The following items are excerpted from the Florida Sea Grant Strategic Plan, and represent priorities for extension, outreach and service that complement the research issues listed in section B. Proposed investigators are advised to consider how this information relates to the potential participants, applications, and delivery of results sections of their Statements. Florida Sea Grant is not seeking proposals for extension/outreach. But the following information may guide research planning to link scientific findings with information transfer practices.

HEALTHY COASTAL AND MARINE ECOSYSTEMS: 1. Advance coastal and ocean literacy and stewardship through formal and informal learning opportunities using innovative new technologies and methods that effectively support learning across all generations. 2. Provide training opportunities that will enhance the capacity of coastal and marine-related professionals. 3. Support the development and promulgation of measurable visible indicators of ecosystem health so that the public becomes increasingly aware of both critical issues and improving trends that may occur in response to increased coastal and marine stewardship. 4. Support a process to build multi-agency and public consensus on the complex issues surrounding ecosystem-based management. 5. Facilitate increased understanding by decision makers of the impacts of development on coastal and near-shore habitats. 6. Promote citizen involvement in the protection, restoration and enhancement of coastal ecosystems and habitats.

SUSTAINABLE AND HAZARD-RESILIENT COASTAL COMMUNITIES: 1. Support incentive-based approaches that foster public stewardship, energy conservation, green development practices and sustainable living. 2. Support education and outreach programs that increase the availability and usefulness of hazard-related information and forecasting for citizens, industries and decision-makers in coastal communities. 3. Foster community venues to identify sustainable recreational access opportunities and destinations. 4. Implement outreach and education programming related to sustainable and hazard resilient coastal living and assist in providing consistent and correct messages across multiple agencies. 5. Foster community decision-making processes that involve and balance the full range of interests, to establish a common understanding and consensus regarding complex coastal land use and resiliency measures. 6. Increase coastal science and policy literacy through formal and informal communication and teaching/learning opportunities.

SEAFOOD PRODUCTION AND SAFETY: 1. Increase public understanding of aquaculture by providing factual information about product quality, environmental issues, product safety and health benefits. 2. Develop a highly informed seafood workforce that can build public awareness of differences in quality, safety, sustainability and nutritional benefits of different seafood products so that consumers can make informed choices. 3. Establish a seafood certification program.

CLIMATE CHANGE: IMPACTS AND ADAPTATIONS: 1. Develop education and outreach programs to improve knowledge about climate change across all generations and facilitate the transfer of knowledge from scientists to extension agents, resource managers, planners and decision makers. 2. Engage communities in the development of policies and actions to adapt to climate change 3. Provide risk information and analysis to policy makers, regarding how current decisions about the natural and built coastal environment may be affected later by sea level rise.

CROSS-CUTTING PRIORITIES: 1. Integrate, translate and disseminate research findings and technological discoveries to resource managers, decision-makers, citizens and industry who need the information to capitalize on opportunities and make wise management decisions. 2. Advance coastal and marine literacy through formal and informal learning opportunities in our schools, museums, aquariums and other educational forums, including web-based and interactive media that will engage all generations. 3. Use Florida Sea Grant’s strong university partnerships to create new education opportunities in coastal and marine science for graduate and undergraduate students and develop information products and training opportunities that will help build the workforce capacity for coastal-related jobs and professions. 4. Collaborate with state and federal agencies and other partners to build public awareness about critical coastal and marine issues, using the integrated research, education, extension and communication capacities of the Sea Grant network. 5. Use Sea Grant’s research, education and extension capabilities to encourage and support the creation of public decision making processes that minimize overlap, maximize effectiveness, and provide an integrated response to coastal problems and opportunities. 6. Build consensus on such complex issues as coastal land use, energy development, public access and climate change impacts by supporting cutting-edge research, building broader understanding among various constituency groups and convening diverse groups of stakeholders to work together to find common solutions. 7. Strengthen partnerships to promote regional, state and issue-related collaboration among government programs and other partners in order to support more effective and integrated coastal decision making.