Southeast, Gulf, and Caribbean NCRF Grantees Gather for Peer-to-Peer Workshop
October 27, 2023
Image: KYLE GRAY/Throwe Environmental
By JUSTIN GIFFEE and KYLE GRAY/Throwe Environmental
GALVESTON, TX (October 27, 2023) – In partnership with the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s (NFWF) National Coastal Resilience Fund (NCRF), Throwe Environmental (TE) held a day-long peer-to-peer workshop in Galveston, TX on October 26th that brought together dozens of current NCRF grantees from the Southeast, Gulf, and Caribbean Island regions.
47 NCRF grantees were in attendance, collectively representing 44 grants from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Texas, and the US Virgin Islands. Attendees joined from a variety of entities, including state, territorial, and local governments; universities and research facilities; nonprofit organizations; and the private sector. Projects spanned the full range of NCRF grant categories, including approximately 12 Community Capacity Building and Planning, 8 Site Assessment and Preliminary Design, 5 Final Design and Permitting, and 19 Restoration Implementation.
The workshop began with a panel discussion in which grantees who have completed or are nearing the end of their projects explained project challenges and obstacles, as well as accomplishments and best practices for successful implementation. Following the panel, grantees participated in several breakout sessions focused on successes and challenges at every phase of the NCRF pipeline. Topics of discussion included community engagement, stakeholder collaboration, diverse partnerships, efficient permitting, organization capacity-building, leveraging project successes, and communicating project benefits.
Between breakout sessions and throughout the entire course of the workshop, grantees engaged in recurring networking activities to develop relationships with fellow NCRF grantees throughout the three regions. The workshop provided a dynamic opportunity for grantees to network and glean insights from other projects. A key outcome of the workshop was the recurrent networking that fostered relationships and will allow continue to share best practices, exchange project commonalities, acquire new knowledge, and gain practical takeaways for implementation beyond the workshop.
Organizers/facilitators included Throwe Environmental President Joanne Throwe, Project Partner Mark Belton, and Manager of Programs and Engagement Kyle Gray. Throwe Project Partner Chris Cortina and Climate Policy Intern Justin Giffee, as well as the American Society of Adaptation Professionals’ Program Coordinator Eliza Garcia, all supported the event.
Throwe Environmental, LLC has served as NCRF Field Liaisons since 2021, offering technical assistance services to prospective grantees across the coastal US. Throwe Environmental is committed to developing climate resilience, 
environmental finance, and policy and governance solutions for its public, private, and nonprofit clients. Throwe Environmental is based in Bristol, RI and helps communities nationwide address their climate challenges.
For more information, please contact Kyle Gray at kyle@throwe-environmental.com.