Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program (SCIPP)

Overview

Following Hurricane Harvey, Texas Sea Grant (TXSG) formed a vital partnership with the Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program (SCIPP), part of the NOAA Climate Adaptation Partnerships (formerly known as NOAA’s RISA Team). SCIPP is a multi-institutional collaboration that includes the University of Oklahoma, Louisiana State University, TXSG, and Adaptation International.

From 2018 – 2023, TXSG and SCIPP worked together on research focused on business disruptions resulting from Hurricane Harvey. This project brought together researchers and students from the Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center at Texas A&M University’s College of Architecture, along with TXSG Planning Specialists. Their collaborative efforts connected SCIPP’s research and outreach with the real-world needs of Texas coastal communities and organizations.

The team studied how businesses experienced and responded to the storm by assessing their perceptions, preparedness practices, financial resilience, operational impacts, and recovery strategies. These insights informed the creation of a Best Practices Guide to support both businesses and nonprofit organizations in enhancing resilience to future disasters.

TXSG played a key role in translating SCIPP’s climate data and research into actionable information, while also ensuring that the voices and priorities of Texas stakeholders were represented throughout the project.