Centre for Blue Governance is a multidisciplinary social science research group focused on the interactions between people and the sea. Accordingly, we define blue governance as the formal and informal processes of collective decision-making, planning, deliberating, and capacity building by governmental, market, and civil society actors connected to marine and coastal environments. Through addressing issues of legitimacy, democracy, and sustainability in governance, we seek to improve understanding of the strategies used by people in response to social, economic, environmental, and political change. The Centre for Blue Governance is located at Aalborg University, Denmark, within the Department of Planning.
Centre for Blue Governance builds on the values and outstanding reputation of the research centre Innovative Fisheries Management (IFM) for social scientific expertise, analysis, and advice in international fisheries and marine governance. Founded in 1994, IFM began as an independent social scientific research and advisory institute working in fisheries management and coastal community development. In 2007, IFM merged with Aalborg University (AAU), becoming a research centre within the Department of Planning, with an expanded research focus beyond fisheries management to include other maritime sectors and issues of marine governance. This expansion has led to a new articulation of the group as the Centre for Blue Governance in 2019. Centre for Blue Governance encompasses and promotes the social science and policy expertise and interests developed and held by IFM.
