How a resilience rubric can help municipalities evaluate progress and target opportunities for meaningful improvement.

Barr Foundation Climate Program

Increasingly, local communities are turning toward climate resilience strategies to help prepare for, adapt to, and transform from climate change impacts. Actions range from implementing policies for resilient development, to meaningful public engagement, to dedicating resources to at-risk groups.

In Greater Boston, The Barr Foundation set out to characterize their own resilience by using a rubric. They were looking to measure where communities are in their journey toward climate resilience and aimed to identify barriers and opportunities to help communities boost their resilience. Our team was there to help. How? By assembling a committee with advisors from various municipalities and regional organizations to help guide the development of key indicators of resilience. A survey was carefully crafted and sent to over 100 municipalities in the region.

The survey revealed that most respondents are leaning into resilience but are in the very early/emerging phases of doing so. This indicates a landscape ripe for support through future financial and technical assistance—such as a guide to regional climate data sources, support for engaging with priority populations, and opportunities for peer-to-peer knowledge sharing within the region. The Barr Foundation intends to apply these results in shaping their Climate Program and future resilience grant programs in support of climate initiatives in the Metro Boston region.