FUNDERS 
FORUM
2026 EDITIONS

Senior leaders from philanthropy, public institutions, science, and long-term capital will convene for a focused dialogue on how priorities, risks, and opportunities in ocean systems can be more effectively aligned. The discussion will centre on two strategically important European sea basins — the Baltic / North Sea and the Mediterranean, as well as on Ocean Observation as a strategic priority — examining where innovation, policy, and investment needs and activity converge, and where fragmentation continues to limit scale and continuity.

The session is designed to support shared orientation rather than immediate decisions. Participants will explore where different types of capital can play complementary roles, what prevents promising initiatives from progressing or being replicated, and what forms of coordination, intelligence, and sequencing could materially improve outcomes. The dialogue will also consider how learning from this exchange can inform more coherent approaches to portfolio design, capital stacking, matched - funding, syndicated models and guarantees and other capital deployment, and potential coordinated actions over the 2026 cycle and beyond.