THIS COLLABORATION, LED BY OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY (OSU), WILL COLLECT, ANALYZE, AND DISSEMINATE INFORMATION ABOUT COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVES ON THE BENEFITS OF OFFSHORE WIND DEVELOPMENT (OWD). THE RESEARCH WILL FOCUS ON COASTAL LOCATIONS THAT ARE (A) RURAL DEMOGRAPHICALLY; (B) GEOGRAPHICALLY DISTRIBUTED (CA, OR, WA AND ME); AND (C) POTENTIALLY AFFECTED BY FLOATING AS OPPOSED TO FIXED-BOTTOM FOUNDATIONS, WHICH ARE AT THE DEMONSTRATION PHASE AND POSE UNIQUE CO-EXISTENCE CHALLENGES. THE PROJECT TEAM SEEKS TO FILL GAPS IN RESEARCH ON COMMUNITY BENEFITS (CB) USING A COMBINATION OF DESKTOP RESEARCH, INTERVIEWS, AND DROP-OFF/PICK-UP (DOPU) SURVEYS TO: (1) DOCUMENT AND CATEGORIZE MECHANISMS FOR PROVIDING CB IN EXISTING OFFSHORE WIND (AND OTHER ENERGY) INSTALLATIONS IN THE US AND ABROAD, AND THE EFFECTS OF CB ARRANGEMENTS ON LOCAL ECONOMIES; (2) RECORD THE NEEDS, INTERESTS, CONCERNS, AND POSITIONS OF TRIBAL NATIONS AND OTHER GROUPS IN SELECTED RURAL COASTAL LOCATIONS REGARDING CB, WITH A PARTICULAR FOCUS ON DISADVANTAGED OR UNDER-RESOURCED GROUPS; (3) UNDERSTAND COMMUNITY PREFERENCES AND EXPECTATIONS RELATED TO CB IN SELECTED LOCATIONS AND HOW THESE PREFERENCES AND EXPECTATIONS SHAPE AND ARE SHAPED BY VIEWS ON FLOATING OWD AND DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES; (4) EXPLORE HOW THE NEEDS, INTERESTS, CONCERNS AND POSITIONS OF DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES AND GROUPS MAY CHANGE OVER TIME; AND (5) PROVIDE ACTIONABLE INFORMATION TO DECISION MAKERS, DEVELOPERS, AND COMMUNITY LEADERS FOR DEVELOPING AND NEGOTIATING CB.