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A Survey of Stakeholders to Determine Florida Sea Grant's 2006-2009 Programmatic Objectives for Coastal Communities and Water-Dependent Businesses1
Robert Swett and Susan Fann2The call of Florida's coasts is undeniable; people relish the opportunity to live, work, and play as close to her shorelines and waterways as possible. Indeed, the 35 coastal counties account for almost 80 percent of the state's population. Florida's coastal communities and water-dependent businesses face difficult, yet critical challenges: how to balance population growth, development pressure, recreational demands, and tourism with maintenance and enhancement of coastal environmental quality. For sustainable development to succeed, all stakeholders--including users, policymakers, regulators, and resource managers--need new methods and information sources to assess the individual and cumulative links between communities and industries and their physical, economic, and environmental impacts.
Every four years, with assistance from partners and stakeholders, Florida Sea Grant updates its strategic plan to insure that the goals and objectives underlying its mission are relevant and on-target. A 24-question, internet-based survey was used to reach a broad spectrum of partners and stakeholders located throughout Florida. The survey results presented in this report will guide the 2006-2009 program efforts and expenditures of one of these goal areas: "Coastal Communities and Water-Dependent Businesses." The sample represented a cross-section of audience groups. The top respondent groups were agencies with statewide responsibility, institutions of higher education, municipal or county agencies, regional planning agencies or organizations with regional responsibility, and non-governmental organizations. All responses, taken together, provide a valuable glimpse into the collective mindset--an important element when considering the design and implementation of research, extension, and education activities to address the serious issues that Florida faces.
Footnotes
1. This publication was supported by the National Sea Grant College Program of the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Grant No. NA16RG-2195. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of these organizations. Additional copies are available by contacting Florida Sea Grant, University of Florida, PO Box 110409, Gainesville, FL, 32611-0409, (352) 392.2801, www.flseagrant.org.Originally published as TP 149, September 2005.
2. Robert A. Swett, Florida Sea Grant and the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, PO Box 110400, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-0400; rswett@ufl.edu.
Susan Fann, 1716 NW 16TH PL, Gainesville, FL, 32605-4057; smfann@ufl.edu.
The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Larry Arrington, Dean.
Copyright Information
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