Ocean & Society Survey
- Project Lead: Survey Coordination, Instrument Analysis & Design - COLC
- Core Co-Designing Partner Organizations/Institutions: Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition* (Dalhousie University), Centre d’Estudis Avançats de Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), Communications INC, Connecticut Sea Grant and University of Connecticut, Fundaçäo Grupo Boticário, Instituto do Mar–Universidade Federal de São Paulo, IOC-UNESCO, Lawrence Hall of Science, MarSocSci and Cardiff University, Ocean Conservation Trust, Nordlandsforskning, Nordland Research Institute, Simon Fraser University, Research for Purpose Ltd, University of Gothenburg
- Priority Area: Research & Impact
What is the Ocean & Society Survey?
The Ocean & Society Survey (OSS) is a collaboratively co-designed global tool to better understand how people perceive, value, and interact with the ocean. By asking questions about what people know and how they feel about the ocean, the survey helps us to see patterns and changes in public attitudes and behaviours over time.
As data from different countries and regions is collected, the OSS creates a standard way of measuring the impacts of ocean literacy and ocean conservation initiatives on public understanding, empathy, and engagement. The OSS is part of the larger effort to address Challenge 10 of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030), which is focused on restoring society’s relationship with the ocean.
OSS Participation
Who can use this tool? If you are a researcher, practitioner, communicator, or decision-maker with an interest in using the survey to better understand societal ocean-connections in your country, join the Ocean Literacy Research Community to get started.
Why get involved? By facilitating this tool in your respective region, you will gain and be able to share valuable insights on public ocean perceptions, attitudes, values, and behavioural intentions. Furthermore, you will be able to directly contribute country-specific data to an open access global database which will be used to critically inform ongoing marine social science and ocean literacy research, education, and communication initiatives, as well as inform science-policy-society directions and decision-making.
Learn more and join the initiative HERE.