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2022-10-31-accounts

Annual Report:

1 November 2021 - 31 October 2022

The Polar Citizen Science Collective

Registered charity number: 1191998

A Charitable Incorporated Organisation registered on 27 October 2020

Registered Address: 27 Oaktree Crescent Cockermouth CA13 9HR

WHO WE ARE

The Organization

The objects of the The Polar Citizen Science Collective (also referred to informally as the Polar Collective) are, for the public benefit, to advance and promote scientific knowledge, understanding and education on any aspect of polar regions and related areas, in particular but not exclusively, environmental protection and improvement, by initiating, facilitating, coordinating and encouraging international scientific research activity in polar regions. It is governed by a trust deed.

The Polar Collective creates opportunities for research and public education through citizen science, leveraging the reach of polar travelers to enhance understanding and protection of the polar regions.

High costs and the complexity of access to the polar regions are often prohibitive to Arctic and Antarctic research. Meanwhile, an extensive network of ship and land-based tour operators, carrying engaged polar travelers is under-utilized for the purposes of science.

We aim to meet the needs of the polar science community by engaging travellers in data collection projects. We focus primarily on ship-based tourism but also aim to engage with land-based operations. While citizen science is a key method by which we aim to collect data, we do not let this focus prevent us from supporting other worthy scientific projects

that could be carried out aboard polar tourism vessels, whether by carrying trained scientists and observers or by instrumentation of the ships themselves.

The primary ways in which we support citizen science is by creating training materials, promoting projects to tour operators, explaining how to integrate these projects into daily operations and by providing coordination between data collection teams and project leads. We also undertake outreach to the science community to advertise the existence of what has the potential to be the greatest oceanic research fleet on the planet, and to generate new data collection projects. Finally, we work directly with scientists to assist them in creating projects suitable for placement within polar tour operations.

The trustees believe that they have complied with their duty to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the commission in exercising their powers or duties.

The People

Many people make up the Polar Collective including Board Members, our Secretariat, Advisors and Friends of the organization. An up-to-date list is maintained online at the following web address: https://polarcollective.org/team

The Polar Collective is guided by a board of trustees. This comprises a varying number of people who undertake strategic planning and high level decision making for the Polar Collective. They have varied backgrounds comprising polar guiding, governance of polar tourism, science, and the charitable sector. All have an interest in polar regions and their protection.

The Board

The board was made up of the following members during this financial period:

It has been identified that many of the members of the board come from similar backgrounds within the polar tourism community. To address this lack of diversity of background, recruitment is sought outside this community, while still seeking out those with an interest in the polar regions. Recruitment is sought within the polar scientific community and also with other stakeholder groups such as the Friends of South Georgia. New board members are elected through a vote of the board.

During this period Brandon Harvey stepped down from his role as a trustee and was replaced by Dave Finnegan. Dave is a retail executive from the outdoor clothing industry in North America, with expertise in marketing and consumer experiences. He has travelled to Antarctica and has a passion for travelling for a cause. It is hoped that his expertise will assist the board in our outreach efforts and attempts to connect with funders and with travellers.

We continue to seek out new talent for the board of trustees, particularly where we can secure greater diversity of background, skills and outlook.

In addition to the board, the Polar Collective is made up of several other groups and individuals:

Secretariat

Secretariat members do much of the vital day to day and technical work required by the Polar Collective, such as producing contracts, creating documents and working with scientific leads and polar tour operators. They report to the board and in addition their advice is sought when appropriate before decisions are made due to their crucial role in the organisation. They bring an understanding of both the scientific process and also polar operations, creating the special skill set that Polar Collective uses to marry science and polar tourism. Secretariat members are paid on a contract basis when this work is required by the collective.

Friends and Supporters

Friends and supporters make up an informal group of advisors or people working in the same field with overlapping aims. It consists of a mixture of experts on polar tourism operations, polar science and citizen science. Their expertise is sought on an ad-hoc basis, for example when researching or developing new projects. They do not possess any voting rights.

The Founders

The Founders are the original founding members of the Polar Collective. Several left the board before incorporation as a charity due to other commitments or so that they can fill other needed roles such as within the Secretariat. Currently, an informal verbal agreement exists whereby the Founders are kept informed of the Polar Collective’s operations and activities, and may be contacted for advice or assistance in the same way as the Friends and Supporters.

WHAT WE’VE DONE

In the previous financial year we identified several priorities. Below we briefly summarise our ambitions for the year and what we did in pursuit of these goals:

Identified priorities were:

1. Create a Principal Investigator Agreement, governing our relationship with researchers.

2. Create new partnerships with researchers and be involved in the development of new projects.

and susceptibility to climate change, and to detect the arrival and spread of non-native species

3. Increased fundraising, both through polar tourism operators and through other avenues.

With no internal fundraising expertise, we turned to an outside fundraising consultant, who was selected after a tendering process. They have been reviewing our needs, understanding out place in the sector, and helping us formulate a case for support and setting us up to apply for future funds.

4. Operator development and support

5. Project development and support

6. Marketing

The Training Platform

A major achievement is the launch of the training platform, which was rolled out in time for the 2021-22 Antarctic season. This provided signifant benefits to both operators and to

scientists wishing to provide training, creating a one-stop-shop for guides tasked with leading citizen science sessions. Initial feedback from scientists regarding the knowledgeability of guides who have used the platform has been good.

Five courses made up the training platform’s debut and during this period 195 guides were trained through the platform.

SPOTLIGHT: The Training Platform

The creation of the training platform was a STEP CHANGE in how the Polar Collective connects Scientists with Polar Tour Guides. Previously a scientist had to indiviaully contact each guide collectig data. Or, often the guides trained other guides, leading to a game of telephone and decreased data quality! The training platform eliminated the time required by each scientist and ensured that each guide received the training directly from the scientist. Initial feedback has been strong from both scientists and those collecting data!

CONFERENCES

We attended two conferences:

“Ocean Decade Laboratory – How To Achieve A Healthy And Resilient Southern Ocean” 10 March 2022 (Poster)

“CSA Conference: C*Sci 22 Connected where you are” 23-26 May 2022 (Two posters)

FINANCIAL REVIEW

With the resumption of expedition cruising there was a consequent increase in income. The vast majority of this was received from polar tour companies, either directly or through onboard auctions, with proceeds from travellers sent to the Polar Collective. This return to financial strength allowed us to resume our work and also to plan for growth and the future.

Funding was received with gratitude from:

PRINCIPAL PARTNERS:

Viking Expeditions

Polar Latitudes

Hurtigruten Expeditions

Ponant

OPERATING PARTNERS:

Quixote Expeditions

Cheeseman’s Ecology Safaris

In addition to this, as previously referenced, we have recognised a lack of fundraising expertise within the Polar Collective and so we initiated a tendering process to select a fundraising consultant. They began a process of building a case for support of the Polar Collective as well as stakeholder mapping. We hope that this process will lead to increasing fundraising success in the future.

Internal Financial Controls

A review was conducted of internal financial controls. Reference was made to Charity Commission guidance and advice when performing the review, and any areas of weakness were identified and addressed, with enhanced trustee oversight of outgoing payments and more regular financial updates to the board.

In addition to this financial policy, in line with Charity Commission advice, a reserves policy was created:

Reserves Policy

The certainty generated by contractual agreements with tour operators, plus the security afforded by operators’ generous commitments to future funding, has allowed for us to create a reserves policy.

$3000 USD/mo is required to keep operating at a normal level.

Given funds are received annually at the most frequent, an unexpected loss of funding may require significant funds to cover its loss and give time to replace this source of income. For

this reason we believe that 4 months of expenditure would be prudent. It is our aim to increase this to 6 months in the next 2-3 years.

When and How Reserves May be Spent

These reserve funds may be used for essential day-to-day operating expenses. Should the Polar Collective begin using its reserves in this way there should be a review by the Board of Trustees to identify and discuss the reason for this use of reserves and how to ensure that they are replenished as soon as possible by either increasing funding or reducing expenditure. The board should also discuss whether it will be necessary to wrap up the Polar Collective.

Review

This reserves policy should be reviewed every year.

THE FUTURE

This report is approved by the Board of Trustees who, on this date, are:

On: 24 July 2023

Signed

Laura Smith

Laura Smith, Chair

Final 25/7/23

Polar Citizen Science Collective

Unaudited Accounts

31 October 2022

Final 25/7/23

Polar Citizen Science Collective Contents

Page
Business information 1
Approval statement 2
Chartered Accountants' report 3
Profit and loss account 4
Balance sheet 5
Notes to the accounts 6

Final 25/7/23

Polar Citizen Science Collective Business Information

Accountants

Oaktree Accountancy (Cockermouth) Limited 27 Oaktree Crescent Cockermouth Cumbria CA13 9HR

Bankers

HSBC PLC 1 Forge Corner, Enderby Road Blaby LE8 3FZ

Solicitors

Stone King LLP Boundary House 91 Charterhouse Street London EC1M 6HR

Registered Office

27 Oaktree Crescent Cockermouth Cumbria CA13 9HR

Registered Charity Number 1191998

1

Final 25/7/23

Polar Citizen Science Collective

Approval statement

I approve the accounts which comprise of the Profit and Loss Account, the Balance Sheet and the related notes. I acknowledge my responsibility for the accounts, including the appropriateness of the applicable financial reporting framework as set out in note 1, and for providing Oaktree Accountancy (Cockermouth) Limited with all information and explanations necessary for their compilation.

Mr. Alex Cowan

25 July 2023

2

Final 25/7/23

Polar Citizen Science Collective

Company number CE023108

Chartered Accountants' report to Mr. Alex Cowan on the unaudited accounts of Polar Citizen Science Collective

In accordance with the engagement letter dated 7 November 2019, we have prepared for your approval the accounts of Polar Citizen Science Collective for the year ended 31 October 2022 which comprise of the Profit and Loss Account, the Balance Sheet and the related notes from the entity's accounting records and from information and explanations you have given to us.

As a practising member firm of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), we are subject to its ethical and other professional requirements which are detailed at icaew.com/membershandbook.

Our work has been undertaken in accordance with ICAEW Technical Release TECH08/16AAF.

Oaktree Accountancy (Cockermouth) Limited Accountants 27 Oaktree Crescent Cockermouth Cumbria CA13 9HR

25 July 2023

3

Final 25/7/23

Polar Citizen Science Collective

Profit and Loss Account for the year ended 31 October 2022

Income
Direct expenditure
Gross profit
Other business income
Expenses
Telephone, fax, stationery and other office costs
Bank, credit card and other finance charges
Accountancy, legal and other professional fees
Profit before tax/(loss)
Corporation tax
Profit after tax/(loss)
Gross margin %
Corporation tax payable 31 July		 2022
£
59,672
46,648
13,024
2
1,888
(2,778)
480
(410)
13,436
-
13,436
22%
-		 2021
£
3,646
3,646
-
-
252
333
1,672
2,257
(2,257)
429
(1,828)
0%

4

Final 25/7/23

Polar Citizen Science Collective Balance Sheet as at 31 October 2022

Notes
Current assets
Prepayments
Corporation tax repayable
Bank/building society balances
Current liabilities
Corporation tax
Accruals
Net current assets
Net assets
Capital account
Balance at start of period
Net profit/(loss)		 719
-
20,408		 2022
£
14,056
14,056
620
13,436
14,056		 761
429
1,079		 2021
£
620
21,127 2,269
-
7,071		 -
1,649
7,071 1,649
620
2,448
(1,828)
620

5

Final 25/7/23

Polar Citizen Science Collective Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31 October 2022

1 Accounting basis

The accounts have been compiled on a basis that enables profits to be calculated in accordance with UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice and that provides sufficient and relevant information to enable the completion of a tax return.

2 Profit and loss account analysis

Income
Grants receivable
Donations
Direct expenditure
Happywhales
Other subcontractors
Other business income
Interest receivable
Telephone, fax, stationery and other office costs
Insurance
Software
Bank, credit card and other finance charges
Foreign exchange losses / (gains)
Bank charges
Accountancy, legal and other professional fees
Accountants fees
HR support		 2022
£
38,999
20,673
59,672
63
46,585
46,648
2
727
1,161
1,888
(3,089)
311
(2,778)
480
-
480		 2021
£
3,646
-
3,646
3,646
-
3,646
-
4
248
252
151
182
333
330
1,342
1,672

6

Final 25/7/23

Polar Citizen Science Collective

Company number CE023108

Chartered Accountants' report to Mr. Alex Cowan on the unaudited accounts of Polar Citizen Science Collective

In accordance with the engagement letter dated 7 November 2019, we have prepared for your approval the accounts of Polar Citizen Science Collective for the year ended 31 October 2022 which comprise of the Profit and Loss Account, the Balance Sheet and the related notes from the entity's accounting records and from information and explanations you have given to us.

As a practising member firm of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), we are subject to its ethical and other professional requirements which are detailed at icaew.com/membershandbook.

Our work has been undertaken in accordance with ICAEW Technical Release TECH08/16AAF.

Oaktree Accountancy (Cockermouth) Limited Accountants 27 Oaktree Crescent Cockermouth Cumbria CA13 9HR

25 July 2023

3