This is a guest post from Deputy Commandant of Operations, Rear Admiral Sally Brice-O'Hara following up on my Sept. 29 "Evergreen Stakeholder Workshop" post:
Attended the closing session of our scenario planning workshop for stakeholders -- something we call project "Evergreen". GREAT feedback and conversations about the challenges industry, non-profits and Coast Guard will face together, looking out 25 years.
(Our "alternative futures" workshop kicked off in the middle of the ongoing financial crisis - that drove home the uncertainty in our world. Evergreen is a great way to think through that kind of uncertainty...)
Quick take-aways: Partnerships will become only more important in future problem solving. Must continue to advance.
Rules and regulatory processes -- need for adaptability & balance of safety, security, efficiency. Good discussions. Our staffing increases for marine inspectors and regulatory processes haven't hit the field yet, but I think we are on the right course. Need to make sure we see results when these improvements come on line.
Arctic and environmental issues -- future demands on maritime will be ever more complex. The solutions come back to partnerships. We need to keep pushing ourselves to be in forefront of networked, collaborative government.
Terrific and beneficial conversations and participation. Look forward to doing more work with stakeholders in future. Appreciate the hard thinking that went into this inaugural event.
Rear Admiral Sally Brice-O'Hara, Deputy Commandant for Operations
