All Projects ❯ Climate Awareness Engagement Academy

Climate Awareness Engagement Academy

Climate Awareness Engagement Academy (CAEA) is a 2-year long research project sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and South Carolina Sea Grant. Year 1 is dedicated to answering the following questions:

How can business owners position themselves as reliable leaders of climate preparedness, confronting multiple interacting climate-related stressors?
How can community-scale, climate-compatible solutions improve resilience for the women and minority-owned small business community?

See our work

1.5

Years collaborated

3

Projects delivered

100

Client satisfaction

About the Climate Awareness Engagement Academy

The CAEA’s short-term goals for Charleston’s minority and women-owned small businesses focus on addressing climate impacts, industry-specific challenges, and the need for climate-related information, while also enhancing planning, marketing, and advocacy efforts for climate compatibility. Its long-term goals emphasize resilience education, fostering a sustainable business mindset, developing individualized climate action plans, and creating a peer-learning community with resources like a Climate Action business network and a Web-based Knowledge Hub.

South Carolina SeaGrant Consortium’s work on climate change and D.E.I. challenged in the South Carolina State House (March 11, 2025).

🗓️ time frame

~~Ongoing collaboration since May 2023~~
Proposal writing: February through September 2023
Project awarded:
– Year 1 – February 2024-2025
– Year 2 – February 2025 – funds impounded; release TBD?

🎯 objectives

Serve as Co-Principal Investigator
Create data visualization tools and graphic design (logo, branding, website, infographics, illustrations)
Develop Knowledge Hub website (Tools, Training, Community)
Generate curriculum materials
Contribute to scholarly articles

🤲 scope

We are part of the 2-year CAEA research project. As a member of the core team, VTT is responsible for co-authoring reports and generating products that support the development and execution of the academy. Services include: Co-Principal Investigator, Research, Authorship, Consulting, Graphic Design, Curriculum Development, and Data Visualization.