Supporting and Extending the SEACOOS Program: The Extension and Education Work Group

In addition to the observation, collection and analysis of data, Southeast Atlantic Coastal Ocean Observing System (SEACOOS) funding supported the development of a complementary Extension and Education (E&E) component. Extension activities were operated through the Sea Grant Extension Programs of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Education activities were channeled through the three Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence in the SEACOOS domain, and the University of Georgia Marine Extension program, E&E Work Group (WG) activities included identifying stakeholders and their needs, increasing awareness of SEACOOS and ocean observing systems in general, and developing concepts for potential products. This article is designed to describe (1) how education and outreach functions were developed with SEACOOS funding to E&E Principal Investigators, (2) the lessons learned from the many collaborations, and (3) best practices gleaned from the four years of activity funding. Best practices for E&E included defining clearly the target audiences, identifying information needs, providing products appropriate to the audience, designing evaluations with a strong feedback loop, and developing long-term relationships between audiences and providers. This article is one of seven published in this special edition of the MTS Journal to provide a forward-looking discussion of future development of the Southeast Regional Coastal Ocean Observing System (SE RCOOS)