Policy Engagement
ARCCA has played a pivotal role in creating a unified voice and elevating the regional approach in climate adaptation discourse, as well as in advocating for greater coordination and integration across sectors, across jurisdictions, and through the vertical hierarchy of government. Through our work with our member regional collaboratives and key state agencies, such as the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research and the California Natural Resources Agency, ARCCA has become a trusted voice in the adaptation space and frequently relied upon for subject-matter expertise, policy recommendations, stakeholder engagement, and to bring attention to important considerations that have been overlooked, such as the urban-rural interface for climate impacts and adaptation.
Learn more about our engagement and view our comment letters.
Download our 2017 legislative update fact sheet!
Learning Sessions
ARCCA hosts 2-4 Learning Session webinars each year on timely topics that our members have expressed interest in learning more about, particularly on new climate change adaptation models, frameworks, and financing mechanisms. Each Learning Session features one or more presentations from distinguished speakers, then an extended Q&A and discussion with ARCCA members.
Learn more about upcoming and past Learning Sessions (including recordings and resources).
Regional Collaborative Formation, Governance, and Funding
ARCCA supports emerging regional climate change collaboratives by providing targeted guidance and support. We encourage interested parties to contact Julia Kim at jkim@lgc.org to get connected with ARCCA leadership.
To encourage regional collaboration and peer-to-peer support, we developed a comprehensive toolkit to help other regions develop their own capacity and collaborative structures. The Regional Adaptation Collaborative Toolkit is a comprehensive online toolkit that provides a framework for forming a regional adaptation network, guidance for structuring a regional collaborative, and insights into effective governance mechanisms for engaging local, regional, state, and national stakeholders to adopt new collaborative relationships. The toolkit provides detailed guidance for the 13 key steps identified in the formation process, which also includes a total of 82 supplementary case studies, tools, and resources, making the toolkit the most robust, publicly-available resource for the formation of regional adaptation collaboratives to-date. We also partnered with the Georgetown Climate Center to explore formation, governance, and funding options for regional adaptation collaboratives throughout the country. Case studies for ARCCA’s member regional adaptation collaboratives are being developed and will be finalized in early 2017.
Fourth Climate Change Assessment
ARCCA, as a coalition program of the Local Government Commission, is supporting two research projects being conducted as part of California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment. The projects explore the financial and institutional barriers to implementing local adaptation strategies, as well as opportunities to overcome these barriers. We will be supporting the development of:
- A framework of common adaptation finance archetypes and opportunities to resolve local government financial challenges and needs; and
- A capability maturity model for local government agencies to advance adaptation capabilities, which will include a matrix, guidebook, and case studies.
Learn more about these projects.
The Urban-Rural Connection
With the addition of ARCCA’s fifth member regional collaborative and first rural representative, Sierra CAMP, we are working to advance the important connection between upstream rural areas and their downstream urban counterparts for climate adaptation. As part of this effort, we hosted a workshop that featured a panel of academics and researchers, a panel of state agency representatives, and a panel of local elected officials to explore opportunities for urban-rural collaboration for a more holistic approach to climate adaptation planning. We also worked with a CivicSpark AmeriCorps fellow to develop a whitepaper on how systems are connected and where the State should make investments that will yield the greatest benefit. This paper will include mechanisms for quantifying the value of ecosystem services that rural areas provide to urban centers. Upon the completion of this paper, we will work to bring together policymakers and decision-makers to incorporate the urban-rural connection in their funding and programmatic decisions.
Adaptation in Action Roadmap / SB 379 Implementation
California Senate Bill 379, which requires cities and counties to include climate adaptation and resiliency strategies in their general plans to ensure safety and protection of their communities in the future, passed the legislature and was signed into law by Governor Brown on October 8, 2015. LGC and ARCCA worked with a CivicSpark AmeriCorps fellow to develop key resources and is working to develop an Adaptation in Action roadmap and compile resources to help local governments comply with this new law.
Past Initiatives
California Adaptation Listening Tour
The California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) reached out to LGC and ARCCA to provide stakeholder engagement support to gather input on the draftSafeguarding California: Implementation Action Plans and to get a better understanding of local initiatives, interests, and needs. We worked closely with CNRA and ARCCA’s member regional collaboratives to host a series of regional listening sessions in Fresno, Oakland, San Diego, and Truckee. Over 100 professionals representing various sectors, as well as concerned citizens and local businesses owners, participated in the California Adaptation Listening Tour.
Safeguarding CA State Listening Tour Notes
Adaptation and Health Workshops
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) reached out to ARCCA for our leadership in the adaptation space to help enhance their California Building Resilience Against Climate Effects (CalBRACE) program. This program provides resources and technical assistance for the state and local public health departments to build climate adaptation capacity and enhance resilience at the local and regional levels. ARCCA delivered multiple presentations on regional adaptation planning concepts, specific strategies for building resilience in local communities, and frameworks for collaborating with local public health departments.