It’s that time of year again where the avid music-lovers receive their #SpotifyWrapped. For those who are not familiar with this concept, the popular music-streaming platform, Spotify, releases individual summaries of a user’s listening habits for the year.
The Colorado Resiliency Office (CRO) has some top accomplishments and highlights from the last year that we also want to share with partners and communities we work with!
The CRO Takes the Show on the Road!
The CRO was out and about a lot this year! This includes:
- Conducting Camp Resilience, summer camp-themed workshops that support rural Colorado communities in integrating resilience principles to address local challenges in 2 regions: the Northeast in Akron and the Southeast in Lamar.
- 14 conference or public meeting appearances in Colorado and across the country (not including Microgrids or Resiliency work, which are highlighted in the below sections!)!
- Three States visited by the CRO in 2024: Maine, Minnesota, and Maryland!
- The CRO hosted our 3rd annual Colorado Resiliency Summit, titled “Stories of Resilience: Uniting for Climate Adaptation,” where we were joined by story-tellers, subject matter experts, and local communities to discuss the importance of narrative in achieving climate adaptation goals.
- In 2024 the CRO hosted our 99th monthly Local Government Resources Call (formerly the Local Government Coordination Call) in November with the Governor’s Office. This call was originally developed as a way to rapidly share information and resources during the COVID-19 Pandemic response and recovery, and then shifted to sharing key information regarding historic Federal and State funding opportunities. As we transition into a new era, the CRO is passing the torch for these calls to the Division of Local Government.
The CRO’s Action in the Climate Space is a High Note!
- The CRO’s Microgrids for Community Resilience (MCR) Program funded 16 total grid hardening projects, totaling $10,912,221, with all of the projects being developed in communities that meet designation as Environmental Justice communities in Colorado Enviroscreen.
- This includes participation in 9 Microgrids Roadmaps engagement meetings around the state involving 32 communities!), 4 webinars, and presentations at 6 symposiums, conferences, or public events.
- The CRO was recognized on the White House’s Climate Resilience Game Changer’s Assessment website for our support of developing Resiliency Hubs.
The CRO supports the Climate Resilience Challenge by providing guidance and project evaluation support. Thanks to last year’s proven success from this Energy and Mineral Impact Assistance set-aside fund, an additional $10M was allocated to this fund in 2024! - The CRO is also involved with at least 11 communities in 28 climate-impact-focused working groups and boards including the Natural Disaster Mitigation Enterprise, the Regional Air Quality Council, and the Wildfire Resiliency Code Board.
Rural Resiliency is Our Jam!
- 2024 saw the final closing out and wrap up of the innovative Recovery and Resiliency Roadmaps Program, which resulted in the creation of 842 jobs and formation of $9,386,882 in capital across rural Colorado!
- The program combined intensive technical assistance to participating communities from DOLA to develop regional economic recovery strategies, along with non-competitive funding in partnership with the Rural Opportunity Office within OEDIT to implement an element of those strategies.
- Speaking of economic prosperity, we also have to sing a tune about our Rural Economic Development Initiative Grant Program, which funded 10 projects for full or partial funding totalling $770,000 in rural Colorado in 2024!
The CRO Rocks Resilient Recovery
- This year, the CRO continued to build out our recovery capacity and unit, including hiring our new Recovery Manager to provide recovery planning support and coordination with local communities and State agencies as well as technical assistance.
- The CRO presented at 2 of the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) Regional Recovery Symposiums.
Additionally, we found that 3rd graders are jazzed to learn about disaster recovery!
- The CRO presented at 2 of the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) Regional Recovery Symposiums.
- The CRO partnered with DHSEM to coordinate and host a Wildfire Recovery Tabletop Exercise, which provided an opportunity for in-depth conversation regarding the areas of recovery necessary after wildfire in Colorado and how agencies can collaborate with each other to best serve Colorado’s communities.
- In 2024 as leading experts in disaster recovery, the CRO supported states impacted by the severe destruction caused by Hurricane Helen by providing guidance and technical assistance to South Carolina to help them jumpstart their recovery efforts.
The CRO Harmonizes Across the State!
As we know, strengthening resilience does not happen in a silo and requires collaboration across community sectors and across agencies. This year, the CRO continued to coordinate interagency resilience efforts and provide technical assistance to support state agencies in integrating resilience. Some highlights include:
- The CRO met one-on-one with 11 different key agency partners to discuss challenges, identify opportunities for collaboration, and garner input to prepare for the 2025 Colorado Resiliency Framework (Framework) Update.
- The CRO also facilitated three quarterly meetings with the Colorado Resiliency Working Group, the collective action steering committee responsible for stewardship of the Framework, in addition to the aforementioned Annual Resiliency Summit at the beginning of the year to continue making progress.
- This also includes 6 Priority Implementation Team meetings for the CRWG teams focused on specific priority strategies of the Framework.
- The CRO also launched the Future-Ready State Agencies program, which provides different opportunities for agencies to receive technical assistance to strengthen their resilience.
- The CRO engaged 4 different State agencies to support their resilience goals, including reviewing plans, brainstorming how to weave resilience into competitive grant programs, and providing guidance on building capacity for resilience.