As the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development dawns, there is an “uptake gap” between actual and potential uses of ocean observation data, which limits the applications of these data for societal benefit. In response, there are numerous capacity building efforts working to enhance skills and knowledge and foster increased community awareness and use of ocean data. Concurrently, it’s been recognized that engaging coastal communities in the planning, design and even ownership of ocean observation projects is critically important. Individuals, organizations, and networks that work in community engagement and capacity development have generated many successful implementation and evaluation schemes related to ocean systems. This session will highlight these contributions and provide a forum to share best practices, new initiatives, and case studies that will inspire off/online engagement and capacity building within communities towards greater adoption of ocean data for societal benefit.