The challenges local governments and nonprofits face today are almost absurdly daunting. Setting aside the perennial struggle to reconcile ever-growing needs and ever-shrinking budgets, the pandemic has devastated community health and local economies. Then there’s the massive, long-term challenge that exacerbates everything: the unprecedented storms, floods, fires, droughts, and heat waves of a changing climate.

Yet some local government and nonprofit staff charged with preparing for the effects of climate change have found hope—and help—in an unlikely source: their peers in other cities, near and far, in their region, and across the country. And philanthropy is playing an important role in nurturing these connections.

Today, climate change adaptation networks and collaboratives are sprouting across the country, bringing people together for coordinated action and learning to protect human and natural communities.

Climate change is a complex and all-encompassing challenge, which requires innovative, multidisciplinary, cross-sectoral, and cross-government solutions. Climate adaptation networks foster connections among people who might not otherwise cross paths, and serve as structures for building capacity and expertise that enable more effective responses to climate change, from planning to implementing projects on the ground. By investing in these nascent efforts, funders can target their support to the frontline professionals best positioned to build resilience and transformation in response to climate impacts.

In a time when in-person conferences and formal structures are increasingly difficult to maintain, networks are an essential way to connect the ecosystem of practitioners, researchers, and decision makers working in a particular region or on a specific topic. Network members share knowledge and resources and develop coordinated responses to problems—such as flooding—that typically transcend political boundaries and siloed sectors. These networks take many forms, but more often than not, they exist as a flexible, virtual web of communications channels to share real-time information, coupled with structured meetings designed to support relationship building and collective learning.

Read the full article about climate change adaptation by Melissa Ocana at PhilanTopic.