Learning & Innovation
Learning to Do Adaptation Better
Climate change is rapidly accelerating, and so are its impacts on communities across the United States. In order to help communities effectively prepare for the impacts of climate change, adaptation practitioners need to understand what works in advancing climate resilience.
Because of this, it is important that the Climate Smart Communities Initiative (the Initiative) team communicates the lessons we learn through our “Learning and Innovation” efforts about what is and is not working to build climate resilience. By doing so, this work can accelerate learning about effective adaptation and apply lessons learned to ensure good investments to protect and prepare communities for the changes ahead.
Primary Learning & Innovation Goals
To gain this understanding, the Initiative has implemented learning and innovation practices with three primary goals.
Learn What Works
The Initiative is evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of projects it funds and supports to reduce community vulnerability (including social, economic, and ecological vulnerability) to climate change.
This includes assessing the adaptation processes, plans, and actions that Initiative grantee communities use to reduce community climate vulnerability, as well as the ability of Initiative’s resources and support to advance adaptation.
Share What Works
The Initiative will use the evaluation results to increase understanding of what adaptation interventions are most effective at increasing community resilience to climate change.
This understanding will be shared broadly to inform decisions about which types of adaptation policies and practices should be continued or enhanced and which should be limited, refined, or discontinued.
Improve the Initiative
The initiative is evaluating all aspects of its efforts to improve its ability to deliver on its goals. This includes ensuring that the processes for community and adaptation practitioner training, granting, and knowledge exchange are effective and not overly burdensome.
The Initiative’s self-evaluation will inform improvements and changes needed to the project in real time, allowing an adaptive management approach.