The Florida RESTORE Act Centers of Excellence Program (FLRACEP), hosted at the Florida Institute of Oceanography (FIO), recently finalized a new 10-year Strategic Plan to support a resilient Gulf environment and economy. The next decade of Centers of Excellence projects will focus on research that generates long-term understanding of the West Florida Shelf and connected systems to support improved and dynamic management.

“Implementation of the FLRACEP Strategic Plan will provide local, regional and state resource managers with new understanding critical for managing complex linked ecosystems, including the Florida Shelf and Florida’s coasts and estuaries,” said Holly Greening, FLRACEP Program Management Team member and former Director of the Tampa Bay Estuary Program.

The key to this objective is funding short- and long- term research that focuses on processes. The plan includes scoping for synthesis projects, science-driven technology development to support improved monitoring and management, and science to support coastal sustainability and restoration.

Julien Lartigue, FLRACEP Program Management Team member and NOAA RESTORE Science Program Director, said: “We are looking forward to coordinating with the FLRACEP on the execution of this new strategic plan, which highlights shared interests with our program and the other Centers of Excellence in the Gulf such as understanding connectivity within the Gulf ecosystem, co-production, and synthesizing existing datasets.”

A summary of the first ten years of research is available on the FLRACEP website: https://florida-restore-act-centers-of-excellence-program-fio-maps.hub.arcgis.com/

About the Florida RESTORE Act Centers of Excellence Program

Funding for the Centers of Excellence and FLRACEP comes from the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012 (RESTORE Act), which established a Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund in the Treasury of the United States. Florida Institute of Oceanography is the Gulf Coast State Entity responsible for administering FLRACEP. The program establishes Centers of Excellence in the State of Florida to conduct through a competitive grants process. To date, $10 million has been awarded to 10 Florida institutions to establish Centers of Excellence.

About the Florida Institute of Oceanography

The Florida Institute of Oceanography consists of 32 members including state universities. Established by the Florida Board of Governors and hosted by the University of South Florida, FIO provides support and shares marine science resources between the state’s universities and private, non-profit marine research entities. FIO operates the R/V Weatherbird II, R/V Hogarth, R/V Western Flyer, and the Keys Marine Laboratory (KML) in Layton, Florida.