The purpose of the Prince William Sound Oil Spill Recovery Institute (OSRI) is to support:

• Research
• Educational projects
• Demonstration projects
  

All of which are designed to address oil spills in Arctic and sub-Arctic marine environments.

Authorized by Congress through the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (and amendments passed in 1996 and 2002), 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.