Brainstorm potential strategies
Cross reference the asset map and Projects, Programs, and Policies Template from the Groundwork phase.
Review projects and programs of Governing Body and Community Network members.
Review potential equitable and resilient development best practices that fall within the five Commitment areas. There are multiple guides and rating tools that highlight equitable and sustainable development best practices and strategies, including:
- Enterprise Green Communities, LEED ND, LEED for Cities, Sustainable Square Mile, SITES, Envision, Fitwell, Living Communities, WELL for Communities
- Subject matter guides from the NAACP, US EPA, US DOE, ULI, USGBC, AIA, ASLA, APA, Smart Growth America, CNU, etc.
Create a list of potential strategies to help achieve objectives across the five Commitment Areas.
Evaluate each strategy
Assess and rank each strategy using the following criteria:
- Impact on racial equity: Does each strategy advance racial equity? Key issues include:
- What equity problem is the strategy attempting to solve?
- Who experiences this issue and how?
- What is the current and historic causes of this equity issue?
- What is the strategy’s desired equity result and outcome?
- What data is being used to lift up the strategy?
- What is the data telling us and what gaps in the data remain?
- Who will benefit from the proposed strategy?
- Who will be burdened by the proposed strategy?
- How will you mitigate unintended consequences?
- How will you ensure accountability?
- Impact of climate resilience: Does each strategy advance climate resilience? Key issues include:
- Stresses: Does the strategy improve or worsen food and housing insecurity, health inequities and outcomes, environmental pollution, and neighborhood hazards?
- Shocks: Does the strategy improve or worsen the community’s capacity to respond to sudden, isolated events or disturbances such as heat waves, energy and water infrastructure failures, floods, fires, or pandemics?
- Decarbonization: Does the strategy improve or worsen the community’s dependency on fossil-fuels and transition to net zero GHG emissions and energy?
- Advances multi-solving: Does the strategy provide co-benefits that advance objectives other Commitments? Use the Multisolving Institute’s Flower Tool to help assess which strategies have the most community benefits.
- Impact on targets: How likely is it to advance targets?
- Level of stakeholder support: What is the level of Governing Body and Community Network support?
- Capacity to implement: Is there sufficient capacity within the Governing Body to lead implementation?
- Funding availability: What level of existing or available funding (federal subsidies, loans, bon money) is available to implement the strategy?
Select strategies
Using the Strategy Assessment Template, identify which strategies which are prioritized for inclusion in the work plan.
Engagement
- Convene the Community Network in each step of identifying, assessing, and ranking potential strategies. Encourage the Community Network to leave their issues at the door, and to look for co-benefits when assessing potential strategies.
- Partner with technical experts such as architects, urban planners, sustainability consultants, and local faculty to help identify and vet strategies.
Certification Templates
Certifciation Templates are only available for active APs and Certification candidates.