In April 2014 in Queenstown, New Zealand, the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) conducted a horizon scan to set priority research questions for Antarctica and the Southern Ocean that are relevant for the next twenty years and beyond. A group of 75 leading Antarctic researchers and policy makers refined a list of 866 questions gathered from international open online solicitation rounds to a final list of 80 questions. The use of the horizon scan methodology was effective in setting a directive for future Antarctic and Southern Ocean research but there were limitations to this process that could be remediated. Further prioritisation of the final list of questions is necessary. There is also scope for capacity building within both the framework of SCAR and the horizon scan which will provide vital mechanisms to facilitate the research that will ultimately answer the 80 research questions identified by the horizon scan