The Coastal Ocean Assessment for Sustainability and Transformation (COAST) Card is a transnational and transdisciplinary research program funded through the Belmont Forum, a consortium of research funders that have targeted funds towards research that engages stakeholders into a co-design and co-development process, to foster solutions to global sustainability challenges.

The project brings together researchers from the United States, Philippines, Norway, India, and Japan. COAST Card merges three tools: 1) stakeholder identification and societal guidance through socio-ecological network analysis, 2) status assessment using socio-environmental report card, and 3) prioritized and linked actions identified with system dynamics models. The framework is first developed for the Chesapeake Bay and is simultaneously being adapted for Manila Bay (Philippines), Tokyo Bay and Sekisei Lagoon (Japan), and the Goa Coast of India.

Our international team spans developed and developing countries, with a diverse suite of stakeholders. By utilizing a transdisciplinary and transnational approach and deliberately engaging diverse stakeholders, trusted relationships can be created, and local communities can be empowered by building capacity. Co-producing knowledge with stakeholders can serve as a foundation for social learning and collective action, allowing us to develop transformative solutions that will have global applicability and promote sustainability and transformation within other coastal and ocean systems.