The MDE Newsletter
March 2023
This Marine Data Exchange (MDE) newsletter showcases the breadth of offshore survey data, research and evidence being collected by our customers and partners on the seabed around England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The MDE Team have dived headfirst into 2023.
First, we pitched the MDE to Marketing students at Kings College London to see what exciting ideas they can come up with for the MDE content and communications strategy. We also had the pleasure of attending the Coastal Futures Conference in London on the 25th and 26th of January - what an inspiring and thought-provoking event! We had a blast engaging with experts and colleagues in the field and gained valuable insight into upcoming challenges and opportunities, and even gathered feedback on what content our users want to see on the MDE.
We’ve also been hard at work developing and defining new and existing evidence projects as well as engaging with our customers and stakeholders to ensure that future projects address key evidence gaps. Not to mention, we launched the shiny new interactive MDE home page! Our digital and design partners at Ascent and RY have worked wonders on the MDE’s landing page. If you haven’t already, do take a look.
30th Annual Coastal Futures Conference January 2023
There were many inspirational speakers at the event, from Hannah Rudd’s emotive talk about her journey into marine sciences, to Hugo Tagholm’s fierce call to action to protect our seas. Many of the talks highlighted important issues facing our oceans and acted as a stark reminder of the battle ahead. However, we aren’t facing it alone. With so many talented, passionate and driven people in the room (and online), there was - and is - a strong feeling of hope.
Our very own Huub den Roiijen (ex-Director of Marine at The Crown Estate and current Marine Advisor) presented “Our Energy Future” and discussed the need for a balance between the use of natural resources, engineering and social engagement and described the actions we must take to ensure we succeed in meet reaching Net Zero, including:
- Investing in priority infrastructure – people, ports, power grids
- Pre-empting inevitable spatial conflicts
- Innovating through data and evidence – transparency, engagement and listening to one another
- Collaborate – across sectors, regions, and countries
Olivia Thomas, Head of Marine Planning at The Crown Estate, presented “One Space, Multiple Pressures” and built upon the themes of spatial prioritisation and emphasised the need for a coordinated and holistic approach to managing the UK sea space, and the need for a proactive approach to protect the marine environment’s rich biodiversity.
At the heart of the talks by our colleagues at The Crown Estate and many others, was data and evidence. Our very own MDE therefore plays an integral role in integrating spatial and evidentiary inputs to improve strategic decision making, through the provision of data and evidence.
Perhaps the most poignant message this year and consistent with the overarching narrative of less talk, more action, Coastal Futures founder Bob Earll brilliantly said: “Look for joy, look for opportunities and just do it”.
We love this mantra and will hope to be a little more Bob this year.
Coastal Futures Questionnaire Reponses:
The MDE Team were out in force this Coastal Futures and were lucky enough to have our very own MDE stand. This provided us with a valuable opportunity to talk to our MDE users (and non-users), to find out how we can improve the site to meet your needs. We will be taking this feedback and using it to drive positive change in the way that we produce content and communicate with you this year.
See below to view the questionnaire responses:
King’s College University Marketing Project
This year we are collaborating with King’s College University and are running a project that explores different marketing and communications strategies for the MDE. Marketing Master’s students at King’s have been looking at the different ways that they can reach the MDE’s coastal community audience, through social media, in-person events, services upgrades and more. At the end of the module, the students will be pitching their strategies to the MDE Team. This is a fantastic opportunity for the MDE, as the students’ fresh and novel approaches to reaching our audiences provides inspiration for future communication campaigns. The students also gain valuable experience by pitching to real life clients, with real needs and challenges. We look forward to hearing their final proposals at the end of this month.
Dr Ilias Danatzis:
"As the module leader of the Services Marketing module at King's College London, I am excited to collaborate with the Marine Data Exchange of The Crown Estate on a real-life case study for our students at King’s Business School. This project offers a unique opportunity for my postgraduate students to work with a leading organisation in the UK’s marine industry and gain practical experience in developing marketing strategies for their services. As part of this project, students are developing personas for coastal communities and are exploring ways to better cater to their needs. They are also reviewing MDE's current marketing activities and are making recommendations for future audiences. I am excited to see the results of their hard work and I am thankful for the support and opportunity provided by the Marine Data Exchange. I am convinced that this collaboration will not only benefit my students but also contribute towards the sustainable use of marine data, and I am looking forward to the continued success of our partnership."
New-look MDE V2
If you haven’t heard already, the MDE new-look V2 has launched.
The new landing page utilises an interactive carousel to highlight the variety of stories and information we have on the MDE and helps to bring industry data to life. We’ve also launched our new Stories Page, which showcases stories from industry experts, data insights and MDE user case studies.
We’re always open to feedback, please email the mde@thecrownestate.co.uk if you would like to get in touch.
New MDE functionality
Since the start of the new year, there have already been over 25 new updates to the MDE. We’ve highlighted some of our favourites below:
The “Mega Nav”: Using our new navigation panel, or “Mega Nav”, users are now able to journey through the site with greater ease. Click on the 3 lines at the top left-hand corner of the page to access the Mega Nav.
Landing Page Carousels: Our new landing page has an interactive carousel of images and videos that directly links you to some of our core pages and most recent content. This new section of the site is vibrant and, in our opinion, (and hopefully yours) beautiful. The “get to know the data” section has also been upgraded, making it much easier to explore the rich variety of information hosted on the MDE. We’ve also reduced the length of the page, decreasing scroll time and condensing the information into a more digestible format. We hope you enjoy.
New Search Bar: Our new search bar allows users to toggle between map and library view and to filter directly from the search bar, allowing users to find the data they want, faster and easier.
New Portal Button: If you’re a developer and regularly deliver data to the MDE, you can now access the data delivery portal directly from the home page, by clicking the “Go to portal” button in the top right-hand corner of the site.
