MVP planning grant program launches version 2.0

State grant program aims to boost equity and inclusion in climate resilience planning

A new version of the state’s Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program is now available to towns statewide.

Cities and towns throughout Massachusetts are identifying climate vulnerabilities and investing in community resilience. The MVP 2.0 program expands on communities' work and supports communities with new methods, tools, and resources for building climate resilience. MVP 2.0 helps create a framework to revisit community resilience priorities focusing on equity and translate those priorities into action through project development and implementation.

The first MVP process taught organizers that communities understand their infrastructure needs and natural resources but need support connecting social resilience and social vulnerability.

MVP 2.0 builds on understanding how extreme weather events will impact infrastructure and the environment and introduces a greater focus on creating social resilience. This includes exploring the factors that create vulnerability or resilience for people living or working in the region. It includes a deeper look into issues like food security, housing affordability, and digital equity and understanding how those factors shape what is needed to build resilience to climate change.

The MVP 2.0 process also calls on a Core Team with solid connections to communities that will be most impacted by climate change and vendors that bring expertise in equity-centered project facilitation, community-driven processes, and climate and community resilience. Together, this team will focus on connecting and collaborating with community members and expanding the voices of those who are involved in climate resilience efforts.

Through the MVP 2.0 process, communities will receive funding and support to convene a community team to inform and engage in equitable climate resilience work. Towns will receive training on building resilience, equity, and climate justice strategies. Through the process, communities can revisit resilience priorities with the involvement of the wider community. Together, the community team will co-develop and implement a project, with guaranteed funding for implementation, in a process that can be replicated for future action grants.

MVP 2.0 is not a traditional planning process. The process expands community involvement and dives deeper into social resilience. It is designed to make it easier for communities to apply for future action grants and broaden who is involved, in part by providing funds for people to be engaged in the planning process.

Municipalities, tribes, and regional planning agencies applying on behalf of a municipality or municipalities can apply for MVP 2.0. The program is a two-year grant with no formal match requirement. Applications are due in mid-March 2024, with projects to start in June 2024 and conclude at the end of June 2026.

Further details can be found by visiting www.mass.gov/info-details/mvp-20

Download a guide to the MVP 2.0 process: www.mass.gov/doc/mvp-20-process-guide/download

Watch a presentation made to town staff in December 2023: https://youtu.be/80M97hAg7ck