How We Work

More than 175 members and partners form the Climigration Network, bringing both lived and learned expertise with climate risk and displacement to develop transformative, community-led approaches to climate-driven displacement and relocation.

Across the nation, Network members apply a critical socio-ecological perspective to all angles of the climate relocation conversation (e.g., policy, legal matters, planning, research, communications). The Network trains practitioner-members to own their positionality and privilege, and to embrace their role as partners in support of community and Tribal climate initiatives. A diverse Council informs the Network’s strategies, with community and Indigenous leaders responding to the climate crisis as well as field leaders in adaptation practice and science.

We believe in building trust and relationships through storytelling, art, combining lived experience with data, and the co-creation of ideas and projects. We are the only organization dedicated to providing both practitioner and community-level support on climate-driven displacement and relocation in the United States. 

We have 6 workgroups for members to join as volunteers and contribute to our shared discussions, learning, and progress. Learn more about our workgroups below & connect with us to get more involved and join the Climigration Network!

Our Workgroups

  • Chairs: Debra Butler & Ruthie Redmond

    Focus: Creating a shared praxis to steward ecosystems and human societies so both may prosper

    While there has been increasing media coverage of climate impacts on ecological and human communities, we realize that intentional place-based understanding, multi-dimensional approaches and transformative praxis are what must inform our difficult and necessary work and “re-vision” the jargon of the news cycle and influence of “disaster carpetbagging.” The intention of our workgroup is to assist in the stewardship of ecosystems and human societies so that both may prosper, with a desire to use the Climigration Network platform to make a positive difference.

    2023 Priorities:

    • Developing a framework for practicing at the intersection of Ecosystems and People - creating a collective understanding or foundation centered around common perspectives, principles, and practices.

    • Developing projects, papers, blogs, YouTube, zines or other forms of communication as interactive and collaborative resources shared with other working groups and the entire Climigration Network.

    Commitment: We meet for 1.5 hours every other month, with asynchronous collaboration between meetings as needed.

  • Chairs: Carri Hulet & Johanna Lovecchio

    Focus: Identify resources to support community-led relocation efforts and collaborate with workgroups and community partners to access resources

    2023 Priorities and Tasks:

    • Support the pilot year and growth of the Network’s new participatory grant program, the Next Step Cohort (more info on the program here). Tasks include developing a system to connect cohort members and other community leaders with Network members who have relevant skills or expertise to contribute to a community's project.

    • Research and write narrative(s) to communicate with philanthropic partners about the challenges associated with climate displacement and migration in the US and the barriers communities face to accessing resources

    • Develop a set of principles / ethics to guide our funding partnerships

    • Assist with finding and connecting with new funding partners and writing and submitting proposals to fund Network operations and key initiatives

    Commitment: We meet for 1 hour/month, with a maximum of 1-2 hours of work between meetings, as needed.

  • Chairs: Rachel Isacoff & Meg Perry

    Focus: Programming to further member learning on equity, justice, and the lived experiences of climigration

    2023 Priorities:

    • Creating new approaches to support Network members’ in exploring and owning their positionality and privilege, and embracing their role as partners in support of community and Tribal climate initiatives

    • Developing spaces to share learnings for how organizations and practitioners can better partner with and share resources with communities on projects

    • Designing and hosting Network conversations exploring lived experiences of climate displacement, migration, and equity and justice principles through art and other mediums

    Commitment: We meet for 1 hour every month, with a maximum of 1-2 hours of work between meetings.

  • Chairs: Robin Bronen & Hannah Perls

    Focus: Explore legal and policy barriers to just, equitable community-led responses to climate-driven displacement

    2023 Priorities:

    • Collaborate on opportunities to engage with the federal government on climate displacement and relocation, including responding to public comment opportunities

    • Build relationships and share lived and learned expertise with others working in this field

    • Track and share new policy developments at the federal level utilizing tools like the Harvard EELP Federal EJ Tracker

    • Explore projects, questions, and ideas brought by members to the group for collaborative brainstorming and problem solving (e.g., providing input on a policy paper being developed at a member’s organization on FEMA-funded buyouts)

    Commitment: We meet for 1 hour every month, with a maximum of 1-2 hours of work between meetings.

  • Chair: Anamaria Bukvic

    Focus: Fostering networking, knowledge exchange, collaboration, and research engagement

    2023 Priorities: Our workgroup is designed to be a welcoming, generative space for researchers, evaluators, postdocs, faculty, and more - across different disciplines, institutions, and stages of career/life. Our work together aims to answer the following questions:

    • How to do equitable and meaningful research that addresses the needs of the communities?

    • How to evaluate the implementation of the network’s principles, engagement, and programs?

    • How to optimally measure the human experience and qualitative dimensions?

    • How to coordinate research methods and results to support communities and practitioners?

    • How to create successful collaborative proposals and engage the WG members?

    • How to successfully engage in research and publish with diverse community partners?

    • How to balance the need for applied and basic research and pursue innovative methods that will be disciplinarily rigorous, policy relevant, and meaningful for communities?

    • How to overcome the barriers of non-conventional research modalities (e.g., convergence and interdisciplinary research, student engagement with local partners, etc.)?

    Commitment: We meet for 1.5 hours quarterly, with a maximum of 1-3 hours of work between meetings (e.g., short surveys, feedback on documents).

  • Chairs: Hannah Teicher & Alex Miller

    Focus: Exploring how communities can set themselves up to be welcoming receiving communities

    2023 Priorities:

    • Designing and advising a project undertaken by a college research assistant to develop guidance on how real estate and corporate location and investment decisions are shaping opportunities and barriers for households to relocate to, or remain in, communities.

    • Advising an ongoing Network project to explore approaches to create supportive, welcoming communities that may receive those relocating from their homes.

    • Exploring findings from both projects to better understand how communities thinking about relocating may identify potential receiving communities, how communities can set themselves up to be welcoming receiving communities, and how private sector influences may affect communities’ planning for the future.

    Commitment: We meet for 1.5 hours every other month, with a maximum of 1-2 hours of work between meetings.