During the initial design of the Resilient Connecticut project, our team intended to create a citizens’ advisory committee to inform the project development. The focus of the project is on Fairfield and New Haven counties across four COGs and required a large-scale regional vulnerability assessment followed by identification of resilience opportunity areas (ROARs). From those areas, a subset would move forward into a locally focused design process with deep local engagement.

As Phase II started, which included the regional climate vulnerability assessment, it became evident that other voices could be amplified through the process across the numerous sectors that are impacted by climate change before deep local engagement could begin. Expertise from conservation, housing, environmental justice, infrastructure, and economic development could provide critical feedback on the project activities.

In addition to serving as an advisory committee, there was an opportunity to engage organizations in a facilitated community of practice (CoP), where they could engage with other organizations also interested in planning for climate change impacts. This led to the creation of the Resilient Connecticut Collaborative.

The RCC meets every three months or so with encouragement to attend intervening Resilient Connecticut project events (regional workshops, research webinars, and training opportunities).

We still anticipate deeper local-scale engagement to occur as locations are selected in Phase III for further design work.

Interested in joining? Email circa@uconn.edu