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The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) was created in 2010 following the catastrophic Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. BP engaged Rita Colwell to form and lead an independent board of experts to oversee an unprecedented program of scientific research on the effects of the spill. As a new and uniquely funded organization, GoMRI quickly developed and implemented a set of management processes, policies, and frameworks while simultaneously building an interconnected research community that eventually grew to nearly 4,500 individuals. The GoMRI Research Board and Management Team successfully produced and operated a system for requests for proposals, grants management, scientific and programmatic data management, and outreach and education, and assembled a scientific synthesis of results to create a lasting legacy 10 years after the disaster. Here, we document the challenges and key decisions underlying the design and operation of GoMRI as a model for independent, industry-funded research. In short, GoMRI represents a unique multi-sector partnership and a community of researchers that will advance science in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere for decades to come.

Following the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill in 2010, the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) was established to improve society’s ability to understand, respond to, and mitigate the impacts of petroleum pollution and related stressors of the marine and coastal ecosystems. This article provides a high-level overview of the major outcomes of the scientific work undertaken by GoMRI. This initiative contributed to significant knowledge advances across the physical, chemical, geological, and biological oceanographic research fields, as well as in related technology, socioeconomics, human health, and oil spill response measures. For each of these fields, this paper outlines key advances and discoveries made by GoMRI scientists (along with a few surprises), synthesizing their efforts in order to highlight lessons learned, future research needs, remaining gaps, and suggestions for the next generation of scientists.

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