Training
One of the primary goals of CSCI is to build the capacity of local communities to become more resilient, and training and workforce development is key.
The initiative’s training programs target three main audiences:
- Climate adaptation professionals
- “Government champions,” the local and regional leaders who work within government entities
- “Community champions,” the local and regional leaders who typically work within a community based organization (CBO)
Participants will learn about systematic approaches to building resilience while leveraging the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit. These topics are encapsulated within the toolkit’s Steps to Resilience (StR), a decision support framework. The course design and delivery is a partnership between NOAA’s Office of Coastal Management, NOAA’s Climate Program Office, CSCI partner Fernleaf, and UNC Asheville’s NEMAC.
Courses
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Steps to Resilience for Climate Adaptation Professionals
This course is tailored for those wanting to lead communities through systematic resilience and adaptation planning. Practitioners will become conversant with diverse skills, including engagement (facilitation, communication, and co-production), climate impacts assessment, planning and prioritization, seeking funding and finance, natural resource management, and social science-based skills needed for monitoring and evaluating success. This course requires a 15 to 20-hour time commitment spread across two weeks. It combines facilitator-led sessions with the flexibility for self-paced learning. Successful participants will receive a certificate of completion, one of the prerequisites for registering as an adaptation professional in the Resilience Registry.
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Adaptation Planning for Government and Community Champions
This “Steps to Resilience for Communities” course is designed to help government officials, staff, and community leaders successfully lead and engage in climate adaptation planning, with the overarching goal of building and fostering climate resilience within the communities they serve. If you are entrusted with resilience planning in your community, but you’re not a climate analyst, this course is for you. This course comprehensively covers vulnerability assessments, governance, adaptation strategy evaluation, practitioner engagement, funding sources, and effective communication. This course is designed for active professionals in the field and will be delivered within a manageable 8-hour time commitment; it will be offered twice per quarter. The course includes real-time instruction and self-paced learning opportunities.
Opportunities for training will be forthcoming. Please join our mailing list to receive updates and information.