Mapping the Seafloor, Minus the Paperwork: How Pisces Oceans Kept BEcoME Focused on the Science

Some of the most important work in ocean science happens where almost no one can see it: the seafloor.

The BEcoME Project (Benthic Ecosystem Mapping & Engagement) was built to change that. Led by Dr. Katleen Robert at Memorial University and Dr. Craig Brown at Dalhousie University, and funded by the Ocean Frontier Institute through the Canada First Research Excellence Fund, BEcoME set out to understand how benthic habitat shapes shifting species and biodiversity patterns in a changing ocean climate. Closing that knowledge gap matters because these are the ecosystems that underpin Atlantic Canada's benthic fisheries, and the communities that depend on them.

To close the gap, BEcoME organized itself across seven interconnected work packages spanning societal engagement, broad- and fine-scale seafloor mapping, and hardware and data-analytics tool development. BEcoME is exactly the kind of ambitious, collaborative science the ocean needs more of, but it is also a lot of work to run.

The problem beneath the surface

A program of this scale carries a heavy administrative load. With two lead institutions, multiple co-leads, students, postdocs, and industry and community partners spread across distributed work packages, not to mention a multi-year budget to track, partners to keep aligned, and funder reporting obligations to meet, BEcoME faced serious coordination and financial management challenges.

At the end of the day, publicly funded ocean science should deliver its full value, and when world-class researchers spend their days on reconciliation instead of discovery, both the science and the public investment behind it are underserved.

BEcoME's leadership knew what success would look like: a well-run program where financial and reporting obligations were handled reliably in the background, work packages stayed coordinated, and the team could pour its energy into the research itself.

A partner, not just an administrator

That vision of success is what led BEcoME's leadership to bring in Pisces Oceans for grant management. BEcoME needed a partner who understood both the research and the funding environment, and Pisces brought experience managing complex, multi-partner federal and institutional research awards, paired with fluency in the Canadian ocean-science funding ecosystem. That combination let Pisces step in as a trusted extension of the team, carrying the program's operational and financial management with the same care as the researchers themselves.

The plan: set up, manage, report

Pisces supported BEcoME across the full life of the project in three phases:

Set up. Structured scope discovery mapped the program's work packages, partners, deliverables, and reporting obligations, with defined roles and responsibilities so everyone knew who owned what.

Manage. Ongoing financial tracking and budget monitoring, coordination across work packages and partner institutions, and proactive risk and change management caught issues early, before they could grow teeth.

Report and close. Funder-ready reporting and reconciliation aligned to OFI and CFREF requirements kept the program accountable and audit-ready throughout. Throughout, Pisces worked alongside the PIs and work-package leads at both Memorial and Dalhousie, using established project management and financial-tracking tools to keep the entire program visible in one place.

What we delivered

Through this collaboration, Pisces provided end-to-end grant management: budget tracking and variance monitoring across the multi-year award, coordination across all seven work packages and partner institutions, funder reporting and reconciliation, and active management of risk and change as the program evolved.

The impact

Each element answered a piece of the project coordination challenge. Financial oversight removed budget uncertainty. Cross-work-package coordination kept the program aligned. Reliable reporting kept the team ahead of every funder deadline. And all the work together kept the researchers' hands in the water, instead of behind a desk.

With grant management safe in Pisces' hands, BEcoME's leadership kept their focus where it belonged: on the science. Budget uncertainty disappeared, work packages moved in step, and the team stayed ahead of every funder deadline from start to finish. The program closed with a clean accountability record and stands well positioned to deliver on its research mandate.

"Pisces has taken the administrative burden off our plate, so we can focus on the research" - Craig J.Brown, Associate Professor, Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University

Takeaways for ocean research projects

Pisces work with BEcoME shows what's possible when research teams have a grant management partner who understands both the funding rules and the science. Ambitious, multi-institution ocean programs don't have to choose between running clean operations and doing great research. The right partner makes both possible.

Ready to focus on ocean science rather than admin?

Take a page from BEcoME's book, and get in touch with us. If your team is helping the ocean, we're here to help you.