Resilient Virginia Collaborative Alliance
Creating Climate-Ready Communities in Central and Southwest Virginia
The Resilient Virginia Collaborative Alliance was started in 2023 to build regional capacity to address equity, economic, social, and climate challenges; create a roadmap for regional climate resilience; and integrate climate mitigation and adaptation strategies to address challenges and take advantage of opportunities.
Why start a collaborative?
Resilience Challenge
To date, extensive resiliency planning and projects have been limited to the coastal region of the Commonwealth, while the central and southwest regions remain typically under-resourced. This leaves them more vulnerable to increasing threats from extreme weather events and unpredictable climate patterns. These climate impacts exacerbate existing economic, environmental, health, equity and other community challenges. It is critical to identify, address, and prepare for these risks and challenges so that communities can continue to be vibrant and secure places to live and work.
Resilience Solution
The Resilient Virginia Collaborative Alliance is building capacity to address equity, economic, social, and climate challenges in under-resourced communities in the central and southwest parts of the state. By convening regional stakeholders, we are gaining a better understanding of their top priorities and concerns while offering a platform for peer-exchange, training opportunities, and building partnerships. This aggregation of regional voices amplifies their priorities and concerns to state leaders, giving them a better chance of receiving the resources they need to build climate-ready communities.
Collaborative Structure
In order to centralize outreach and action, collaborations need a foundational backbone. Since 2014, Resilient Virginia has been a nonpartisan organization facilitating relationships between government, nonprofit, business, community, academia, and private sector entities to accelerate resiliency planning. As such, we are distinctly positioned to be the backbone organization on which the RVCA functions. We are uniting these sectors to define priorities, share resources and tools, and streamline the process of resiliency planning and project funding in Central and Southwest Virginia.
Core Steering Committee
Established in Fall 2023, the Core Steering Committee has worked with Resilient Virginia to establish the collaborative’s mission, identify the most beneficial direction for the collaborative, and delineate action plans through the development of working groups.
The committee remains active and meets monthly to discuss the formation of additional working groups, identify additional stakeholders, and ensure the collaborative’s programs add value to the resilience and climate-readiness of Virginia.
Working Groups
RVCA working groups are where the rubber meets the road. They offer a space to spotlight top-priority issues such as energy, water infrastructure, transportation, or job creation. Working groups consist of cross-sector stakeholders coming together for partnership, peer-exchange, education, and capacity-building. Resilient Virginia has not defined a model for working groups to work under, rather, each group is led by a facilitator and they work together to decide what would be most beneficial for them. This could include things such as taking on a specific project, meeting monthly for peer-exchange, or bringing in expert speakers for training.
In April 2024, two working groups starting monthly meetings focused on clean transportation and water infrastructure. Agriculture and emergency management working groups are currently being formed.
RVCA In Action
Funding Partners
As community leaders in our Commonwealth, Funding Partners are in a prime position to be effective change-makers through the Resilient Virginia Collaborative Alliance. The collaborative is a platform where multidisciplinary sectors come together to share ideas and discuss best practices, ultimately resulting in stronger communities. Supporting this work, a Funding Partner is recognized as a company or organization that champions these collaborative efforts. Funding Partners provide essential support for long-term climate resilience throughout Central and Southwest Virginia. Learn more about funding opportunities and benefits.
Thank you to our RVCA Funding Partners
RVCA Sustainer
RVCA Supporter
