Additional Resilience Tools and Resources

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This page contains a list of tools and resources to aid institutions in leading resilience workshops and creating plans to increase their own resilience.

 

Campus Evaluation of Resilience Dimensions

The Campus Evaluation of Resilience Dimensions is a checklist to help schools assess the five dimensions of resilience, and complete the Resilience Assessment as part of the Climate or Resilience Commitment.  The tool can be used to survey campus and community members regarding their understanding of strengths and vulnerabilities in the area.  It can also be used as part of a workshop to drive conversation around resilience.

The Campus Evaluation of Resilience Dimensions is available online, or as a downloadable PDF:

Implementation Liaisons should note that if using the online version, it is possible to create a unique url that will record all survey responses for a school in a single location.

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Community Resilience Building Workshop

The Community Resilience Building (CRB) workshop is a tool developed by The Nature Conservancy.  It guides communities through the process of organizing and executing a community resilience building workshop. During the workshop participants define climate hazards, identify strengths and vulnerabilities, and develop and prioritize actions to build resilience. Schools can use this workshop to complete the Resilience Assessment and begin the Planning process. Second Nature recommends the CRB model especially for campuses looking to initiate resilience work with community partners and campuses interested in a participatory process to engage stakeholders. Please visit the CRB website for guidance on organizing and facilitating a workshop.

Email [email protected] for additional information and guidance on organizing and facilitating a CRB workshop.

Example Summary of Findings from Campus-Community Workshops

Eastern Connecticut State University

Eastern Connecticut State University compiled a Summary of Findings following a Community Resilience Building workshop with the Town of Windham, Connecticut in 2017. This was an opportunity for stakeholders from the town and campus to come together and discuss climate resilience. The workshop was facilitated by The Nature Conservancy and Second Nature.

Tufts University

This Summary of Findings details the results of a Community Resilience Building workshop hosted by Tufts University in 2018. The workshop was organized by the Office of Sustainability and the Office of Emergency Management. It focused on the Tufts campus, but included city representatives from Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. The workshop was facilitated by The Nature Conservancy and Second Nature.

California State University, Long Beach

California State University, Long Beach organized and facilitated a campus-community Resilience Charrette in 2018, based on the Community Resilience Building workshop format. This report outlines the process and summary of findings from the workshop. The workshop included participants from campus and the broader Long Beach community.

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Capacity Assessment Matrix

The Capacity Assessment Matrix is a tool to help schools identify, organize, and map out existing resilience activities on campus. This can be used to complete the Resilience Assessment as part of the Climate or Resilience Commitment. The matrix is recommended for large schools where there may be several existing projects or initiatives focused on climate resilience. It can also be helpful for schools looking to collect and organize input from various stakeholders across campus, with a focus on identifying existing capacities.

The Capacity Assessment Matrix is a template; schools should modify the template to best fit the needs of their campus. The planning areas included may not apply to each campus and users should feel free to add or remove planning areas, climate impacts, and indicators as needed.

The Capacity Assessment Matrix was developed by CRUX Fellows Brian Grant and Thea Kindschuh along with their university partners. There are two versions of the matrix that may be downloaded:

There are two examples of completed Capacity Assessment Matrices that schools may refer to as models. Please note that these are working documents and not final versions of the assessment. At each school, the campus-community task force and other university stakeholders worked through several iterations to fill out the matrices below.

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Resilience Goal Setting Worksheet

The Resilience Goal Setting Worksheet is a tool to help campuses define resilience goals, strategies for implementation, and metrics for measurement. This can be used when campuses have completed the Resilience Assessment and are incorporating resilience goals into their Climate Action Plans.

This tool is adapted from Gregg RM. 2018. Monitoring Climate Impacts and Evaluating Adaptation Success Worksheet, EcoAdapt, Bainbridge Island, WA.

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Coordinating with City Initiatives

Schools located in urban centers with existing resilience initiatives may find it advantageous to coordinate the Resilience Assessment and Planning process with their city and other nearby institutions. This will help identify areas where different campus and city plans can complement each other.

In Washington, D.C. six universities organized and attended a joint workshop in 2017 with several city agencies working on resilience. The joint meeting was facilitated by The Nature Conservancy and Second Nature, and included training on how to organize CRB workshops specific to each campus. Read about format and outcomes from Resilience Planning for Washington DC Universities

In Los Angeles, the City of Los Angeles Mayor’s Office of Resilience –in collaboration with 100 Resilient Cities and Second Nature –convened a forum in 2018 on campus resilience, with representatives from several regional academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, and public sector entities. Read about the forum’s findings in the context of a broader effort to build strong and connected communities, and the creation of a Campus Resilience Challenge. 

Within Los Angeles, California State University, Northridge (CSUN) Master of Urban Planning students worked with local nonprofits and neighborhood councils in the neighborhood of Northridge in the San Fernando Valley.  Over the course of a year, they developed Resilient Northridge, a community-driven plan to increase local resilience. Read a blog post about the process of developing the plan.

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Thank You to Climate Programs Intern Cass Michaud for helping to compile these resources.