SGA DOCUMENTS
Transition 2001:
"science serving america's coasts"

    • articles of incorporation
    • sga bylaws
    • science serving america's coasts
    • a vision for success
    • sga awards
    • theme-centered research
    • funding principles
    • position papers

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January 2001

Sea Grant Today

The mission of the National Sea Grant College Program is to enhance the practical use and conservation of coastal, marine and Great Lakes resources to create a sustainable economy and environment. Sea Grant achieves this mission by engaging the nation’s top universities in:

• Conducting peer-reviewed research directed toward management-critical issues and economic opportunities identified by coastal residents, state and local governments, as well as NOAA and other federal agencies.
  
  
• Recruiting and training undergraduate and graduate students and employing senior researchers to give the Nation the intellectual capacity to deal with coastal economic opportunities and environmental challenges.
  
  
• Making scientific results available, understandable, and useable for resource managers, business people, teachers, and coastal residents through K-12 education, communication, and extension projects.

The 30 Sea Grant programs, located in coastal and Great Lakes states and Puerto Rico, serve as the core of a dynamic, national network of over 200 participating institutions involving more than 3,000 scientists, engineers, educators, students, and outreach experts. Since its establishment by the Congress in 1966, Sea Grant has developed long-standing working relationships with a broad spectrum of stakeholders in every coastal state. Because Sea Grant is non-regulatory and science-based, it serves as an “honest broker” among a wide range of constituents.

Sea Grant is responsive to local as well as regional and national concerns. Federal authorizing legislation requires that every $2 of federal funds be matched by $1 of non-federal funds that are usually provided by state or local governments, thus providing outstanding leverage for the federal funds awarded. Sea Grant’s combination of an established science, education and outreach infrastructure along with its ability to strongly leverage federal dollars ensures that investment in Sea Grant is cost-effective.

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