About RIC

Resilient Iowa Communities (RIC) is a voluntary assistance and recognition program to help cities and counties achieve their sustainability, resiliency, and quality-of-life goals. We define sustainability broadly as integrated action to address environmental, economic, and social challenges to ensure more just, equitable, ecologically healthy, and thriving communities across Iowa. This continuous improvement program from the Center for Energy and Environmental Education (CEEE) at the University of Northern Iowa is based upon a menu of optional best practices in six categories and a variety of services available to meet the needs of your unique community. All communities are welcome to join the RIC program, regardless of size or past experience with environmental measures. 

Center for Energy and Environmental Education

The program launched a pilot project in Fall of 2021, successfully working with a limited number of communities focused on self-selected improvement projects in alignment with the program's Best Practices or their community goals. In Fall of 2022 the program began a pilot with three communities pairing them with Green Iowa AmeriCorps Members to increase the capacity to complete planning and project implementation. The program is continuing to develop services and resources that can best services communities in their unique sizes, goals, and starting points.

The Resilient Iowa Communities program was designed and developed in collaboration with staff from four other Midwest states, seven Iowa communities, two Iowa counties, the Iowa League of Cities, staff from Iowa Economic Development Authority and the Iowa Energy Center, non-profit partners 1000 Friends of Iowa, the Iowa Environmental Council, the Clean Energy Districts of Iowa, and Des Moines Area MPO. These diverse perspectives helped to create a program that simultaneously provides structure and flexibility, honoring each community’s diverse circumstances while standardizing different goals.

The program is still developing and we are excited to continue to a build a robust menu of services to best serve Iowa communities. 

FAQ's

What are some of the Benefits of joining RIC?
  • You are able to access our menu of services, including emissions inventory, planning, recognition, and capacity support through Green Iowa AmeriCorps. You are also able to access technical support through webinars, partner resources, and peer to peer networking to learn best practices implemented by other RIC communities. 
Does it cost anything to join? 
  • No, we do not charge any fees to become a member of the RIC program. 
  • The only costs associated with being a member of RIC depend on if a community would like any additional services we provide i.e. emissions inventory, climate action planning support, hosting an AmeriCorps team, etc. Communities are never obligated to utilize these services and will have access to all of the benefits outlined above through their membership. 
What if we aren't sure where to start? 
  • We can help! Start by submitting our inquiry form and we'll schedule a time to meet with you hear more about the ideas you have for your community, whether its starting a conversation, having us give a presentation, or figuring out what to do next after the steps you've already taken.