OceansWide Business Plan Excerpt (Executive Summary)

OceansWide, a Maine non-profit corporation, is organized to purchase, outfit, manage, and maintain three research vessels and three remotely operated vehicles (ROV) for use by the scientific community and in support of Maine's educational institutions. Our founders, Mr. Campbell Scott and Dr. Peter Girguis, along with a distinguished gathering of scientists, educators, and business people, who are knowledgeable about marine operations, have determined a need in the state of Maine for access to new kinds of research data from the sea. The need for understanding and awareness of the known and unknown stresses upon the Gulf of Maine is necessary in order to keep the Gulf of Maine alive and thriving ecologically and economically. Using ROV's allows the unobtrusive collection of abundant data to satisfy marine science research goals. OceansWide will generate interest and awareness in the environmental advantages of caring for our oceans and will provide Maine, the Gulf of Maine, and its residents with the opportunity to thrive for generations.

OceansWide has developed a documented partnership with the Darling Marine Center (DMC) in Walpole, Maine. We will work closely with Dr. Kevin Eckelbarger to develop indoor classroom and laboratory space and to establish our business offices within the DMC facility.

Our company will provide ROVs for use by approved scientists from private and public institutions. Along with establishing a source for scientists to perform research, we are also committed to establishing an opportunity for schools in Maine to participate in research ventures with the scientists. In this business plan, we outline our expectations for this exciting educational benefit.

Our focus is to establish OceansWide as the premier source for quality ROV operations and safe shipboard operations. Our team of experts is already actively identifying the long-range potential of our business, including an interactive cooperation between all grade levels in the Maine public school system with scientific research onboard our ship using the ROV. To this end, we have met with various schools to assess where a pilot program should be set up. The teachers and principals we met with from the high schools in Camden, Rockland, Thomaston and North Yarmouth Academy were enthusiastic and supportive of our plan. We found special interest in the alternative education classes at Camden and Rockland where at-risk students were immediately intrigued with the chance of sharing in exploration off the coast of Maine. We also foresee great public interest through educational television and classroom participation as we expand research access to the wonders of the sea. Students will be able to share in the learning from our own coastal waters. We envision a program where students can experience the scientific results via media in their classrooms and actively participate on board, assisting scientists and performing their own science projects. We will use our successful program in Maine as the model to expand our services around the world.

To achieve our goal of providing ROV research platforms for scientists and students in Maine, we at OceansWide have compiled this business plan. We have identified our corporate objectives, our strategies for succeeding, and our short- and long-term plans. We have also included brief resumes of our key personnel who have the responsibility for determining our successful approach to launching OceansWide and providing Maine with a valued resource in our quest for educational excellence.

You may request a copy of our complete business plan and the associated cost spreadsheet here.