The purpose of the Prince William Sound Oil Spill Recovery Institute (OSRI) is to support research, education, and demonstration projects designed to respond to and understand the effects of oil spills in the Arctic and sub-Arctic marine environments

Authorized by Congress through the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (and amendments passed in 1996 and 2004, 2005), implementation of the OSRI programs is directed by a 16-member Advisory Board composed of:

• Three Federal representatives from the Departments of Commerce, Interior and Transportation appointed by the Secretaries of the respective departments;
• Three State representatives from the Departments of Environmental Conservation, Fish and Game, and Natural Resources appointed by the Commissioners of the respective departments;
• Two representatives from the following:
  • Fishing industry
  • Alaska Native community, one of whom is a resident of Prince William Sound
  • Oil and gas industry
  • At-large
• One non-voting representative from the Institute of Marine Science at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and one non-voting representatives from the Prince William Sound Science Center.

The Advisory Board is assisted by a Scientific and Technical Committee.

The OSRI is located in Cordova, Alaska and is administered through the Prince William Sound Science Center (PWSSC), a non-profit research organization founded in 1989 to facilitate and encourage ecosystem studies in the Greater Prince William Sound region.