lantuit, Reference Lantuit2006). During IPY, registrations increased rapidly, with 620 members by the end of IPY in 2008 (Lantuit, Reference Lantuit2007). PYRN largely benefited from IPY momentum; its membership expanded to ∼1200 by 2015 (Tanski, Lenz, Radosavljevic, & Strauss, Reference Tanski, Lenz, Radosavljevic and Strauss2015). Since 2005 there have been seven executive committees, each coordinating the network successfully. PYRN’s evolution and its main milestones are synthesised in Table 1. All major activities and events since 2005 are listed in Supplementary Table S1 and include the PYRN young researcher assemblies, workshops, and awards during the international and regional conferences on permafrost, which were a focus task of each governing period. More detailed information on individual time periods and young researcher activities during permafrost conferences is accessible in IPA’s news bulletin Frozen Ground (ipa.arcticportal.org/publications/frozen-ground) and on PYRN’s website (pyrn.arcticportal.org/).

Table 1. PYRN milestones since its establishment in 2005. All major PYRN events and highlights since 2005 are listed in Table S1.

The initial years (2005–2010) of PYRN focused on network development, with an internal structure consisting of an executive committee and national representatives, an online presence, a monthly newsletter, and a thesis bibliography. PYRN’s 2007 official kick-off meeting was held in Sweden (Fig. S1). PYRN meetings during IPY set the stage for numerous IPA–IPY–PYRN activities (Baeseman et al., Reference Baeseman, Xavier, Lantuit, Taylor, Krupnik, Allison, Bell, Cutler, Hik, López-Martínez and Summerhayes2011; Lantuit, Reference Lantuit2007); a major initiative included the PYRN Thermal State of Permafrost project (Christiansen, Prick, & Lantuit, Reference Christiansen, Prick and Lantuit2007; Christiansen et al., Reference Christiansen, Etzelmüller, Isaksen, Juliussen, Farbrot, Humlum and Ødegård2010).

In the next period (2010–2012) PYRN’s mission and objectives were refocused and internal organisation restructured, following the initial successful IPY years, creating sustainability and proceeding from the momentum provided by IPY. A memorandum of understanding between PYRN, IPA and APECS established PYRN as the primary organisation for coordinating young permafrost researchers. Emphasis was placed on creating a more inclusive, team-oriented approach to governing the PYRN network.

In the following period (2012–2014) PYRN’s activities intensified, fostered by new motivation gained from the 10th International Conference on Permafrost in Russia in 2012 and the memorandum of understanding with APECS. A major outcome of this period was a strategy paper about future avenues for permafrost science from the perspective of early-career researchers (Fritz et al., Reference Fritz, Deshpande, Bouchard, Högström, Lepage, Morgenstern and Weege2015), which was formulated collaboratively with IPA as a contribution to the 3rd ICARP in 2015.

The next period (2014–2016) was characterised by network professionalisation. A four-year agenda and long-term strategy were developed to enhance network visibility, transparency, and cooperation with IPA. Various strategic initiatives were achieved, including a major member list update. This membership overhaul revealed that East Asian colleagues were strongly underrepresented within PYRN. Outreach activities were therefore specifically designed to better engage permafrost researchers in Korea, Japan and China. PYRN improved its overall online outreach by better utilising its website and social networks, in particular increasing its Facebook following, which rose from almost zero in June 2014 to >600 in June 2016. This period culminated in the largest gathering of PYRN members so far, at the 11th International Conference on Permafrost, in Germany in 2016 (Fig. S2).

Recent activities (2016–2018) have focused on strengthening national PYRN representation and establishing an improved social network presence. The Facebook following further increased to >800 people. The PYRN mailing list and newsletter remained the key tools to communicate with members and the polar research community. A major outreach effort was devised; the ‘Frozen-Ground Cartoons’ project (see Bouchard et al., Reference Bouchard, Sansoulet, Fritz, Malenfant-Lepage, Nieuwendam, Paquette and Harbor2019), an international, interdisciplinary scientific outreach initiative, aims at making permafrost science accessible and fun for the public (Nääs et al., Reference Nääs, Ross, Bouchard, Deshpande, Fritz, Malenfant-Lepage and Habeck2017).

PYRN’s international structure and regional branches

Since its founding, PYRN has changed its executive structure to adapt to evolving member needs. The first executive committees (2005–2012) consisted of two to three members, each with multiple tasks. The executive committees since 2012 have consisted of 12 members with more specified tasks (Fig. 1). Currently PYRN is led by an executive committee, supported by a Council and several national representatives. The executive committee directs PYRN’s activities. The Council is an advisory panel and provides PYRN member feedback to the executive committee. National representatives are regular PYRN members representing a specific country and are part of the Council. PYRN implemented a Constitution and Bylaws in 2012, which were first drafted in 2007.

Fig. 1. Organogram displaying the latest organisational structure of PYRN (2018–2020).

PYRN hosts independently operating national branches; the most active are PYRN Russia, PYRN D-A-CH (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland), and PYRN NA (North America; USA and Canada). PYRN Russia (http://vk.com/pyrn_russia) is the oldest branch. Its goal is to improve the qualifications of young permafrost researchers in Russia, secure funding, and provide solutions to language-barrier problems (Kraev et al., Reference Kraev, Stanilovskaya, Belova, Lupachev, Shmelev, Maslakov and Frolov2013). PYRN D-A-CH’s main aim is to bring polar and alpine permafrost communities in German-speaking countries closer together. It has gathered annually since 2009 (polarforschung.de/arbeitskreise/ak-permafrost/). PYRN NA was launched simultaneously in Canada and the USA in 2017. Its main objective is to improve networking of young permafrost researchers based in Canada and the USA.

PYRN’s first 2015 census and member survey

The 2015 census (in English) reviewed the PYRN membership according to PYRN’s definition of a young researcher (pyrn.arcticportal.org/about-us/constitution-bylaws) to improve performance and networking capabilities. The objectives were to learn how many PYRN members were active (i.e. receiving information and responding), their locations, their career stage, and their research topics. The census was sent to registered members and to various media channels. The survey was conducted with support from the United States Permafrost Association, APECS, and IPA.

In total, 200 members completed the survey (via Google Forms online) in 2015; 79 women and 121 men represented 26 countries (Figs S4 & S5). Most participants were young (mean age = 30 years) and had an academic background. The majority had a master’s degree, followed by PhDs and undergraduates (Fig. S3). Of the 1200 officially registered members, many may not meet the requirement of ‘young researcher’ anymore, and others are inactive. However, the survey gives a sample of the active PYRN members on which the network relies, and this number roughly matches the ∼280 young researchers that gathered at the 11th International Conference on Permafrost 2016 in Germany (Fig. S2). The survey revealed that to PYRN members, information on funding, workshops and meetings is most important. Less important are social media, literature access, pictures and videos, or education and outreach. A summary of questions can be found in Table S2.

Future plans and visions: the IPY legacy

PYRN has improved its impact by constantly engaging with members and partners. Social media use improved network visibility, with >800 followers on Facebook in 2018. The PYRN survey helped to consolidate members and improve network communication efforts as part of a long-term strategy supported by the IPA. Survey outcomes guided PYRN’s plans. In response to survey results, PYRN will enhance (or has already enhanced) its online media presence through outlets (e.g. YouTube, Instagram and Facebook) that have been under development since 2014. Although PYRN members indicated that social media is not a development priority and that information on funding and positions should be the network focus, social media is nonetheless an effective mechanism to disseminate information, and offers opportunities to reach out beyond PYRN membership and to attract popular interest in permafrost.

In the future, following a survey recommendation, PYRN plans to establish branches (PYRN Europe or PYRN Northern Europe) to facilitate efforts and promote regional gatherings. Improved interactions with Asian members are a priority; PYRN seeks to capitalise on the upcoming 12th International Conference on Permafrost in China to establish a PYRN Asia or East Asia branch.

PYRN has created a strong, networked community committed to permafrost research; members remain connected to PYRN after their departure from the organisation. Former members, now mentors, take part in PYRN workshops, informally comment on and are involved in PYRN social media activities, and become involved in large research projects. This community has articulated a strong permafrost research vision (Fritz et al., Reference Fritz, Deshpande, Bouchard, Högström, Lepage, Morgenstern and Weege2015) and has proposed future collaborative avenues for early-career and senior scientists. Ultimately, a PYRN Alumni Network is envisioned to give a forum to PYRN members from all generations, many of whom connected as young researchers during IPY 2007–2009.