Integrated proposals

Guide to building regional and global proposals 

In 2015, the Climate CoLab is a running a pilot test where you can create climate action plans at two levels:

1. the world as a whole (Global)
2. six regions of the world (United States, China, India, Europe, Other Developed Countries, and Other Developing Countries) 

 

What is a climate action plan proposal?

In the regional and global contests, proposals are comprised of a combination of different actions (i.e. a combination of other proposals) that, when taken together, offer a strategy for how the region or world can reduce emissions and adapt to climate change.

(This is different from other Climate CoLab contests, where proposals usually outline one specific action that can be taken to address climate change.)

 

 

In the Climate CoLab, a global proposal includes one plan from each of the six regions...

 

...and a regional proposal contains any combination of proposals from other Climate CoLab contests that contribute to a strategy for that region.

 

How do I build a regional or global proposal?

(1) Select your actions. The heart of a regional or global plan is in the sub-proposals it includes. When you click "Create proposal" on a contest page, you will be asked to select different proposals that, when taken together, offer a strategy for how to effectively reduce emissions and adapt to climate change.

Global proposals can include: Regional proposals that have been entered into one of the six regional contests listed above or the 2015 Regional Proposal Workspace.

Regional proposals can include: Any proposal from any current or past Climate CoLab contest or Workspace (except for other regional and global proposals).

(Click here for tips on how to find proposals)
(Click here to see the winners from the 2014 global contest.)

(2) Explain your selections. You will be asked to justify how the actions you selected fit together, and to describe the key benefits, costs, and challenges of the overall plan.

(3) Estimate the impact.  Work with a specialized team of emission modelers, called Climate CoLab Impact Assessment Fellows, to develop an overall estimate of the greenhouse gas emissions that would result from the combination of actions you propose.  You will also be asked to explain these results in your proposal.  Click here for more about estimating impact.

 

You don't have to do it alone

Developing a strong regional or global proposal is a fair amount of work, and you may want to do it with a team of other people.  

• Find other potential teammates on the Regional & Global Plans discussion board.
• Ask to join an existing team by visiting the "Contributors" tab of a proposal and clicking "Request membership"
• Add someone to your proposal’s team by clicking “Add contributor”? on the “Contributors”? tab. Contributors have privileges to edit proposals.
• Work with others already developing proposals that could be useful in your proposal.
• Comment on other proposals to help the authors improve their work.
• Need help?  Let us know.  We can provide guidance and connect you with potential teammates. 

 

Winning CoLab Points

Whether or not your plan wins a contest, if it is included (directly or indirectly) in one or more winning global plans, you will receive Climate CoLab Points.  If you are one of the top point-getters, you will receive shares of a cash prize of $10,000.

If you build a regional or global plan, the people who created the proposals you include (directly and indirectly) will receive a share of the points your proposal receives.  And you will also be able to specify how to divide CoLab Points among the different authors of your proposal and anyone else who helped you.  See more. 

 

Tips for finding proposals:

• Use the contest outline view to quickly find proposals that could fit in your plan.  Click "Active Contests" and select "All contests" to view current and past contests.  Open each contest (list on the right) to find the submitted proposals:

• You can also look for proposals that have been submitted outside of the contest period, in the 2015 Proposal Workspace .
• In active contests, click the “Semi-Finalist Selection”? link at the top of the contest to see proposals that weren’t selected as semi-finalists (see image below).  For completed contests, all submitted proposals will be displayed.

Don’t find proposals you like?

• Create new proposals outlining your own ideas in the 2015 Proposal Workspace or the 2015 Regional Proposal Workspace;
• Include ideas not yet on the Climate CoLab, such as policies already enacted or currently under consideration; action plans proposed by cities and governments; strategies being advocated for by non-government organizations and think tanks; technologies employed or in development.  Add them as proposals in the 2015 Proposal Workspace or the 2015 Regional Proposal Workspace, reference the original author or organization, and then link them into your plan.
• Work with authors of current proposals to see how they could be amended to fit your proposal.

 

Tips for estimating the impact of your plan

In describing the impact of your plan, you might, for instance, include descriptions of your key assumptions and why the inputs to the Climate CoLab simulation models are reasonable in light of these assumptions. 

One way to do this is to include links to more detailed models (e.g., in spreadsheets) that show how the combination of actions in the sub-proposals “add up”? to the model inputs.  If you feel that the models built-in to the Climate CoLab don’t accurately represent the actions you propose, you are also welcome to include links to your own spreadsheets or other more detailed models of these actions.  If you want to contribute models like this that are generally useful, they may be included in future versions of the Climate CoLab for others to use, too.  If you have questions, reach out to an Impact Assessment Fellow.

 

Questions?  Send us an email at admin@climatecolab.org.