Technical Approach

The three-phase strategy will begin with an assessment of the types of data and information DoD managers need to improve their adaptability to climatic impacts on operations (Phase One). The assessment will follow recommendations of the National Research Council (2009): Informing Decisions in a Changing Climate. This approach previously has been successfully applied to help federal resource managers in several U.S. Department of Interior bureaus and agencies, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as well as sovereign Indian tribes--all to improve their response to climate change. Further expertise will be brought to this work through collaboration with risk management specialist Acclimatise, which has developed climate adaptation tools currently being employed across the United Kingdom Ministries of Defence. Phase Two will focus on capacity building by melding the discovered needs of DoD managers with a series of climate change tools (e.g., related to weather, fire, and hydrology) that already have been developed for climate-related planning and adaptation in the Southwest. A tailored climate risk management assessment process cognizant of DoD's existing decision-making criteria will be included, and researchers will use these tools as the centerpieces of training modules on making decisions with incomplete information. In Phase Three, the approach and tools will be transitioned so that DoD managers can apply them more broadly across DoD operations. This will involve working with DoD managers to disseminate the knowledge and develop climate-oriented management networks that cut across federal jurisdictions. A unique toolkit developed specifically for helping agencies instill adaptable strategies into their operational culture will be provided.