To the Fifth Assessment and Beyond

Setting the Stage

When you picture climate change, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? It’s probably a historic drought, record-setting wildfires or even the occasional rogue February heat wave. We’ll go out on a limb and assume you're not imagining a group of scientists exchanging line edits on a hundred plus page document. But while the visible effects of climate change are clear and present, there's much more happening behind the curtain of academics and government to actively address this growing challenge than meets the eye. 

As a global leader in climate action, California doubled-down on addressing the current climate crisis in 2020 by implementing SB-1320, which specifically sets aside funding for future California Climate Assessments to be conducted by the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (LCI) periodically over a 5 year rolling cycle. 

During this span, LCI works in tandem with scientists, university researchers, tribes, and community organizations to produce data and expert analysis on the most pressing climate-related impacts facing California. Ultimately, this report gets used as a reference by elected officials when passing new environmental legislation but also by the general public, from farmers, to business owners, to energy providers and much more when making long-term financial decisions.

While this process is done at larger scales like the National Climate Assessment, California’s state-led assessment uses a combination of regional and topical reports to address the needs of the state's nine distinct areas and their unique climate issues. Together these reports are used to compile a statewide summary that merges the regional and topical reports, like impacts on economy or racial equity and climate justice, into a comprehensive look at the best available climate research in the state. 

Backed by an increase of resources and a drive to improve their understanding of the state’s current climate challenges, LCI initiated this EPM Policy Clinic project to help streamline the experience of author teams and other contributors. Given their familiarity with the process and topic area expertise, improving the ability of authors to focus on communicating the best-available science directly benefits the lives of all Californians. 

Using these reports coupled with meaningful outreach, LCI hopes to prepare decision-makers and citizens across the state with the most accurate available climate data and pave a pathway forward for a more conscious future backed by science. 

Measuring Success

Our team developed an Evaluation Report of the Fifth California Climate Change Assessment in collaboration with LCI to identify which strategies and resources were most effective for author teams when drafting their reports, along with improvements to consider. The Evaluation is constructed on the basis of direct input from authors regarding their experiences. 

The intent of the Evaluation is to provide LCI with recommendations to consider for future Assessments. This includes successes and suggestions for LCI regarding communication with author teams, facilitation of inter-author team coordination, public and tribal outreach strategies, time management, resources to provide, feedback strategies, and more. The goal is to enhance the capacity of future author teams to generate effective reports that support a robust Assessment.

The Game Plan

The initial phase of our project was devoted to refining the scope and defining our desired outcomes with LCI. How could we best meet the needs of LCI while also fully representing the author team’s desires?  This is where the focus of our project was narrowed down to the design of an internal evaluation examining the challenges and successes encountered by the regional and topical author teams during the Fifth California Climate Change Assessment. 

In the second phase, we developed a survey to elicit author perspectives on critical topics such as inter-team communication, information sharing, editing and review processes, tribal engagement, as well as other potential areas of concern. The surveys were fully anonymous to ensure we were receiving the most candid feedback. Following the survey, participants were strongly encouraged to schedule a 30-minute informal interview with us to elaborate on their responses and provide additional qualitative feedback. Questions focused on author perspectives on the goals of their respective assessments and their experiences regarding interagency coordination and tribal engagement. Findings from interviews were used to inform the structure and content of the evaluation framework.

During our third and final phase, interview findings were compiled and used to establish the final recommendations presented in our evaluation memo. This project aims to serve as a bridge between author teams and assessment administration (the LCI team), demonstrating the value of a dedicated neutral party in improving the operational processes of a multi-year statewide effort, such as the Fifth California Climate Change Assessment.

Insights

To begin, our team gathered feedback from a broad cross-section of regional and topical author teams involved in California’s Fifth Climate Change Assessment. Because participation in the surveys was mandatory, and interviews were strongly encouraged by the LCI team, we were able to hear directly from a diverse group of contributors about their experiences with developing the assessment. The strong response rate provided some critical insights into both the successes and challenges of developing one of California’s most comprehensive climate research publications.

Through the surveys and interviews with both regional and topical author teams, we identified several recurring challenges originating from the administration and preparation of the Fifth Climate Change Assessment. While teams consistently praised the collaborative structure and scientific rigor, many reported that funding constraints, unclear guidance and fragmented communication created barriers to report development and stakeholder engagement. These findings suggest that as California’s subsequent Climate Assessments continue to expand in scope and inclusivity, stronger coordination mechanisms and clearer administrative support are vital to maintaining consistency during the synthesis of each team’s report, while also ensuring that limited resources are directed more towards research and engagement activities, rather than resolving administrative bottlenecks.

Our analysis also found that communication was vital to ensuring success across report development. Teams reported that regular engagement with LCI, fellow authors, and external stakeholders would allow them to be better positioned in identifying resources, streamlining report objectives, and addressing any potential emerging challenges. With this, we recommend the expansion of opportunities for inter-team collaboration, development of a universal guiding document and framework, and the facilitation of an open channel of communication with other author teams (both regional and topical), as well as the LCI team.

Additionally, we found that author teams viewed engagement with marginalized and indigenous communities as essential components of a successful Climate Assessment. Nonetheless, engagement varied across teams.

To summarize, supporting California’s ambitious goal of producing tangible and actionable climate research requires additional guidance for Climate Assessment authors, additional resources for report development and synthesis, as well as increased opportunities to engage with key community members within their region.      

Professional Opportunities

We had several professional development opportunities to network with LCI employees and learn about state careers. This included a formal career panel, where our team was able to hear from a range of employees and ask questions about their experiences. 

We had several opportunities to meet with our client in person at the LCI office. During and after our meetings, we were introduced to several professionals. In this, we were able to learn about their work and experiences. 

Conclusion

Combating climate change requires that the most recent environmental data be available and accessible for decision makers, scientists, and the public. California’s Climate Change Assessment is the state’s comprehensive tool in developing climate policy. Improving the author experience is crucial to ensuring the maximum effectiveness of regional and topical climate reports. Our Evaluation establishes recommendations directly informed by author perspectives to enhance the capacity of LCI to support its author teams.