Led by the Southeast Conference and with partners across the southern regions of coastal Alaska, the Alaska Mariculture Cluster (AMC) is tasked with investing $49 million over five years to catalyze a viable and sustainable mariculture industry in Alaska, supporting the production shellfish and seaweed, for the long-term benefit of the state’s economy, environment, and communities.

Starting in 2023, the AMC began issuing subawards to grant component projects led by economic development districts, seafood industry associations, universities, and Alaska Native community development financial institutions throughout the region, providing funds for projects in workforce development, research, equipment and technology, marketing, low-cost capital, and more. Now, working in partnership with the nonprofit Ecotrust, the AMC will begin to evaluate its success on an ongoing basis.

“2023 was a foundational year for building, not just systems and processes related to grant compliance and administration, but relationships, trust and partnerships so that when we look back at the conclusion of the program, and the funds are fully invested, an industry that we can be proud of remains,” said Juliana Leggitt, Program Manager at Southeast Conference. “Ecotrust’s role in helping the Cluster actively refine its methods and metrics to achieve desired outcomes will be critical in enabling such a bright future for mariculture in Alaska.”

As the AMC’s lead entity, Southeast Conference is responsible for overall grant administration, which includes sharing the benefits of the cluster equitably. The AMC is to provide at least 25% of the project services directly to underserved communities (rural) and 25% to underserved populations (Alaska Natives).

Starting this year, in order to ensure the AMC is attaining its desired goals, a measurement and evaluation process has begun that seeks to assess the impact of the AMC as a whole. The process will include evaluating the Cluster’s seven project focus areas, and the degree to which these projects are indeed working together to accelerate mariculture development in coastal Alaska and drive investment toward Alaska Natives and rural underserved communities.

Ecotrust, a nonprofit based in Portland, OR, was contracted to help conduct the evaluation, develop metric, and track success for the AMC coalition and each of its grant components. Members of the mariculture industry, Tribal leaders, rural community members, and others will have opportunities to share feedback via 1-on-1 interviews, focus groups, and surveys.

“At Ecotrust we’re committed to equitable evaluation that, among other principles, prioritize cultural responsiveness, collaboration, and the needs of our community partners,” says Noah Enelow, Ph.D, Director of 3E Research and Evaluation at Ecotrust. “This evaluation is an opportunity for us to put our equity-centered evaluation principles to action, and use all our evaluation tools in the service of a fascinating and complex project.”

Individuals who are interested in participating in the evaluation process are encouraged to take this online survey.

Questions about the evaluation process or Ecotrust’s principles of equitable evaluation can be directed to Noah Enelow, Director of 3E Research and Evaluation at Ecotrust: nenelow@ecotrust.org.

Background

Southeast Conference (SEC) is the federally designated Economic Development District (EDD) for Southeast Alaska, as well as the state designated Alaska Regional Development Organization. SEC’s mission is to undertake and support activities that promote strong economies, sustainable communities, and a healthy environment in Southeast Alaska.

In September 2022, Southeast Conference was awarded a $49 million U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) Build Back Better Regional Challenge (BBBRC) grant to catalyze a viable and sustainable mariculture industry in Alaska, supporting the production of shellfish and seaweed, for the long-term benefit of the state’s economy, environment, and communities.

SEC leads the Alaska Mariculture Cluster (AMC) grant coalition, which includes members of Alaska’s mariculture industry, tribal organizations, regulatory agencies, university system, regional EDDs, trade organizations, and others. A Governance Body, composed of AMC coalition leaders and Tribal executives from each of the project regions, guides the grant’s work and equity metrics.

The AMC has complementary grant components designed to break down barriers and develop Alaska’s mariculture industry.  The Overarching Narrative explains how the grant components work together to grow the industry in an equitable and responsible manner. The full project period for the AMC BBBRC project is October 1, 2022 to September 30th, 2026.