Building Resilience Through Public Engagement and Community Problem Solving
May 15, 2025. The Center for Climate Strategies is advancing resilience in the US and other nations through a combination of strategic planning, capacity building, planning and analysis tools, and public engagement activities that enable community problem solving. As climate risks escalate, we are committed to equipping governments, private organizations, and communities with the tools and knowledge necessary to adapt effectively.
Two current initiatives highlight CCS’s expertise in building resilience. CCS is partnering with the George Mason University’s (Mason) Institute for a Sustainable Earth (ISE) and National Science Foundation (NSF) Accelerated Research Translation (ART) program. CCS also is collaborating with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on cost benefit analysis of avoided loss and damage through nature-based solutions (NBS). These underscore CCS’s holistic approach to resilience—translating science to policy, providing technical assessments and tools, and building capacity and education to drive action.
CCS is proud to serve as an implementing partner as part of the ART program. CCS is supporting the development of best practices for comprehensive resilience planning by supporting faculty, students, and project partners with academic and community level initiatives. This includes development of technical tools to assess local socio-economic conditions and climate risks and vulnerabilities and the Virginia community database, which tracks climate risks across 133 cities and counties and 21 regions. The tool supports screening and targeting of risk exposure, potential vulnerability, and adaptation response strategies across all sectors. CCS is also working with Mason researchers to bridge climate modeling with local activities, populations, and places and to provide community level workshops on resilience and community problem solving.
In collaboration with UNDP, CCS is developing a cost-benefit analysis and decision-making tool for NBS projects across Latin America and the Caribbean. It enables policymakers and project developers to rapidly scope NBS projects by identifying key areas of risk exposure and vulnerability, specific resilience response measures and the capital and operational expenditures of their implementation, along with cost savings and avoided loss and damage from response to climate change across the region.
By equipping organizations and stakeholders with critical resources, CCS is supporting transition to sustainable, resilient communities in the US and other nations. Stay tuned for more!
