ASAP as a Model for Tracking Impact and Advancement of the Adaptation Field

The American Society of Adaptation Professionals (ASAP) is the leading professional society dedicated to connecting and supporting climate adaptation professionals across North America to advance innovation and excellence in the field of practice. ASAP's 500 active members paint a portrait of the adaptation field at large: they span all sectors, scales and topics and are dedicated to building a more resilient future. ASAP's unique position offers the organization a birds-eye view of the advancement of resilience and adaptation in North American communities, ecosystems, and economies over time. In this presentation, we will share analysis of data ASAP has collected through regional practitioner convenings, program evaluations, and peer learning activities and demonstrate how we are using what we are learning as a proxy for understanding advancement of the adaptation and resilience fields. First, we will report on ASAP's analysis of practitioner reflections from regional adaptation conferences ASAP has supported or co-convened, published in the April 2019 report: "Advancing the Adaptation Field Through Regional Conferences: Reflections on the 2018 Regional Adaptation Fora." This analysis shows how consistent and collaborative data collection from regional climate adaptation practitioner convenings can help identify and encourage adoption of best practices across the adaptation field. Next, we will share what ASAP's program monitoring and evaluation efforts are teaching us about adaptation needs and best practices and explore how measuring the impact of our organization can offer a means of understanding the impact of the field. And finally, we will share how emerging themes and trends from ASAP's self-selected and self-governed virtual peer learning and exchange groups are helping us keep a pulse on trends in the field at large.