Wilson Center entrusted with Critical Arctic Documents from Guggenheim Partners

WASHINGTON, DC – The Wilson Center announced today that as part of a newly formed partnership with Guggenheim Partners, Guggenheim’s Arctic Infrastructure Inventory would be transferred to the Wilson Center and managed by the Center’s Polar Institute.

The Wilson Center’s Polar Institute raises awareness about critical issues facing the Polar regions by fostering research, dialogue, and programmatic activity on Arctic and Antarctic issues. 

Since 2013, Guggenheim Partners has maintained the Arctic Infrastructure Inventory, a proprietary data set that identifies and catalogues the infrastructure needs across the Arctic region. Created by Guggenheim researchers, the inventory is an open-source database for use by public and private sector participants to plan, build, and monitor a thriving and sustainable Arctic.  Guggenheim estimates suggest that over the next 15 years, USD $ 1 trillion of investment in the Arctic is needed.

"We are honored to be entrusted with, and expand upon Guggenheim Partners’ Arctic Infrastructure Inventory,” said Mike Sfraga, Director of the Wilson Center’s Polar Institute. We look forward to maintaining the high standard of research and program-related activities Guggenheim Partners is known for.”

“As climate change continues to transforms the Arctic, the Arctic will transform the world,” said Scott Minerd, Global Chief Investment Officer of Guggenheim Partners. ‘We are delighted to partner with the universally respected Wilson Center and confident in its ability to steward and expand the Arctic Infrastructure Inventory in line with our joint commitment to sustainable development in the Arctic and the world.”

This transfer of the Arctic Infrastructure Inventory is the first step in Arctic Infrastructure and Investment Program. Its mission will include:

• Maintaining the Guggenheim Partners Arctic Infrastructure Inventory via the Wilson Center’s Polar Institute website.
• Addressing the myriad issues surrounding the future of Arctic infrastructure and investment.
• Conducting data-informed research focused on infrastructure and investment development in the Arctic.
• Advancing the Arctic community’s understanding of the investment environment.
• Attending and presenting at appropriate regional, national, and international forums.

The partnership’s vision will build upon Guggenheim Partners' multi-year, foundational Arctic infrastructure research and inventory, and its leading role in developing and executing an Arctic Investment Protocol (now institutionalized with the Arctic Economic Council.)  The partnership with The Wilson Center is a natural evolution of these efforts through the development of an institutionalized and international legacy program.

Notes to editors:

The Wilson Center provides a strictly nonpartisan space for the worlds of policymaking and scholarship to interact. By conducting relevant and timely research and promoting dialogue from all perspectives, it works to address the critical current and emerging challenges confronting the United States and the world. 

The Polar Institute - As the polar regions become more critical socially, politically, economically, and environmentally, the Polar Institute addresses the practical questions and policy challenges facing the United States, Alaska, and citizens of the North. Current topics of priority include: shipping, port development, and infrastructure; environmental security; icebreakers and maritime capabilities; economic development; Arctic and Antarctic governance; telecommunications; domain awareness and national security; Alaska's role as America's Arctic state, and its unique needs, challenges, and opportunities; public understanding of, and appreciation for, the importance of the polar regions to our global environment, and; the Arctic-Asia-Pacific Rim nexus.

The Polar Institute addresses these issues through workshops, public events, policy forums, position papers, and other deliverables—leveraging community, domestic, and international partners to create a platform for the in-depth, holistic analysis of the polar regions.

For media inquiries, contact Ryan McKenna at 202-691-4217 or ryan.mckenna@wilsoncenter.org.