THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO CREATE MEANINGFUL ENGAGEMENT THAT WILL LEAD TO AN EQUITABLE AND EFFECTIVE OFFSHORE WIND (OSW) DEVELOPMENT PROCESS IN THE GULF OF MAINE. THIS PROJECT WILL SUPPORT CAPACITY BUILDING FOR GULF OF MAINE FISHING COMMUNITIES AT THE EARLY STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT, IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES FOR COLLABORATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING, AND FOSTER HONEST DIALOGUE TO CO-CREATE SOLUTIONS. IN THIS PROJECT, THE TERM “FISHING COMMUNITIES” REPRESENTS COMMUNITIES OF PEOPLE WHOSE LIVELIHOOD IS DEPENDENT ON HARVESTING MARINE RESOURCES AND INCLUDE ALL GEAR TYPES (E.G. MOBILE-GEAR AND FIXED-BOTTOM). GULF OF MAINE RESEARCH INSTITUTE (GMRI) WILL BUILD AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE INFORMATIONAL, EDUCATIONAL, CULTURAL, AND ENGAGEMENT NEEDS OF FISHING COMMUNITIES REGARDING OSW DEVELOPMENT. GMRI WILL THEN DEVELOP RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES THAT ALIGN WITH COMMUNITY NEEDS THAT INFORM AND PREPARE FISHING COMMUNITIES TO PARTICIPATE IN THE OSW PROCESS. THIS WORK WILL PROVIDE FISHING COMMUNITIES WITH THE BEST AVAILABLE INFORMATION TO SUPPORT THEIR ENGAGEMENT IN ALL PHASES OF OSW DEVELOPMENT. GMRI HOPES TO ENHANCE STAKEHOLDERS’ CAPACITY TO ENGAGE IN CONVERSATIONS AROUND COMMUNITY BENEFIT AGREEMENTS (CBA) AND POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENTS (PPA) THROUGH A FACILITATED WORKSHOP TO CO-DESIGN FUTURE SCENARIOS TO MITIGATE OR MINIMIZE ADVERSE IMPACTS OF OSW DEVELOPMENT. GMRI’S APPROACH WILL EMPHASIZE THE SUSTAINABLE USE OF MARINE RESOURCES AND PROMOTE SHARED SUCCESS FOR FISHING COMMUNITIES’ LONG-TERM RESILIENCE THROUGH CO-CREATING SOLUTIONS THAT BOLSTER SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD HARVESTING AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE.