Expanding Local Government Capacity: University, Nonprofit, and State Partnerships for Climate Resilience and Sustainability

3rd Annual National Sustainability Society Conference

Local governments are on the frontlines of climate action and are expected to advance ambitious sustainability goals across climate mitigation, resilience, waste reduction, and energy systems. However, insufficient staffing and funding can prevent them from making progress. Cross-sector partnerships between local governments, universities, nonprofits, and state agencies offer a practical, scalable way to get this work done. At the same time, they offer students hands-on, career-defining experiences in municipal government. As students emerge as next generation sustainability leaders, project learning experiences with local governments play a critical role in preparing them with the practical skills and professional relationships needed to advance sustainability in their communities.

This session will focus on how universities, nonprofits, and state agencies build and implement partnerships that expand local government capacity to advance sustainability and climate action. Panelists will share real-world examples from featured programs in Colorado and Arizona, including ICLEI USA’s Colorado Resilience Engine (CORE) Internship Program, Mountain Towns 2030 programming and Capstone project with CU Boulder, CU Boulder’s Master of the Environment (MENV) Capstone Program, the Rural Technical Assistance Program (a collaboration between CU Boulder’s MENV program, the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office (OREC) and Colorado State University Extension), and Arizona State University’s Project Cities program.