Administration of the National Sea Grant Program

Many Sea Grant projects appear to have only limited application and to be of little benefit to the identified user community. A followup evaluation appears to be needed to determine if the federally supported Sea Grant projects are meeting expected goals. The major problem with programs which foster applied research in the marine field is finding a way to get the practical information out of the laboratories and scientific journals and into the hands of those who could use it. The marine advisory services was established by Congress to communicate the results of research to the user groups. The services are also an important source of information and guidance for the Sea Grant institutions, providing feedback on users' concerns to program administrators and researchers. Marine advisory personnel in several States were concerned about the lack of applied research, lack of ability to get Sea Grant institutions to address specific problems or matters of concern to the local community, and lack of project assistance to those who were to be serviced by the advisory services.