SeaPlan: Vibrant Economies • Healthy Oceans

Consultation/Collaboration Services

The SeaPlan team has been actively engaged in the practice of Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning (CMSP) since 2007.  Building on our experiences and lessons learned in Massachusetts and the northeast region of the U.S., we are well-positioned to assist others tackling CMSP or related challenges, including:

• State governments/agencies developing an ocean management plan for their waters
• Federal agencies involved in CMSP
• Regional  governmental entities charged with developing Coastal and Marine Spatial Plans under the 2010 National Ocean Policy and Executive Order
• Private interests – such as marine dependent industries, technology businesses and other enterprises – wishing to capitalize on valuable byproducts of CMSP, including increasing data availability and emerging models/ tools/products
• Foundations seeking to affect change by developing the scientific basis for policy/management decisions and/or by advancing communications and processes to support meaningful stakeholder/public engagement in public policy

 

SeaPlan Service Areas

• CMSP strategic program design and management: To be effective in politically charged, resource constrained, and often data-poor circumstances, CMSP at any scale must be thoughtfully designed, carefully budgeted and well managed.   The SeaPlan team brings proven integrated program design and management experience to help capitalize on project synergies and effectively leverage resources. Examples: In public-private partnership with Massachusetts, SeaPlan provided strategic, technical and logistical support for the first comprehensive ocean management plan in the nation;  support for Northeast Regional Ocean Council workshops in preparation for regional CMSP.

• Stakeholder engagement, public involvement and communications: Designing and conducting effective stakeholder and public processes can improve acceptance and durability of an ocean management plan.    Examples: Process design and support for dozens of productive, multi-sector stakeholder events (including listening sessions, workshops and working sessions).

• Human use data acquisition and analysis: Understanding where, when and how people use the ocean – and the value associated with those uses – is a critical component of marine spatial planning and an area where information is typically lacking.  Examples: design and implementation of the online 2010 MA Recreational Boating Characterization Survey; human use methodology inventory.

• Data integration, analysis, management and access: Current, credible and comprehensive data are only useful if people have ready access.  The process of coastal and marine spatial planning requires efficient access to multiple, concurrent data streams from disparate sources.Example: Enhancements to the MA Ocean Resource Information System (MORIS); Design and development of regional ocean data portal.

• Design and application of tradeoff analysis models and related decision support tools:   Accommodating new ocean activities in a seascape that already includes multiple competing uses is no simple task.  It not only requires access to comprehensive data but also the tools to rationally weigh the ecological, economic and other societal tradeoffs between competing interests. Examples: ecosystem services tradeoff analysis pilot study; cumulative use impacts characterization.

• Development of ecological and socioeconomic indicators for CMSP:  The only way to gauge the effectiveness of a management plan is to measure outcomes relative to goals.   Developing indicators designed to measure key ecosystem, economic and policy parameters and to effectively communicate progress to stakeholders, managers, policy makers and the media  is an integral component of successful CMSP.  Examples:  state and regional ocean planning indicators.

 

For additional information about SeaPlan work see All Science & Stakeholder Projects.  SeaPlan is committed to advancing science-based, stakeholder-informed CMSP. Please contact Stephanie Moura, Executive Director, to learn how we can help you meet your CMSP challenges.