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Resilience Planning Resources: Getting Started

Organizations to Foster Learning and Connection

American Society of Adaptation Professionals (ASAP): www.adaptationprofessionals.org – ASAP is a professional association with the mission to support and connect climate change adaptation professionals while advancing innovation in the field.
Association of Climate Change Officers (ACCO): www.accoonline.org – ACCO is a community of practice that provides training and learning opportunities, links regional efforts and members, and provides access to tools and resources.
Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange (CAKE): www.cakex.org – CAKE is an innovative community of practice that aims to build a shared knowledge base for managing natural and built systems in the face of rapid climate change.
Georgetown Climate Center: www.georgetownclimate.org – The nonpartisan Georgetown Climate Center advances effective climate and energy policies in the U.S. and serves as a resource to state and local communities addressing climate change.

Other Guides and Frameworks

Resources on Building Equitable Climate Resilience

Tips for Identifying Representative of Frontline Communities – a newly published resource by the Climate Ready Communities team
Advancing Climate Justice in California: Guiding Principles and Recommendations for Policy and Funding Decisions
Georgetown Climate Center’s Adaptation Equity Portal
Life After Carbon’s Innovation Network for Communities
Movement Strategy Center tools and publications
NAACP’s Equity in Building Resilience in Adaptation Planning publication
Equity Foundations – an independent study professional development program for sustainability directors and their staff to master best practices for adding a racial equity lens to sustainability.

Climate Change Literacy and Education

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) white board videos about climate change
National Oceanic and Atmospheric and Administration (NOAA) information on climate news, science, maps, and projections
Katharine Hayhoe videos on climate change:

Resources on Outreach and Engagement

Apathy is Boring’s Top Ten Tools for Engaging with Millennials and Generation Y – From pages 10-12 in the 2017 Report “Dear Municipalities, From Millennials.“
QuestionPro offers a suite of features and question types – all for free. Online surveys are an important community engagement tool.

Nature-based Solutions

National Wildlife Federation’s Green Works for Climate Resilience guide
IUCN Publication Nature-based Solutions to Address Global Societal Challenges
Georgetown Climate Center’s Green Infrastructure Toolkit
Think-nature.eu (hub for dialog, knowledge, networking)

Back to Resilience Resources

Testimonials

“The Climate Ready Communities^® program is off to a great start. I was one of the Beta reviewers for this program in March 2018, and was impressed by the breadth and detail of the information provided in the Practical Guide for Developing Climate Resilience. The Geos Institute’s 7-step framework for developing climate resilience provides a systems approach that a community can actually use and the Guide covers a range of useful topics from community engagement to developing a task force. The tutorials, templates and website will help a community like ours navigate the resilience building process.”

Dena Winslow, tribal planner and grant writer, Aroostook Band of MicMacs, Presque Isle, ME
"Climate Ready Communities^® has given the City of Warren the means and resources necessary to begin meaningful dialogues about climate change, mitigation, and adaptation in a way that leads to community-driven actions that can be implemented by way of local and county governments through actions organized by steering committees."

City of Warren, MN
"The Climate Ready Communities^® program has been extremely relevant and useful for Sierra CAMP as a regional collaborative. The comprehensive guide with its step-by-step organization helps us and our member communities break the climate resilience planning process into manageable steps and build our internal technical expertise. We’ve found the Annual Support service to be valuable for our Peer Group in demonstrating specific adaptation case studies, and we’ve had a chance to utilize the consulting hours to conceptualize and plan key regional initiatives like the regional vulnerability assessment."

Nikki Caravelli, Sierra CAMP Project Manager, Sierra Business Council
We find these tools to be effective and designed with a community user’s perspective in mind. We appreciate the step-by-step approach as well as the fact that the program is flexible, allowing us to make modifications as needed to fit our specific circumstances. We also appreciate the opportunity to consult with the experts at the Geos Institute as we go through the process."

Diana Maneta, Missoula County’s Energy Conservation and Sustainability Coordinator
“The Climate Ready Communities^® program has been an excellent tool for Corinth. It provides clear steps and expert guidance. The backing of the Geos Institute provides credibility and helps to build momentum for our resilience planning. Our participation in the Climate Ready Communities pilot has put us much further along in the climate resilience planning process than I believe we otherwise would be.”

Patrick Hubbard, Development Coordinator for the City of Corinth, TX