NOAA unveils new training guides for the nation's climate adaptation workforce

Today, NOAA and partners released Implementing the Steps to Resilience: A Practitioner's Guide, a handbook for national climate resilience. The book, with accompanying online resources, is designed to help climate adaptation practitioners work with local governments and community organizations to incorporate climate risk into equitable, long-term decision-making. With this user-friendly guide, resilience and adaptation professionals can learn how to implement the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit’s Steps to Resilience. 

The NOAA-supported guidebooks are new tools to help planners and other climate resilience practitioners based on the Steps to Resilience Framework. The Steps to Resilience Framework originator Matt Hutchins is pictured in the top middle. Image by Fernleaf.

“This guide is a critical step towards scaling up resilience in every U.S. community,” said Rick Spinrad, Ph.D., NOAA Administrator. “Building a Climate Ready Nation means training a large national workforce of adaptation and resilience practitioners.” 

The guide is the centerpiece of NOAA Climate Program Office’s strategy for scaling up and accelerating resilience-building in communities across the nation and is a foundational next step in the NOAA Climate-Smart Communities Initiative. According to David Herring, Communication, Education, and Engagement Division Chief in the Climate Program Office, “The initiative intends to support the training of climate service practitioners to develop ready-to-fund, equity-based adaptation plans that can be implemented in communities throughout the U.S.”

In Smithville, anthropologist Michael Paolisso worked with members of the New Revived United Methodist Church (above) to gauge their thoughts and feelings about climate change. (Photo by Michael Paolisso.)

Practitioners who use this systematic guidance in different communities may compare progress toward climate resilience, thus accelerating the evolution of best practices. To supplement the Practitioner’s Guide, NOAA and partners have created four other guides to scaling up adaptation and resilience planning nationwide. 

This guidebook offers a set of procedures to accompany each phase of the Steps to Resilience training.

All five of the guides are available for free in the NOAA Institutional Repository:

• Implementing the Steps to Resilience: A Practitioner's Guide 
• Ready-to-Fund Resilience supports practitioners’ work within the climate resilience funding and finance system.
• Centering Equity in Climate Resilience Planning and Action: a Practitioner’s Guide recommends equity principles to apply during adaptation and resilience planning.
• Moving from Faith-based to Tested Adaptation Process and Approach: How Will We Know We’re Adapting? emphasizes evaluation and measurement of adaptation practices.
• Incorporating Nature-based Solutions into Community Climate Adaptation Planning uses the “Steps to Resilience” framework to explore nature-based adaptation.

NOAA invested about $250,000 in Implementing the Steps to Resilience and co-funded the other four guides along with the Climate Resilience Fund, which matched federal dollars 1:1 with those of private philanthropies.

All five resources are being highlighted at the 5th National Adaptation Forum in Baltimore, Maryland, from October 25 to 27, 2022. The Forum, a biennial event, convenes about 800 adaptation practitioners from across the nation to share knowledge, innovate methods, and build relationships across government, academic, commercial, and non-governmental domains of expertise.

This guide focuses on Climate Service Practitioners who come from many sectors (interlocking circles on the left). Practitioners must draw upon a variety of skills, both individually and through support from others (central box), in order to serve communities where they work (circle on right).

During this year’s Forum, NOAA has an exhibit booth (#300, co-sponsored by the Climate Program Office, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Ocean Service, and the Sea Grant Program) where attendees may learn more about the agency’s adaptation science and services. In addition to formal training sessions, facilitated presentations by practitioners, and other professional development, the Forum will provide an environment for adaptation practitioners to learn more about climate-smart practices and share their work with others.

Consult Implementing the Steps to Resilience: A Practitioner's Guide to begin your journey toward climate-resilient decision-making today. 

Note: Implementing the Steps to Resilience: A Practitioner’s Guide is dedicated to the memory of colleague and friend Nina Hall, who was devoted to helping communities recognize and cope with the impacts of climate change.