"The issues our oceans face today are extremely complex and involve many different perspectives," said Mote President Dr. Kumar Mahadevan. "So it is very important that policy makers have an unbiased, credible source that they can turn to for timely information to use as they make decisions about pressing marine issues."

One important function of the Institute is to analyze scientific results, findings and related information and put it in a format that is most useful for decision makers. The Institute develops, coordinates and conducts research projects that seek to better connect the human dimensions of marine ecosystems — the legal, economic and social aspects — and their relevance for policy decisions.

Historically, there has been a need to better connect the findings from the natural sciences — biological, chemical, etc. — to the social sciences and translate that information for a lay audience.

Dr. Frank Alcock, a former Belfer Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, is the Marine Policy Institute Director. Dr. Alcock is a Research Fellow for the Institutional Dimensions of Global Environmental Change Project and an Assistant Professor of Political Science at New College of Florida. "The vision for the Institute is compelling," Alcock said. "It can play an invaluable role in linking sound science to sustainable marine policies."

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• Read "Policy Tools for Local Adaptation to Sea Level Rise" (a synopsis of the full report).
  

Policy Assessments

• The Marine Policy Institute's first assessment was released in 2007. An Assessment of Florida Red Tide: Causes, Consequences and Management Strategies" offered an overview of past and current red tide research and provided recommendations for future efforts. The assessment called for scientists, policymakers, stakeholders and the public to move beyond polarizing debate surrounding red tide research and focus on a more comprehensive red tide response strategy.
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• The Institute's second assessment, "Policy Tools for Local Adaptation to Sea Level Rise" is still in draft form, but open for public review. This assessment sought to discover what policy tools and opportunities were available for Florida governments — at the local and state levels — and how they could begin to act now to build strategies that would allow them to adapt to climate-associated sea level rise.
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