From neighborhood classrooms to city hall, we turn community knowledge into ecosocial climate policy and practice—so adaptation doesn't just "bounce back," but builds a just and livable future.
Our Model: The Policy Pipeline
Climate literacy → Community priorities → Policy co-design → On-the-ground support → Impact learning
We equip communities with practical climate knowledge, translate lived experience into actionable policy priorities, co-design solutions with partners, and support implementation and evaluation so policies deliver real, equitable outcomes.
Two Complementary Organizations
The Ecosocial Commons
501(c)(3)
Mission: Build community capacity for ecosocial adaptation through education, participatory research, and knowledge co-production.
Focus areas:
- Community climate education
- Participatory research & knowledge co-production
- Educational resources and toolkits
- Convenings and coalition capacity-building
Center for Ecosocial Policy
501(c)(4)
Mission: Mobilize a powerful network to win, implement, and defend transformative ecosocial policies.
Focus areas:
- Policy advocacy and organizing
- Legislative and administrative campaigns
- Government partnerships for implementation
- Evaluation for accountability and learning
Why “Ecosocial”?
Climate risk is never “just” environmental—it’s social, political, and economic. Effective adaptation requires integrated systems of infrastructure and care: cooling centers and flood protection alongside housing security, income support, healthcare access, and worker protections.
Ecosocial adaptation means meeting human needs while transforming the systems that produce vulnerability in the first place.
Guiding Principles
Link climate adaptation with social protection systems.
Center communities most affected by climate impacts in design and decision-making.
Move beyond market-only fixes toward root-cause solutions.
Build durable power through education, organizing, and coalition.
Pair ecological resilience with social and economic security.
Current Initiatives
🌱 Community Climate Workshops
Accessible, community-led learning programs that connect local experience to climate policy tools—and build confidence to act.
📊 Policy Research & Translation
Turning research into practical, usable policy recommendations grounded in community priorities and environmental justice.
🤝 Coalition & Network Building
A growing network of community organizations, researchers, and policy allies aligned around ecosocial adaptation.
📝 Policy Co-Design & Implementation Support
Working with communities and local governments to design policies, support rollout, and troubleshoot barriers so programs reach people.
Get Involved
We’re building this collaboratively and welcome partners at every stage:
- Community organizations: Partner on education, organizing, and co-design
- Researchers: Collaborate on policy-relevant research and evaluation
- Policymakers & agencies: Develop and implement adaptation policy with community input
- Funders: Support community-led ecosocial adaptation and durable policy infrastructure
Contact: ct.brown@berkeley.edu
The Center for Ecosocial Policy unites education, organizing, and implementation so communities can adapt—fairly, fast, and for the long term.