SWERVE is a Swedish National Infrastructure that aligns Swedish research vessel and data infrastructures across government organisations to enhance access to vessels and equipment, technical expertise and quality-controlled data.

Swedish marine scientists are researching some of society’s most pressing challenges, however these efforts are hampered by limited access to research vessels, advanced equipment, expert technical support, and the required data. Sweden currently operates 6 large (>24m) research vessels, independently delivering research and data. This capacity should support all Swedish researchers to undertake research, and to deliver the data to the international community, however vessel access is limited and expensive, equipment is institutional, and the data is siloed and infrequently delivered to repositories in a coordinated way.

The figure below illustrates the general marine science life cycle, from planning and funding applications, through data collection to delivery of research output. Every step in this lifecycle requires access to funding and research infrastructure, however, the infrastructure and funding required to complete this lifecycle is beyond the capabilities of a single organisation or researcher to deliver. Therefore, SWERVE will bring together the required data and vessel infrastructure from across the nation, to ensure the completion of this life cycle for Swedish marine researchers. SWERVE will achieve this by delivering 3 Modules:

1) Supporting national communication and networks
2) Technicians and Data
3) Access to Ships