Case Studies
Best Practice Pilot Program (BP3)
The Governor’s Office of Planning and Research Best Practice Pilot Program (BP3) includes a suite of programs and partnerships that produce replicable case studies of best practices being adopted and implemented at the local and regional level around the state. A small set of best practice pilots were completed in the summer of 2016 using the CivicSpark Governor’s AmeriCorps Initiative as a preliminary proof of concept for the launch of this longer term program. The BP3 was created to formalize and institutionalize a process to apply to the ad hoc technical assistance provided by OPR on a regular basis on a variety of topics. Through this program, OPR will develop a robust library of case studies for local and regional partners to utilize in their planning and policies, while informing state policy and providing training, tools and networking opportunities for stakeholders. The BP3 consists of partnerships with federal, state and local partners. Some more organized BP3 participating programs are described below.
What is a best practice?
While a best practice is often referred to as a form of program or policy evaluation, the phrase here is used as an umbrella term to describe practices that are new and emerging and tend to align with State goals and/or recent legislation.
Sustainable Communities Planning Grants and Incentives Program (SCPGIP) Best Practices Pilots
Administered by the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR), with support from the Strategic Growth Council (SGC), the Sustainable Communities Planning Grant and Implementation Best Practices Pilot (Pilot) is an effort to support local land use planning related to climate and the State’s statutory planning priorities. SCPGIP funding in the amount of $250,000 will be available for applicants to apply for up to $50,000. These grants will support the development and/or implementation of a specific portion of a land use plan, land protection or management practice, or development project, that targets sustainable development and the State’s climate policies with the express intent of 1) implementation of that project or plan; and 2) identification of a best practice and creation of a Case Study to share amongst land use planning and policy peers. For more information on this program, please view program guidelines and application.
FEMA/EPA Technical Assistance Support
“Creating Safe Growth Strategies for the San Francisco Bay Area” is a document that resulted from an effort by federal EPA, BCDC and FEMA to support community resilience in the Bay Area. This effort will be repeated in other regions. OPR will provide policy and convening support and will serve as a connection to state activities and guidance being developed for local and regional government on climate. Case study development from this effort will be posted to this site on completion.
Resilient by Design
The Bay Area Resilient by Design Challenge is a program running in the bay area to expand upon lessons learned through the Sandy recovery process called Rebuild by Design with a focus on community resilience. The Challenge uses interdisciplinary design team working in collaboration with communities to identify solutions to vulnerable locations on the Bay waterfront. OPR will provide policy and convening support and will serve as a connection to state activities and guidance.
Resilience Dialogues
A diverse set of private, government, and nonprofit collaborators support the Resilience Dialogues platform, a service that allows community leaders to engage in facilitated, expedited and community-focused dialogue with scientists, resilience practitioners, subject matter experts, and other community leaders. The program helps communities recognize climate-related vulnerabilities and opportunities; apply and use scientific expertise in their resilience planning; identify relevant resources; and connect with scientists, resilience practitioners, and leaders from other communities. By partnering the BP3 and Resilience Dialogues, OPR and the selected jurisdictions will have a useful resource to support their efforts while creating an opportunity to learn how to better connect the many levels of planning, entities, and research in resiliency planning.