An initial planning workshop was held at the University of Tübingen and hosted by the DFG Center for Advanced Studies. An outline for the OCSEAN project proposal was drafted, including the structure of the Consortium Institutions and external, non-EU partners. The workshop was attended by Christian Bentz (Tübingen), Martin Bodner (Innsbruck), Philipp Endicott (Paris), Johannes Dellert (Tübingen), Gerhard Jäger(Tübingen), Monika Karmin (Tartu), Maximilian Larena, (Uppsala), Daniel Lawson (Bristol), Mait Metspalu (Tartu), Hugo Reyes-Centeno (Tübingen), and Igor Yanovich (Tübingen). The meeting was administered by Monika Doll (Tübingen).