APPENDIX I: THE SOUTH CAROLINA SEA GRANT CONSORTIUM - A PARTNERSHIP AMONG UNIVERSITIES. GOVERNMENT, AND THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS

The South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium (Consortium) was created by the State Legislature in 1978, under Act No. 643, to:

The Consortium is a unique statewide program committed to realizing the economic, social and environmental potential of the state’s coastal and marine resources. The Consortium partnership of public universities, colleges, and state natural resource agencies generates knowledge and information upon which these potentials can be realized. Consortium members are The Citadel, Clemson University, College of Charleston, Coastal Carolina University, Medical University of South Carolina, South Carolina State University, S.C. Department of Natural Resources and the University of South Carolina.

Operating from its office in Charleston, the Consortium links academic and agency faculty and staff engaged in research and education with extension professionals in the state’s eight coastal counties as well as counties inland. This relationship enables faculty, professional staff and graduate students to focus their talents and expertise on the needs of a variety of coastal and marine resource users.

The Consortium acts as an information broker. User needs are identified and form the basis for research and outreach projects, the results of which are communicated back to those users through technical assistance, educational activities, publications, and other products and tools.

The Consortium began formal operations in 1980 with the submission of its first Sea Grant program proposal to the National Sea Grant College Program (NSGCP). This proposal consisted of a package of research, education and extension projects that were broad in nature, short-term in application, and reflective of the diversity of the coastal and marine environment and economy that typifies South Carolina. With improved internal and external capabilities to address the resource needs of South Carolina, the Consortium, in 1984, initiated a shift from broad, short-term projects to focused, long-term program areas. This transition to objective-oriented, integrated efforts enhanced Consortium visibility throughout the state and nation as an institution that enhances the conservation, development and management of coastal and marine resources through the exchange of reliable information and the provision of technical assistance.

The Consortium has identified three major objectives that provide the foundation for meeting this goal:

1) To develop an integrated Sea Grant Program for South Carolina that seeks to provide future economic opportunities, improve the social well-being of its citizens, and ensure the wise use and development of its marine and coastal natural resources.

(2) To create and refine an effective and efficient Sea Grant communications and extension network among academia, business, government, and the general public to ensure that Consortium activities are responsive to marine and coastal users and that information generated is delivered in a timely fashion.

(3) To become an integral component of the National Sea Grant College Program where Consortium activities are responsive to regional and national needs, as well as to those of South Carolina.

The Consortium works to achieve these objectives by delivering programs which bridge the gap between science and policy; where effective management of resources, both physical and human, requires resolution of diverse scientific, economic, social, and environmental questions.

Sea Grant Program Plan

As noted in Section I, final versions of all approved new and continuing proposals are incorporated into the Consortium Program Plan for submission to NSGCP. The Consortium Executive Director is the P.I. for the total package and thus has the authority and responsibility for any funding which results. In order to strengthen the package, the Director and staff integrate the individual proposals into related program areas as they address an overall problem situation as stated in the RFP. Although each proposal must stand on its own merit, it benefits by being integrated into a program area with a somewhat larger focus and a successful past track record. It is important that the individual investigators address these relationships; contact with the Consortium and Sea Grant Extension staff can facilitate this process.

The Consortium’s Program Plan will be evaluated to ensure that the proposed activities meet national and state priorities, and that the Sea Grant Program is being managed effectively. To this end, two levels of review will be conducted: individual proposals will be evaluated on their technical and conceptual merits (see Section VI), and the package of proposals will be reviewed as a whole to determine the degree to which the entire program addresses state and national priorities.
Consortium staff will contact each investigator to convey the acceptance or rejection of their proposal. Proposals which require technical adjustments will be sent back to investigators to prepare revision statements. Proposals which require budget revisions must be reprocessed at the institutional level and resubmitted to SCSGC for incorporation into the final Program Plan. This document is then resubmitted through NSGCP to NOAA and the Department of Commerce where it is handled as a formal budget request for approved programs. After several weeks of processing, the Department of Commerce will release funds to support the work proposed.

 

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