About

Advancing Adaptation Throughout California

The biennial California Adaptation Forum (CAF) aims to gather California’s adaptation community to foster knowledge exchange, innovation, and mutual support to accelerate adaptation efforts and create equitable and resilient communities throughout the state. CAF provides an inclusive space for community leaders, decision-makers, technical experts, and on-the-ground practitioners working across California to connect, discuss, and learn about new policies and tools, project successes and lessons learned, and emerging opportunities to build climate resilience in the near-term and over the coming decades.

Inspired by the National Adaptation Forum (NAF), the inaugural 2014 CAF convened 800 leaders in Sacramento, and two additional in-person forums have been organized since – CAF 2016 in Long Beach and CAF 2018 in Sacramento. Due to COVID health and safety concerns, CAF 2020 featured a 3-part webinar series on the nexus of climate and community resilience, and CAF 2021 was organized as a 5-month virtual workshop series to explore solutions to common challenges faced by California’s adaptation community.

CAF is hosted and organized by CivicWell (formerly the Local Government Commission), in partnership with the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research. Each CAF is made possible through the generous contributions from forum sponsors, expert guidance from advisory committee members, outreach support from promotional partners, and active engagement from session organizers, presenters, facilitators, and participants. With hundreds of individuals contributing to the success of each forum, CAF represents a collective effort to build a dynamic program that leverages our time together to build our broader movement.

A significant factor in the success of CAF is its appeal to leaders from a diverse range of sectors and disciplines. CAF’s diverse audience includes local, regional, state, and federal agencies, community-based organizations and nonprofits, Tribal Nations and Native-led organizations, academic institutions and researchers, technical experts, private sector leaders, students, and other leaders working in and across a broad range of climate issue areas. The CAF program is intentionally centered in equity and designed to feature relevant content for its diverse audience – from extreme heat to sea level rise, urban planning to forest management, planning to implementation, and beyond.

Engaging a Multi-Disciplinary Audience

A significant factor in the success of the California Adaptation Forum is its appeal to leaders from a diverse range of sectors and disciplines. As with previous forums, we anticipate our 2023 audience will include local, regional, state, Tribal, and federal agency staff and officials, community-based organizations and nonprofits, academic institutions and researchers, and consultants and private sector leaders working in and across a range of sectors and climate impact areas.

Sectors
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    Affordable Housing

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    Agriculture/Food Systems

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    Biodiversity/Habitats

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    Community Engagement
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    Cultural Preservation

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    Economic Development

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    Education

     

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    Emergency Management
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    Energy
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    Funding
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    Governance

     

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    Implementation

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    Natural Resources/Ecosystems

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    Planning

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    Policy

     

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    Public Health
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    Research

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    Transportation
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    Water
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    Workforce Development

     

Impact Areas
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    Air Quality
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    Drought

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    Extreme Heat

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    Extreme Storms

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    Flooding

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    Sea Level Rise

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    Wildfires

Forum History

The Local Government Commission and the State of California organized the first California Adaptation Forum on August 19-20, 2014 in Sacramento. The 2014 Forum launched the statewide adaptation conversation by bringing together 800 local, regional and state leaders to form a community of action, committed to addressing California’s adaptation needs. The program featured cutting-edge policies, projects, programs and partnerships, as well as tools and strategies that address the challenges community leaders face in developing and implementing adaptation solutions.

2014 Forum Highlights

The 2016 Forum followed up on the success of the 1st California Adaptation Forum and brought together over 500 climate change adaptation leaders from across California, the nation, and other countries. This gathering provided an opportunity for leaders from across the state to share information, discuss local activities and needs, identify new resources, and develop a statewide network of adaptation professionals.

2016 Forum Highlights

The 2018 Forum took place August 27th-29th in Sacramento, and brought together nearly 800 leaders and practitioners over the course of three days to learn, share, and network with one another. The 2018 Forum elevated three core priorities: Embracing Change to Catalyze Innovation, Uplifting Underrepresented Voices, and Taking a Whole Systems Approach. The program, delivered by over 280 speakers, included 3 plenaries, 13 workshops, 40 sessions, 8 tool demonstrations, 5 tours, 10 networking events, and climate art installations. The Forum also served as a launchpad for sharing findings from California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment.

2018 Forum Highlights

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the in person 2020 California Adaptation was postponed. During 2020, in partnership with Alliance of Regional Collaboratives for Climate Adaptation (ARCCA) CAF held a 3-part webinar series that engaged 1400 leaders and practitioners from across the state.

2020 Forum Highlights

CAF 2021 focused on The Grand Adaptation Challenge, aimed at exploring solutions to common challenges faced by California’s adaptation community. This 5-month virtual series, taking place June to October 2021, featured three cross-cutting tracks: 1) Advancing Equitable Adaptation, 2) Integrated Planning for Holistic Solutions, and 3) Catalyzing Meaningful Adaptation Action. Hundreds of adaptation practitioners tuned into informative webinars and engaged in interactive workshops to connect, brainstorm, and identify action-oriented solutions.

2021 Forum Highlights

CAF 2023 focused on exploring solutions to California’s Climate Adaptation issues. This 3-day in-person event, taking place July 31st to August 2nd 2023 in Pomona, CA, featured nine cross-cutting tracks: A) Actionable Science, B) Critical Infrastructure, C) It Takes a Village, D) Marrying Movements, E) People Power, F) Place-Based Projects, G) Resources for Resilience, H) Systems Change, and I) Tried and True. Hundreds of adaptation practitioners engaged in interactive workshops and sessions to connect, share information and tools, and identify action-oriented solutions.

2023 Forum Highlights