Coastal Services Center

The University of Washington and The Nature Conservancy entered into a cooperative agreement with the NOAA Coastal Services Center to assess whether a pilot project in the Pacific Northwest could lead to a model for regional, ecosystem-based ocean governance recommended by the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy. The project assessed four factors to determine the likelihood of success of a regional ocean governance pilot project: applicable models for an approach, leadership and participation, information resources, and priority issues. The project identified key participants (at leadership, technical, and stakeholder levels), resulted in a report assessing each of the four success factors, and produced a "prospectus" for a pilot regional ocean governance process in the Pacific Northwest.

NOAA Coastal Services Center's Role

The NOAA Coastal Services Center provided technical reviews and guidance to help develop a report and a "prospectus" for a pilot regional ocean governance process in the Pacific Northwest. The Center helped assess whether the Pacific Northwest pilot project could lead to a model for regional, ecosystem-based ocean governance. The Center supported outreach to make the lessons learned applicable in other coastal areas.

Grantee Overview

Founded on November 4, 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest state-supported institutions of higher education on the Pacific coast. The primary mission of the University of Washington is the preservation, advancement, and dissemination of knowledge. The University preserves knowledge through its libraries and collections, its courses, and the scholarship of its faculty. It advances new knowledge through many forms of research, inquiry, and discussion; and disseminates it through the classroom, laboratory, scholarly exchanges, creative practice, international education, and public service. As one of the nation's outstanding teaching and research institutions, the University is committed to maintaining an environment for objectivity and imaginative inquiry and for the original scholarship and research that ensure the production of new knowledge in the free exchange of facts, theories, and ideas.
The School of Marine Affairs (SMA) fosters comprehensive, long term, and proactive approaches to marine policy and ocean and coastal management. It also promotes interdisciplinary education, scientific research, and public service. SMA provides guidance to all levels of government in the U.S. and abroad, to non-governmental organizations that promote resolution of ocean and coastal issues, and to industry by training professionals.

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