The Climate Smart Communities Initiative (CSCI) is designed to provide the support communities need to protect people, property, infrastructure, economies, and natural resources from climate change-related hazards. CSCI will help communities identify and use the climate science data and tools needed to understand their exposure to these hazards and to use that information to create and implement equitable and sustainable climate resilience plans. 

The CSCI is managed by a consortium of partners, including the Climate Resilience Fund, EcoAdapt, Fernleaf, Geos Institute, ICF, and the Environment, Equity and Justice Center at NRDC, working closely with the NOAA Climate Program Office. Over the next several years, we will support communities across the country in building their internal capacity, matching them with appropriate external partners, and providing guidance and funding resources. EcoAdapt will lead this project's monitoring and evaluation component to learn what is effective in both community support delivery and adaptation practice. The assessment of adaptation efficacy and the implementation of evidence-based adaptation strategies are crucial for enhancing our collective outcomes and scaling up adaptation efforts. CSCI provides a unique opportunity to learn at a scale that matches the challenge of climate change. CSCI is a core component of the federal government’s strategy for advancing climate resilience. For more information about these programs, please refer to the White House Climate Resilience Summit Factsheet. Read NOAA’s press release about CSCI here.