Governance for the blue economy presents profound adaptive challenges. Coastal resources cross political and ecological boundaries, yet governance structures remain fragmented across barangays, municipalities, and provinces. Multiple stakeholders—from fisherfolk to investors—hold competing interests, while climate change accelerates risks and uncertainty. Traditional, compliance-driven planning tools often fail to address these complex, systemic issues. Leaders must shift from relying on technical fixes to adopting adaptive work, which involves negotiating trade-offs, building coalitions, and facilitating participation. The challenge is not just producing plans, but also fostering learning, trust, and collective action among diverse actors who must work together to imagine and steward a shared coastal future.

The Blue Economy Wavemaker Fellowship equips community champions, barangay and LGU officials, SK youth, and educators to design, fund, and launch blue economy projects — while learning practical, ethical AI for planning, policy, and participation.

Participants will join mixed-sector learning teams, apply AI tools like NotebookLM to synthesize local plans, and co-create Blue Economy Roadmaps at the LGU, inter-LGU, and provincial levels.

The fellowship integrates Problem-Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA), Bridging Leadership, and Adaptive Leadership to help fellows:

• Work iteratively on real problems to accelerate learning.

• Build trust across sectors and levels of governance.

• Mobilize diverse stakeholders while managing conflict and uncertainty.

About the Fellowship

The Wavemaker Fellowship is an 11-month, cohort-based program where 2–10 heterogeneous learning teams (2–5 members each) per LGU co-create local Blue Economy Roadmaps and launch pilot projects.

The program is designed to be implementation-oriented. Fellows practice participatory governance and public narrative (Self–Us–Now) while using AI for planning, data synthesis, policy drafting, and simulations. Each team maintains a NotebookLM workspace populated with local plans (CLUP, CDP, LDIP, AIP, LCCAP, LDRRMP, CRM, Tourism Plan, BDPs) to ensure all outputs are grounded in official data.

The Blue Economy Roadmap Toolkit

Fellows are expected to co-develop a local Blue Economy Roadmap for their LGU or bio-region. Click here to download the Blue Economy Roadmap Toolkit.  

Program Structure

Phase 1 – The First 100 Days (Months 1–3): Foundations and Sprint

Adaptive challenges often remain hidden beneath technical debates. Phase 1 surfaces these challenges by bringing diverse sectors together to imagine alternative futures for 2040 — a thriving vs. a collapsed blue economy. Fellows practice Adaptive Leadership by diagnosing the gap between aspirations and reality, while PDIA helps break down large challenges into smaller, testable problems. Quick-win pilots and early experiments demonstrate visible progress, building trust and momentum.

Output by Month 3: Draft LGU-level Blue Economy Roadmaps.

Phase 2 – Roadmap and Alliances (Months 4–8)

Adaptive challenges require collective responses beyond the boundaries of a single LGU. Phase 2 focuses on building trust and interdependence through Bridging Leadership, where fellows cultivate shared ownership across municipalities and provinces. Through Systems Learning Labs, stakeholders co-create solutions and practice orchestrating conflict. AI-supported simulations help prepare leaders for negotiation and coalition-building. The highlight is the formation of inter-LGU alliances and the drafting of coordinated roadmaps that recognize ecological systems rather than political borders.

Output by Month 6: Draft Inter-LGU and Provincial Blue Economy Roadmaps, plus signed alliance frameworks with at least one joint project identified.

Phase 3 – Scaling and Governance Embedding (Months 9–11)

Adaptive challenges cannot be “solved” once and for all — they require ongoing learning. Phase 3 institutionalizes this adaptive capacity. Fellows embed their roadmaps and governance toolkits into formal LGU plans and school/university curricula. They practice giving the work back to stakeholders, enabling ownership at the barangay and municipal levels. The Collective Learning Festival showcases both achievements and struggles, reinforcing the idea that progress in complex systems comes through iteration, reflection, and sustained coalitions.

Output by Month 11: Final validated LGU, inter-LGU, and provincial Blue Economy Roadmaps, governance toolkits, pilot project results, and showcase presentations.

AI-Supported Learning Features

• AI simulations for stakeholder engagement.

• Personalized AI copilots for data analysis, synthesis, and policy drafting.

• Co-creation of roadmaps, alliance charters, and project pitches with AI assistance.

• Collective Knowledge Base curated in NotebookLM across LGUs and alliances.

How to Apply

Eligibility

• Open to LGUs (municipal, city, provincial), barangays, community organizations, SK federations, universities, and senior high schools in coastal areas.

• Each team should have 2–5 members, heterogeneous by sector and gender. Multiple teams per LGU are encouraged.

• Secure leadership endorsement for showcasing outputs.

Selection

• Community impact and relevance to coastal priorities.

• Diversity of team composition and youth inclusion.

• Feasibility of a 12-week pilot project within the fellowship.

• Commitment to ethical AI use.

Application Steps

1. Submit intent form (LGU or organization).

2. Nominate your team(s) and focal person.

3. Prepare baseline documents (plans and data sources).

4. Attend onboarding and Lesson 0 setup.

Join the Online Course

Click here to join the online course platform.  

FAQ

How much time should teams commit?
1-2 hours per week per fellow including team work, self-study, and onsite activities.

Do we need advanced AI skills?
No. Practical AI skills are taught step by step, with safety guardrails and human review on all outputs.

What do teams deliver?

• By Month 3: Draft LGU-level Blue Economy Roadmaps.

• By Month 6: Draft Inter-LGU and Provincial Blue Economy Roadmaps, plus alliance frameworks.

• By Month 11: Final validated roadmaps, toolkits, pilot project results, and showcase presentations.

Can multiple teams join from one LGU?
Yes. We recommend 2–10 teams to cover different coastal barangays or themes, then integrate outputs by Month 6.