Agnes Scott College
EN-6: Community Partnerships

Agnes Scott values and prioritizes community partnerships and is part of many community partnerships that are sustainability-focused. The goal of the Georgia Climate Project (GCP) is to “build a network of experts across the state to advance four strategic priorities, 1) Science: synthesizing what is known and analyzing what is not in order to improve understanding of climate impacts and solutions in Georgia, 2) Stronger Conversations: fostering a constructive, nonpartisan discussion about how climate change affects Georgia and what can be done about it, 3) Solutions: working with partners to enable Georgians to take practical steps to respond to climate change and its impacts, 4) Stronger Network: bringing together experts working to understand and act on climate.

Agnes Scott was one of the founding members of GCP and actively advocated for the work of the partnership. 

Three Agnes Scott faculty and staff collaborate in attending the monthly meetings with peer institutions, including College of Coastal Georgia, Columbus State University, Emory University, Georgia Southern University, Georgia State University, Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State University, Life University, Morehouse School of Medicine, Savannah State University, Spelman College, University of Georgia and University of North Georgia, to share research, events, and strategies to further expand statewide collaboration. Focus areas have included curriculum development utilizing Greenhouse Gas inventories as real-world data sets to foster the next generation of climate action professionals along with fostering expanded partnerships with non-academic partners including Black Voters Matter and local municipalities in Georgia. 

https://www.georgiaclimateproject.org

Agnes Scott actively supports at least one community partnership that explicitly aims to support underrepresented groups and vulnerable populations in addressing the sustainability challenges they have identified. As part of the implementation of the Climate Resilience Plan, Agnes Scott and the City of Decatur use the power of community collaboration to build out frameworks and resources, and prioritize supporting our most vulnerable community members. 

One goal elevates the work of the local non-profit partner, MLK Service Project, which provides home weatherization, yard work, home repair to ensure our older residents can continue to safely, comfortably, and confidently age in place, with a focus on reducing any economic barriers. This work brings volunteers from around the community to support through a three-day weekend volunteer opportunity in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s commitment to service. 

Along with prioritizing our most vulnerable populations within the community, the joint CRP engages Agnes Scott’s diverse student community, which has seen no ethnic majority since 2010. Along with 63% of our undergraduate students identifying as students of color, our students also represent 33% are first generation and 41% are Pell-eligible. Students engage in the CRP through data collection and analysis, including Science Sprints and internships, attending CRP Task Force and Subcommittee meetings, and providing educational resources to the broader community. 

All of the Agnes Scott's community partnerships for sustainability are subject to an assessment process that includes joint evaluation by the institution and its community partners.The Georgia Climate Project facilitated a ‘Chart your Path’ project in Summer 2022 with all participating institutions, including staff from the Agnes Scott Center for Sustainability, to assess past initiatives and outline goals and pathways forward for the collaborative partnership. This was established as a five year assessment to address the reciprocity and mutual benefit of the partnership and include feedback and assessment findings since the collaborative Georgia Climate Project was established in 2017. 

And as part of the intentional and active work of the CRP, the Task Force chose to establish one of the four working subcommittees as the Assessment & Communications Subcommittee. Through their efforts, the CRP has an internal assessment and tracking tool that was developed as the first step of taking 70+ goals and identifying ways to assess each. The tool concisely and effectively helps the Task Force and Subcommittees share our story and supports conversations of strategically finding gaps of staffing and funding. The Assessment & Communications Subcommittee meets monthly with identified goals of continuing to collectively move the work of the CRP forward.