MIT Sea Grant Strategic Planning 2018-2021 – Join Us June 1!

The National Sea Grant mission is to provide integrated research, communication, education, extension and legal programs to coastal communities leading to the responsible use of the nation¡s ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources. The individual Sea Grant programs, including MIT¡s, are expected to make significant contributions to this effort through research, education and outreach programs that feed into informed personal, policy and management decisions in the Commonwealth and the nation.MIT Sea Grant asks for your assistance in preparing our 2018-2021 strategic plan in support of the Sea Grant mission (2014 plan). Separate panels will be convened to consider the research, education and advisory outreach programs, respectively. Since we need input from the whole community, we would like to invite you to participate our panel meetings. If you cannot attending the meetings either in-person or remotely, please contact our Director, Chrys Chryssostomidis, by email (chrys@mit.edu). Please put “Input to Strategic Plan” in the subject line.SURVEY RESULTSIn preparation for the panel meetings, we recently hosted a online survey for stakeholders.[ VIEW RESULTS ]READ MORE BELOW

SCHEDULED PANEL MEETINGSMay 25, 2016, 12-3p – ResearchJune 1, 2016, 12-3p – EducationJune 8, 2016, 12-3p – Advisory OutreachPANELISTS for JUNE 1 [ view PANELIST BIOS ]

1. John Anderson – Director of Education, New England Aquarium
2. Lesley Kennedy – Manager of Teacher Professional Development, Boston Museum of Science
3. Christos Michalopoulos – Deputy Director of K12 and Informal Education, NOAA office of Education
4. Nicole Scola – Science Assistant Coordinator, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
5. Thomas R. Consi – Research Education Specialist, MIT Sea Grant College Program (Chair)

A. GETTING TO THE MEETINGParking near the meeting location is exceedingly difficult, so please use MASS TRANSIT or TAXI. If you must drive, limited parking may be available at the Kendall-Marriott hotel.LocationThe meeting will be held at the MIT Sea Grant main conference room, on the 3rd Floor of Bldg E38, which is adjacent to the Kendall/MIT subway stop.Address: 292 Main St, 3rd Floor, Cambridge, MAB. JOINING THE MEETING REMOTELYBe sure to include your first and last name when joining the meeting, so that we can collect a complete record of all participantsJoin WebEx meetingMeeting link: https://mit.webex.comMeeting number: 641 419 491Meeting password: Fe85F6vJMeeting link (Direct): https://mit.webex.com/mit/j.php?MTID=m44fed45601db324c89eaf861d95d1d7eJoin by phone+1-617-324-0000 US Toll NumberAccess code: 641 419 491Mobile Auto Dial:+1-617-324-0000,,,641419491#Note: The meeting will be recorded and posted online for referenceC. REFRESHMENTSFeel free to bring your own food and beverage. Water and some light refreshments will be providedD. REAL-TIME AUDIENCE QUESTIONSWe will be collecting questions from the local and remote audience real-time using Slido. These questions will be managed by the meeting host and shared to the web meeting.join at www.slido.com, Code 9800orhttps://www.sli.do/8abtfl8n (direct link)

INVITATION TO THE COMMUNITY FOR INPUTThe following background information will help you prepare your input. National Sea Grant Program activities are concentrated in four Focus Areas, considered to be of critical importance to the health and vitality of the nation’s coastal resources and communities:

• Healthy Coastal Ecosystems
• Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture
• Resilient Communities & Economies
• Environmental Literacy & Workforce Development

The focus areas were selected to allow Sea Grant as a whole to respond to issues of major importance. Each of the 33 Sea Grant programs is expected to prepare their own strategic plan to address these issues locally through research, education and community outreach and extension programs. There are certain broad categories of concern to coastal communities around the nation that have been identified by the National. However, MIT Sea Grant has historically been most successful when our research is tightly focused on specific challenges and approaches. For the last two years, we have given funding for work in ocean acidification as described in our RFP statement. The issues we consider currently significant and which, with your assistance, we seek to prioritize are:

• Sea temperatures are warming
• Carbon sequestration
• Fish populations are shifting
• Aquaculture
• Ocean acidification
• Comprehensive, reliable and cost effective Coastal and Ocean Observation
• Effective Coastal and Ocean Modeling and Prediction
• Ocean Pollution
• Detection of heavy metals in water
• Freshwater-ocean interactions

Each panel¡s charge will be to identify the most crucial issues in their arena ¤ research, education and outreach ¤ and to suggest methods and approaches to effectively address them. In addition to the panel meetings we are also conducting a 5-MINUTE SURVEY to collect input from the community at large. Your suggestions and recommendations will be greatly appreciated and will assist us in drafting the blueprint of our 2018-2021 strategic plan.Thank YouChrys ChryssostomidisDirector, MIT Sea Grant College Program