Transdisciplinary Collaboration on Public Ocean Perception Research: Engaging Society to Inform Communication Campaigns and Policy

The United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (hereafter, “Ocean Decade”) provides a collaborative framework and critical opportunity for the global community to rally behind a core mission–transformative ocean science solutions for sustainable development, connecting people and the ocean. Launched in 2023 and led by IOC-UNESCO and 10 Working Groups of diverse experts across geographies, cultures, generations, and genders, the Vision 2030 process identified key recommendations and priority activities with tangible measures of success for each of the 10 Ocean Decade Challenges. As part of a set of White Papers, the Challenge 10 White Paper, Restoring Society’s Relationship with the Ocean, identified four key drivers to achieve this aim. The drivers include: 1) multiple knowledge systems; 2) communications; 3) education; and 4) cultural connections. The Challenge 10 White Paper, more broadly, positions ocean literacy as a societal outcome, indicative of greater understanding, value, and care for the ocean across all sectors of society. Achieving this ambition requires not only intentional, but informed and actionable collaboration among all ocean stakeholders. Importantly, this collective effort must be guided by science-policy-society linkages that directly inform, motivate, and enable the deepening of human-ocean relationships and pro-ocean behaviour to help close the knowledge-action gap. Understanding public perceptions, attitudes, knowledge, and values that connect us with (or disconnect us from) the ocean, including coastal and freshwater environments, can help to ground collective efforts in public resonance and societal relevance, informing direction and impact over time. Aligned with Theme 10: Vibrant science to inform and support ocean action, this session discusses the role of Public Ocean Perceptions Research (POPR)—a form of ocean literacy research—as a means to a) capture societal sentiments to provide baseline data across geographies, cultures, and sectors; b) illustrate how many POPR studies may unintentionally/unknowingly engage themes and dimensions of ocean literacy; and c) track changes in perceptions over time to assess the barriers, motivators, and enablers that impact the behavioural intentions needed to galvanize pro-ocean action. Importantly, we provide an overview of a substantive POPR global collaboration- the Ocean & Society Survey, sharing the design methodology and preliminary findings from the first 15 countries. Moreover, we will illustrate the value of evidence-based insights for shaping strategic communications and policy-making; for example by: a) identifying key levers and obstacles to ocean connection in order to inform communication approach; b) deepening audience understanding and enable audience segmentation; and c) contributing to measurement of campaign (and wider ocean literacy) impact. There is already an appetite for such data. A communications symposium held as an official satellite event of the Ocean Decade Conference in Barcelona 2024 (as part of the Advancing Strategic Ocean Communication project, with 500+ global communicators) identified a collaborative research base as one of the key requirements to develop more impactful communications that ultimately mobilize public engagement toward an ocean-connected society.