In a Q&A with Douglas, Bard discusses her work supporting startups amidst a shift from…
AmandaDecember 1, 2022
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hM_Z2gTNZG0&ab_channel=SouthIslandProsperityPartnership
The Pacific Wave
Set on Canada’s Pacific Coast, the Centre for Ocean Applied Sustainable Technologies (COAST) brings together people, ideas, businesses and communities to create an innovation hub and cluster where ideas are nurtured and applied.
Our purpose at COAST is to realize the opportunities of the sustainable blue economy by advancing technological solutions that serve the restorative and innovative exploration of our oceans.
Our blue future
By 2030, Pacific Canada will be known worldwide for leadership in the blue economy, with high-growth, globally-oriented companies that anticipate and solve problems, create high-value jobs and leave the ocean and planet in better condition than when we began.
COAST has a leading role to play on this blue frontier.
“The global ocean opportunity is expected to grow to $3-trillion by 2030, doubling in size and outpacing the growth of the broader economy by close to 20%.”
— Kendra MacDonald, CEO, Canada’s Ocean Supercluster
What challenges will COAST solve?
Through the Centre for Ocean Applied Sustainable Technologies (COAST) we will:
Accelerate the transformation of our largest and most important ocean-based companies, unlocking new market opportunities in the global ocean economy
Create a hub of innovation and collaboration to support the development of startups, while also building the infrastructure for ocean-based startups in Pacific Canada
Develop new world-class testing and development facilities, open to companies, R&D and educational providers alike
Attract private venture-capital financing into the future ocean economy, from business angels, local investors and global ocean-focussed venture funds
Establish Pacific Canada as a global leader in the new, sustainable and emerging high-technology ocean industries.
Our Strengths
- Our knowledge-based and innovation-focused region features three leading post-secondary institutions, a coastal business ecosystem that is already home to more than 2,200 ocean and marine companies, and a stable political environment that is supportive to business.
- We are situated near the metropolitan tech hubs of Vancouver and Seattle and along western North America’s blue innovation corridor, from Alaska to Washington State to California.
- We are surrounded by a vast geographically and ecologically diverse marine environment where technology can be comprehensively tested for global application.
Who We Are
The Centre for Ocean Applied Sustainable Technologies (COAST) is a collaborative call to action from our region’s ocean and marine sector, including entrepreneurs, corporations, academia, investors and government, to strengthen our position in the immense and emerging blue economy.
Vision: COAST is Pacific Canada’s hub for the sustainable blue economy.
Mission: Driving inclusive prosperity in British Columbia’s sustainable blue economy through entrepreneurship, innovation and expansive partnerships.
Accelerating innovation
COAST will earn Pacific Canada its position on the global map of leading ocean hubs and clusters.
Collaboratively, we will build on a proven model developed by COVE in Atlantic Canada and Maritime Blue in Seattle, Washington, which have created thriving innovation economies.
COAST will be an anchor for ocean and marine innovation in the Pacific Region and be the West Coast equivalent to Atlantic Canada’s COVE ocean cluster while also enabling Canada’s Ocean Supercluster strategy in the region.
Collaborating for the future
COAST will be a platform to pursue shared infrastructure, joint research and development projects, with a coordinated Western-Canada-wide approach to attract investment and new businesses.
We will work with companies large and small, academia, governments, First Nations, venture capital firms and international partners to develop a Pacific cluster focused on Western Canada’s blue economy.
Where We Are
COAST is located in Greater Victoria, on the southernmost tip of Vancouver Island, where Canada meets the Pacific ocean.
Greater Victoria is surrounded on three sides by the Salish Sea, a globally significant environmental and economic ecosystem, home to the West Coast’s two largest cities, Vancouver and Seattle. COAST’s proximity to these major centres facilitates the exchange of research, expertise and services. As our partnerships grow, so will our reach.
What will Pacific Canada’s ocean economy look like in 2030?
Join COAST to shape our ocean future.
