Technical Assistance

Pilot Program Technical Assistance

The Climate Smart Communities Coordinator engages each CSC directly. The direct engagement process includes three phases: 1) community assessment; 2) connecting with communities; and 3) delivering customized services. This framework allows for the project team to provide quality services that respond to each communitys individual needs. It is envisioned that the above framework will continue throughout the Pilot. CDRPC will annually conduct an in-person meeting and develop a custom service strategy based on the varying needs of the CSC participants. Community profiles will only be developed as new communities take the CSC pledge, but they will be updated on a regular basis throughout the Pilot.

Community Assessment

To begin the community assessment phase, the project team conducts background research on the progress each community has made in achieving the ten CSC pledge elements. In addition to the information provided by NYSERDA, desktop research is conducted on every current CSC to determine and confirm what had been achieved and to collect supporting information, including greenhouse gas emissions inventories, climate action plans and other documentation. An account is created for each community in Salesforce.com. This database was secured to manage the project teams interaction with existing and potential CSCs.

Based on the information that's collected, a community profile is developed for each CSC participant. These profiles include all pertinent information on the current climate protection efforts and the details of any action on pledge elements, and serve as documentation of the status of each CSC participant in addressing the ten elements of the CSC pledge. The community profiles are developed through research completed by project team staff. This research includes review of public documents, municipal websites and other available anecdotal information. These profiles are essential to developing a baseline of each communitys activities as well as familiarizing the project team with the municipalitys structure and level of commitment to the CSC pledge. Baseline information will be collected for any new CSC participant that signs the pledge.

The community profile is provided to each CSC two weeks prior to the initial in-person meeting. This allows the local government staff to provide any missing information or correct any errors. In addition this profile allows community staff and officials to see what information is readily available about their CSC pledge efforts. This profile is used as a foundation for a discussion on which types of technical assistance will best meet the needs of each CSC.

In-Person Meetings

In-person meetings are offered to existing Climate Smart Communities in the Capital Region during each year of the Pilot program. These meetings allow the project team to:

• Introduce the Climate Smart Communities Coordinator Pilot Program and the project team,
• Review the community profile and their progress toward achieving the pledge elements,
• Review current initiatives and projects that they are working on,
• Identify areas where they need assistance on accomplishing their climate protection efforts,
• Identify what resources they have available,
• Determine a customized approach for meeting their needs.

The project team invites the highest elected official and (where applicable) the primary liaison for the CSC program to schedule the in-person meeting. Meetings are scheduled with the elected official, staff and volunteers working on the local governments climate protection efforts. The meetings last approximately 2 hours. The community is presented with a menu of technical assistance options focused on bringing the community to the next level of activity and closer to achieving the overall CSC goals. All information gathered during the in-person meetings is processed and used to create a custom service strategy (see below) that meets the desires and needs of the CSC.

Custom Service Strategy

Each community receives a custom service strategy within two weeks of the in-person consultation. This strategy summarizes the in-person meeting and outlines what the action item is, how it will be delivered, who will provide it and when it will be completed. The strategy provided to each CSC is based on each communitys needs. This analysis is based on two factors: the actions a community has already completed to fulfill the CSC pledge and the results of the in-person consultation. It is not anticipated that any formal legislative approval is necessary for the acceptance of this strategy, however if a municipality decides that legislative approval is needed, our team will be available to make a presentation on the strategy to the legislative body.

Each communitys strategy also includes a defined timeline. Both short- and long-term strategies may be developed. All technical-assistance strategies that extend longer than six months will have at least one evaluation at the midway point to ensure that the strategy is still appropriate for the community and delivering what is promised. For year one, the goal was to provide as much value in the short term as possible. The longer-term strategies will be utilized for years two and three.

Sample Services Offered

During the in-person meeting the project team will discuss with the community potential technical-assistance options that could be provided. These options are refined and matched to the needs and available resources of the CSCs and presented in the custom services strategy. The examples of potential technical-assistance options are listed below.

• Municipal Employee Training  The project team will work with the CSC on the development and implementation of staff trainings to introduce the behavioral changes necessary to reduce energy consumption in municipal operations.
• Review of Land-use Practices  Members of the project team will be available to review existing development patterns, comprehensive plans, and land-use laws to ensure that they are structured in a way to meet the goals of the CSC. Where appropriate the project team will recommend modifications to existing land-use practices. The teams knowledge of national smart-growth best practices will allow them to provide insight into the strengths and weaknesses of existing practices.
• Energy Planning  The team will assist municipalities in understanding their overall costs for electricity, natural gas, transportation fuels in their operations and help them create targets and strategies to reduce their costs and reduce GHG emissions.
• Municipal Operations Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Data Collection Templates and Guidance Document  A template to assist with the collection of data relevant to a greenhouse gas emissions inventory and a guidance document providing information on how to conduct a greenhouse gas emissions inventory for municipal operations.
• Community GHG Inventory Template  Pulling from the regional GHG inventory, the team will be able to provide, in a standard template form, a communitys complete Tier II GHG inventory for 2010. The team will also provide guidance on updating and improving the inventory where possible, and on using it to develop a community-wide climate action plan.
• Climate Action Plan Outline/Template  A climate action plan template, a menu of effective climate protection strategies that are appropriate and applicable to the region will be available to the CSC participants. In addition, other climate action planning resources available will include information and tools related to specific components of the climate action plan development process and how to identify funding sources to initiate a more formal climate action planning process.
• Climate Action Planning  Members of the project team will be available to review existing climate action plans to ensure they are structured to meet the goals of the CSC program. The teams knowledge of national best practices in climate action and adaptation will allow it to provide insight into the strengths and weaknesses of existing plans.
• Facilitating meetings with key stakeholders  The project team will work with municipalities to organize meetings with the key stakeholders necessary to help achieve their CSC goals. The team will also assist the CSC on understanding how to leverage volunteer committees and how to get the most out of community workshops.
• Network Support  The project team will be available on-call to answer questions and provide guidance to the CSC participants as needed.
• Assessing opportunity for PV installation  The project team can provide CSC members with a review of existing facilities and their potential for supporting PV installations. In addition the project team can provide energy savings estimates along with the associated reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.