Various coral reef restoration techniques are being developed and trialled around the World, including through the large Australian ‘Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program’ (RRAP). We review the ecological data and information needed to predict and assess the effectiveness of reef restoration activities, and present the concept, design and focus of the RRAP project ‘EcoRRAP’. EcoRRAP investigates the natural dynamics of reef recovery across a range of habitats along the vast and diverse Great Barrier Reef. The project provides region- and habitat-specific insights into the ecological mechanism driving and limiting reef recovery, to inform decisions on where, when and what type of interventions may be beneficial. EcoRRAP uses cutting-edge technologies including 3D photogrammetry at unprecedented scales to investigate coral demography, and their drivers (physical, biological and biochemical). EcoRRAP also investigates temperature dependent growth, the critical thresholds that limit stage-specific recruitment dynamics, the natural rates and processes of genetic adaptation of corals, as well as the concept of ecosystem adaptation. EcoRRAP data will be used to populate ecological and decision support models, to assess where interventions are warranted and will likely make a difference in a rapidly changing environment.