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HomeAboutAA Spotlight

# Advancing Coastal Science

# New five-year strategic plan and organizational realignment.

I'd like to share two recent developments from the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS).

In June, we  released a new five-year strategic science plan titled *Advancing Coastal Science: 2017-2021.* It is the product of three years of engagement with  stakeholders, which enabled us to refine our understanding of the most critical  issues and how our scientific expertise can best aid coastal decision-makers.  NCCOS’s mission is to deliver ecosystem science solutions for stewardship of  the nation’s ocean and coastal resources to sustain thriving coastal  communities and economies. *Advancing Coastal Science* outlines how we  shall accomplish that mission in four priority areas: Marine Spatial Ecology,  Stressor Impacts and Mitigation, Coastal Change, and Social Science. 

June also marked another important milestone in the evolution of our office. On June 26, we officially completed an organizational realignment from five research  Centers to an office with three divisions. Previously, NCCOS’s five Centers  were based primarily on the geographic location of our staff, not on the type  of science they conducted or the coastal challenges they were attempting to  resolve. 

The realignment  consolidates research on similar topics into the same organizational units,  regardless of geography. Significant change is rarely easy, often requiring  tough choices and a willingness to adapt past practices to meet the current and  future landscape. While we recognize that it will take some time to grow into  the new structure, it better positions NCCOS to implement the priority science  areas outlined in *Advancing Coastal Science.*
> Dr. Steve ThurActing Director, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science 

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