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In 2016, the National Science Foundation (NSF) identified 10 “Big Ideas” for advancing science and engineering research and guiding long-term US research investments. Navigating the New Arctic (NNA) was one of those big ideas, highlighting NSF’s continued commitment to funding research to help societies respond to a warming Arctic. NNA focuses on convergence—collaborations formed from deep integration across disciplines and knowledge systems to address vexing and complex research challenges that are pivotal for meeting societal needs (Wilson, 2019). The NNA initiative has funded over 100 individual and collaborative research projects since 2017, addressing topics ranging from thawing permafrost, to shifting weather patterns, increasing shipping, and adapting food systems. Research teams funded by NNA to work across the Arctic are composed of scientists from diverse disciplines, Indigenous knowledge holders, practitioners, planners, and engineers. 

Abstract Environmental observing programs that are based on Indigenous and local knowledge increasingly use digital technologies. Digital platforms may improve data management in community-based monitoring (CBM) programs, but little is known about how their use translates into tangible results. Drawing on published literature and a survey of 18 platforms, we examine why and how digital platforms are used in CBM programs and illuminate potential challenges and opportunities. Digital platforms make it easy to collect, archive, and share CBM data, facilitate data use, and support understanding larger-scale environmental patterns through interlinking with other platforms. Digital platforms, however, also introduce new challenges, with implications for the sustainability of CBM programs and communities’ abilities to maintain control of their own data. We expect that increased data access and strengthened technical capacity will create further demand within many communities for ethically developed platforms that aid in both local and larger-scale decision-making.