As the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) looks to increase awareness of the opportunities that the offshore wind industry will bring to Staten Island, NYCEDC selected Karp Strategies and our partner MRV Group to build out stakeholder engagement, promotions, and communications strategies for the Summer of Offshore Wind on Staten Island Event series. The Summer of Offshore Wind was a month-long activation in June 2023 that brought a series of interactive educational events across the borough to inform communities about how offshore wind power generation works, how they can access training and job opportunities, and familiarize stakeholders with the benefits of clean energy.

Karp Strategies developed and executed a comprehensive and creative outreach, engagement, and communications strategy that ultimately impacted over 400 participants across 20 standalone events in partnership with 15 unique community partners. Events included STEM workshops to teach children how to build floating offshore wind turbines from household materials, a short film screening about offshore wind workforce opportunities at the National Lighthouse Museum, and virtual reality pop-ups showcasing real-life training scenarios for maritime jobs in the offshore wind industry. The programming was interactive and aimed to educate and inform an all-ages audience about offshore wind. Our team was responsible for conducting outreach to community partners and maritime businesses, developing event plans and budgets, and overseeing event logistics, implementation, and follow-up. In addition, the Karp Strategies team developed marketing collateral and a promotion and communications strategy to advertise the event series boroughwide, utilizing in-person outreach and partnerships, along with digital and print media advertising. To close the month, our partner MRV Group led a ten-day pop-up activation at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal, where the public could interact with NYCEDC staff, build turbine models, try virtual reality training modules, and explore educational materials at the site.

As Staten Islanders prepare for an influx of offshore wind jobs, training opportunities, and development of key sites in the borough, the Summer of Offshore Wind facilitated important conversations and connections to increase awareness of the industry and the opportunities it presents for young people, job seekers, families, and businesses.