Resilience Cohort

Your application to the Cohort includes an application to host a McKinney Climate Fellowship. See the application for ERI’s new MCF policy handbook and a draft collaborator agreement.

Cohort communities are expected to contribute a small cost-share for each Cohort track they participate in. This goes towards the costs of expert consultants and the scholarship paid to the fellow. Fees will be invoiced by ERI.

Cohort communities should budget for potential additional minor expenses. These could include items like printing; fellowship hosting costs such as office space, computer equipment, or supplies; or limited in-state travel. Participants should also budget for stakeholder and public meeting costs such as materials, refreshments, childcare, or stipends, with UGI participants receiving additional financial support from ERI for engagement activities.

Local government plans represent the priorities of local leaders and community members and are typically based on extensive analysis and public engagement. But so often, the plan is written, adopted, and then nearly forgotten. Staff responsible for implementing plans don’t always know what to prioritize or how to start. ERI’s first-ever climate action accelerator is designed to help local government staff get un-stuck.

Climate action is feeling especially urgent–2023 has been the hottest year on record, while federal funding provides unprecedented opportunity to launch climate solutions. The accelerator will introduce a new portfolio of tools, resources, and activities, paired with the familiar Resilience Cohort facilitation and training, to help participants make progress on the action of their choice.

Cohort members will:

• Determine priority actions
• Create an action implementation template
• Uncover funding opportunities
• Learn and pilot the “Strategic Doing” framework for solving complex problems
• Work with a climate equity coach

Anticipated partners include Jane Rogan Connect and ERI’s Indiana Resilience Funding Hub.

The accelerator provides each participant with training, one-to-one coaching, and professional services with an estimated value of over $10,000.

Contact ERI Resilience Programs Coordinator Anagha Gore (anagore@iu.edu) if you have any questions.

Who should apply? 

Local or regional government staff responsible for overseeing implementation of climate, energy, or sustainability actions.  

The accelerator will be most helpful to communities that: 

• Have adopted or approved plans that list specific strategies or actions.  
• Have some degree of buy-in or support for implementation from government leaders.  
• Have an existing network of stakeholders that can be convened to collaborate on projects.   

Climate actions are most commonly found in climate action plans, climate resilience plans, sustainability plans, or energy plans. However, comprehensive or master plans, economic development or housing plans, or multi-hazard mitigation plans could all contain actions that are a good fit for the accelerator.

Research shows that US cities are losing tree canopy cover due to development and climate stress factors, yet urban tree cover is a key tool for communities to build resilience to climate change. Unfortunately, canopy cover is often lowest in the disadvantaged parts of our communities, where arguably it is needed the most. ERI’s Urban Green Infrastructure cohort will facilitate a science-backed, equity-based tree canopy cover assessment, tree planting, and maintenance program for Indiana cities of any size.  

The Cohort will include a planning phase and an implementation phase. Cohort members will: 

Phase 1: Development of Tree Planting Plan

• Receive a professional tree canopy assessment 
• Work with an equity coach 
• Engage with community members and stakeholders to help identify priority tree planting areas  
• Develop a community-wide tree-planting plan that provides equitable access to the benefits of trees 

Phase 2: Implementation of Tree Planting Plan 

• Receive up to 100 trees to be planted in disadvantaged areas identified in the planting plan 
• Receive professional planting services 
• Receive professional watering and tree care to establish each planted tree 

Phase 1 is valued at over $17,000 in professional services and Phase 2 is valued at $125,000 in green infrastructure installation and maintenance, for each participant. 

Anticipated partners include Davey Resource Group, Jane Rogan Connect and the IUPUI Polis Center. The Cohort is supported by the USDA’s Urban and Community Forestry Program.  

Contact ERI  Resilience Programs Coordinator Anagha Gore (anagore@iu.edu) if you have any questions.

Who should apply? 

Local government staff responsible for overseeing tree planting and maintenance. Regional organizations that coordinate with multiple local governments are encouraged to apply.  

Applicants must have at least one Federally designated disadvantaged community census tract. While the assessments and planning will cover a participant’s entire jurisdiction, all cohort-funded trees must be planted in a designated tract as designated by the White House Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST). 

This program will welcome a new cohort of communities each year from 2024-2027.

Apply

In this phase of the program, participants received technical assistance and support from ERI and Geos Institute, following Geos Institute’s Climate Ready Communities planning framework. Participants also received equity and environmental justice training and one-on-one coaching from Hoosier Environmental Council.

Participants included Bloomington, Carmel, Columbus, Gary, Monroe County, New Albany, South Bend, and Terre Haute.

Featured media:

• ERI, IU students facilitate community conversations on climate risks

In this program, local governments conducted community-scale greenhouse gas inventories. This process involves collecting data on the amount of energy consumed in a community, the carbon emissions associated with energy supplied to the electric grid, a community's vehicle type and fuel usage distribution, and more.  

Some communities also completed inventories of emissions from their local government operations, setting them up to develop strategies to reduce direct emissions from government operations. 

Communities received in-depth training from ERI and ICLEI, a leading nonprofit organization for local government sustainability, through training webinars and one-on-one technical assistance.  

Participants included Cedar Lake, Chesterton, East Chicago, Hammond, Highland, Hobart, Huntington, Indianapolis, Lafayette, Lake County, Lake Station, La Porte (city), LaPorte County, Merrillville, Munster, New Albany, New Castle, Portage, Porter County, Schererville, South Bend, Terre Haute, Tippecanoe County, and Valparaiso. 

This program focused on implementing common strategies from climate action plans: increasing the use of solar energy, accelerating electric vehicle deployment, and reducing energy use in water and wastewater treatment. In each of these three focus areas, communities receives training and technical support from industry experts, including the Great Plains Institute, the Electrification Coalition, and the US Department of Energy. 

First, communities learned how to lower barriers to residential solar energy in their communities, working towards designation in the SolSmart program, a national program that recognizes local governments who make it faster, easier, and more affordable to go solar.  

Next, communities learned how to accelerate the uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) in their communities. Participants hosted events to increase awareness, distributed surveys to better understand barriers, assessed the electrification options for municipal fleets of vehicles, and began developing EV plans. 

Finally, guided by experts from the US Department of Energy (DOE), program participants learned how to utilize DOE tools to benchmark, monitor, and reduce energy use in water and wastewater treatment—a major source of local government emissions. The implementation program also included in-depth equity training and one-on-one coaching, as well as translation services to facilitate more inclusive public engagement. 

Participants included Bloomington, Carmel, Elkhart, Fishers, Fort Wayne, Gary, Goshen, Lafayette, Michigan City, Richmond, West Lafayette, and Zionsville.

Featured media:

• ERI helps Hoosier communities achieve recognition for solar preparedness

In this program, local governments conducted community-scale greenhouse gasinventories. This process involves collecting data on the amount of energy consumed in a community, the carbon emissions associated with energy supplied to the electric grid, a community's vehicle type and fuel usage distribution, and more.  

Some communities also completed inventories of emissions from their local government operations, setting them up to develop strategies to reduce direct emissions from government operations. 

Communities received in-depth training from ERI and ICLEI, a leading nonprofit organization for local government sustainability, through training webinars and one-on-one technical assistance. 

Participants included Bloomington, Carmel, Columbus, Delaware County / Muncie, Evansville, Fishers, Fort Wayne, Gary, Greencastle, Goshen, Michigan City, Oldenburg, Richmond, West Lafayette.

Featured report:

• 2019 Resilience Cohort Summary Report