Data-driven Subnational Decision-making in the Arctic: the standards of data applicability and understandability

This policy paper outlines the key messages that subnational policy-makers, managers, and experts want to communicate to data and knowledge producers in the Arctic. It emphasizes that excessively technical reports filled with numbers and formulas can hinder decision-making processes and create additional work for municipal managers. The policy paper also provides an overview of the allocation of responsibilities among various levels of governance, as well as different departments and agencies, in relation to the key issues pertinent to the Arctic PASSION pilot services. These issues include wildfires, lake ice, shipping safety, and ambient air quality. The necessity for a more comprehensive understanding of the responsibilities held by local and regional authorities across different sectors and challenges was identified as a notable gap by subnational decision-makers during the Arctic PASSION session and workshop at the Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit Conference.