A Case Study of Community-Engaged Design: Creating Parametric Insurance to Meet the Safety Needs of Fisherfolk in the Caribbean
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 148, Issue 3
Abstract
The creation of the Caribbean Ocean and Aquaculture Sustainability faciliTy (COAST) is used as a case study of community-engaged design addressing safety needs. COAST is a parametric insurance product, sold to national governments, which was designed to meet the food and nutrition security of small- and medium-scale fisherfolk. The design of COAST is an example of convergence research, where the discipline of engineering was integrated with another discipline to solve pressing societal needs of Caribbean fisherfolk. This case study demonstrates that community-engaged design helps to (1) identify and include historically underrepresented stakeholders, (2) emphasize the importance of professional responsibility for project implementation, and (3) achieve long-term sustainability of the design (i.e., COAST has been renewed for a third policy year, 2021/2022).
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code generated or used during the study are proprietary or confidential in nature and may only be provided with restrictions. This includes the COAST actuarial model, which belongs to CCRIC SPC, and the various COAST Operational Manuals, which are part of the legal contracts between sovereign nations and CCRIF SPC.
Acknowledgments
The author wishes to acknowledge the financial support of the John A. and Susan Mathews Endowment from Missouri S&T; the Jefferson Science Fellowship program administered by the National Academies; and financial support for COAST provided by the US Department of State to the PROFISH multidonor trust fund of the World Bank TF00942. Because stakeholders share the responsibility for the results of community-engaged design, it is essential to acknowledge contributors, including: John Kerry, Nancy Stetson, Chris Hegadorn, Lee Voth-Gaeddert, Sally Yozell, and others from the US Department of State; Valerie Hickey, Randall Brummett, Miguel Angel Jorge, Sylvia Michele Diez, Jose Angel Villalobos and others from the World Bank; Milo Pearson, Ken Blakely, Isaac Anthony, Gillian Golah, Michael Spranger, and service providers of CCRIF SPC; Milton Haughton and the CRFM; Ronald Jackson and the CDEMA; the CNFO; and many other colleagues and friends throughout the Caribbean and beyond including CEFAS. In particular, the encouragement of CARICOM is appreciated, and the leadership of Grenada and St. Lucia are highlighted as the “country owners” of COAST, because of their willingness to develop the first examples of a COAST Operational Manual and to serve as the first two pilot nations to purchase the COAST policy.
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Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 148 • Issue 3 • March 2022
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© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Aug 23, 2021
Accepted: Oct 22, 2021
Published online: Dec 22, 2021
Published in print: Mar 1, 2022
Discussion open until: May 22, 2022
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