In November 2016, a European consortium of scientists from different disciplines set out to advance our capability to predict the weather and climate in the Arctic and beyond in the framework of the EU-funded project called APPLICATE. In this presentation, I will describe the basic rationale behind this project and outline what is needed to make step changes in our ability to predict Arctic weather and climate prediction, and to increase our understanding of the impact of Arctic climate change in mid-latitudes. In this context I will touch on the following topics: model evaluation, model development, teleconnections, observing system design, education and stakeholder engagement.