Possibility Making
How to transform ocean data into a catalyst for regenerative economies?
Possibility Ocean is a forum for aligning science, policy, investment, and technology around a shared challenge. Born from a deep dive into the economic development opportunity of Rhode Island’s Ocean Tech Hub, BIG DREAMS, along with partners Giant Shoulders and Earth House Fund, developed a vision for Possibility Ocean—not as a single summit, but as a movement in which we treat ocean intelligence as infrastructure, and design as the connective tissue between insight and action.
“The Possibility Ocean Summit highlighted that existing ocean observing systems were designed for past questions and fall short of addressing today’s—and tomorrow’s—complex challenges.” — Terry McConnell, Decade Coordination Office Lead, Ocean Observing, IOC-UNESCO
Bridging the Gaps
Despite historic federal investments in Southeastern New England, global ocean data remains fragmented, underleveraged, and disconnected from broader economic and climate systems. Our challenge was to activate a clear, credible, and future-ready strategy that positioned Rhode Island not just as a regional player—but as a global contributor.
“Possibility Ocean embodies the spirit of our region—entrepreneurial, collaborative, and future-focused.” —Ashley Medeiros, Ocean Tech Hub Director
In addition, there is a clear need to cross-pollinate ideas and activities across local, national, and international levels in order to bridge local initiatives with global ambitions. Current shakeups on US federal administration level exacerbate the urgency for organizations, especially scientific research institutions and NGOs, to re-orient strategies and form new partnerships. In this context, the Possibility Ocean movement emerges as a timely and relevant initiative, providing a platform for discourse and co-creation of new business opportunities.
Listen first, then design
We started with questions—not answers. BIG DREAMS applied strategic foresight and systems thinking to explore the untapped potential of ocean intelligence as a driver for economic development, climate resilience, and regional leadership. Our Ocean Futures Toolkit mapped the intersecting social, technological, environmental, economic, and political forces shaping the future of the ocean economy. The goal was to help organizations develop long-term strategic frameworks that guide innovation, policy, and investment—particularly in climate adaptation, coastal resilience, education, and blue technology.
This research laid the foundation for imagining Possibility Ocean not just as a summit but as a movement of ongoing discourse across a variety of intersecting verticals, from atmospheric research to national defense, from insurance to energy and beyond. In a close collaboration with agency Giant Shoulders, we led the exploration of potential activities, structured the experience to foster inclusive, cross-sector engagement, and ensured every phase of the initiative was explored and refined by design.
Shared learning experiences
The symposium was organized as a hybrid event with in-person community building events centered around the virtual webcast. BIG DREAMS produced a live panel discussion broadcast from Innovate Newport, drawing many high profile participants to connect in person while remote attendees exchanged ideas in real-time through Slack. The event was filmed and edited for distribution online, surfacing key narratives for wider audiences to reflect and build upon.
Build with community
The key to making the content programming purposeful and relevant to audiences lay in iterative development with a group of business leaders, subject matter experts and investors in the ocean space. Through interviews and monthly group discussions with this advisory team, we discovered that ocean observation data is a connective tissue and shared resource that benefits everyone’s interests. We heard how developing standards and markets for data exchange is an urgent global challenge which necessitates cross-sector collaboration. This emerged as the focal theme for the inaugural symposium, bringing together various perspectives for a shared understanding of the complex ecosystem of issues.
“We are reaching out to you, the BlueTech community and to the corporate sector to engage with GOOS to jointly develop the global ocean observing system that will be required by society to sustainably manage the world's oceans.” —Dr. Joanna Post, Head of UNESCO IOC / Global Ocean Observation System
A spin-off academic course was initiated by Rhode Island School of Design, inspired by the topics of Possibility Ocean. The conference was made available to students for free, with access to a rich network of industry contacts to engage with. The students are conducting research-based concept development, which will be exhibited back to the wider community. Team members from BIG DREAMS also visited as guest speakers and critics, providing feedback on student work.
Prototype the future
The summit was a prototype for catalyzing collaborative action. It created space for cross-sector dialogue, tested alignment, and surfaced shared priorities. Our design work emphasized:
Establishing a shared vocabulary across disciplines
Encouraging long-range imagination and short-term experimentation
Using storytelling to unify disparate interests
Looking Ahead
Possibility Ocean reframed ocean innovation as an ongoing exercise in collaboration. This summit initiated new working groups, shared insights partnership development, and expanded institutional engagement across science, policy, and investment. Our work continues — fueling next-phase programming, pilot use cases, and regional leadership in ocean intelligence. Visit the website and follow on LinkedIn to receive future updates.
Website: www.possibilityocean.com
Team: Nick Scappaticci, Arvind Ballamudi, Jack Lenk
Partners: Giant Shoulders, Earth House Fund, BEAM Studio, Bravo Charlie Delta, HPF International, Zack Reizes