The Climate Impacts Group has released a new strategic plan to guide the next five years of our work. Among several key priorities, the strategic plan reflects a commitment to centering equity in climate adaptation, with particular attention to environmental justice and community resilience. 

This commitment to equity will shape our approach to all of our work. We will be organizing our work into four priorities — action-oriented research, decision making, capacity-building and communications. An additional fifth priority — fundraising — is crucial to ensuring CIG can deliver greater impact across our first four strategic priorities.

“This marks a really important moment for the Climate Impacts Group,” Jason Vogel, interim director of the Climate Impacts Group, says. “Demands for climate services are both increasing and evolving, and there is increasing acknowledgement of the need to center the priorities of frontline and marginalized communities. We have an exciting opportunity to push the boundaries of climate services and define for ourselves and others what it looks like to work in partnership to support equitable climate adaptation. Our strategic plan will help us rise to meet this important moment.” 

The strategic plan was a collaborative effort among Climate Impacts Group staff with guidance from Sustainability Partners consultancy. Many external partners provided feedback on drafts of the plan, including UW EarthLab and UW College of the Environment leadership; academic personnel; federal, state and local government agency staff; Tribal members and representatives; and community members and representatives. 

Learn more and download the plan