Climate Steps is dedicated to addressing the pressing issues of climate change through innovative solutions individuals can take not only across their personal lives but, critically, across multiple political realms and industries, including agriculture, energy, and education. Despite its commendable efforts and existing programs, the organization faces a significant challenge: understanding the impacts of its work on instigating diverse stakeholders to take climate action, and then using these insights to drive effective organizational improvements. 

Students will develop an approach to measuring and communicating the impact of social and civic climate actions (e.g., advocacy, community influence, museum/school exhibits) where direct carbon accounting is difficult. Building on Climate Steps’ current tiered “people influenced” approach, students will research credible frameworks for estimating ripple effects, attribution, and proxy metrics. Deliverables will include a recommended impact measurement model with a small set of practical metrics, a sample reporting template (one-pager/dashboard-style), and guidance on how to explain uncertainty and confidence levels ethically.

Details:
There are two sections to this project:
1) First, the lack of a formal user-stakeholder analysis hampers Climate Steps' ability to create targeted interventions and to foster collaborative efforts among users/members, which is critical in a crisis that demands rapid responses.  The emphasis on stakeholder analysis for this section is narrowed to the description of individuals using Climate Steps' website, social media users, word-of-mouth recipients of advice, and not on the management of Climate Steps partners or funders, such as on potential future partnerships.  However, this section can include the users of Climate Steps information shared with partners' users, such as EarthHero.org.  This section on user-stakeholder analysis should also include the impact of Climate Steps on their users' thought processes about the organization, and on what the organization does for them, or doesn't do for them.

2) Next is calculating past, current, and potential climate change impacts via climate action taken by user-stakeholders due to Climate Steps.  There are two types: 

Key activities for this project will include conducting stakeholder interviews, analyzing existing data related to climate impacts, and utilizing research methodologies such as case studies and surveys.

The expected outcomes of this project include:

1) A comprehensive user-stakeholder impact report that identifies key issues related to climate change engagement and provides actionable policy recommendations for engagement. It will include summaries of the stakeholders interviews (protecting stakeholder privacy) as an appendix.

2) A recommended impact measurement model with a small set of practical metrics, 
3) A sample reporting template (one-pager/dashboard-style), and
4) Guidance on how to explain uncertainty and confidence levels ethically.

Students will enhance their research and analytical skills, develop a deeper understanding of climate justice, and learn how to effectively communicate complex findings to diverse stakeholders. The target results will adhere to SMART goals: Specific (focused on stakeholder impacts), Measurable (clear metrics for analysis), Achievable (realistic recommendations), Relevant (aligned with Climate Steps' mission), and Time-bound (delivered within the 3. month timeline). The business value will include improved stakeholder engagement strategies and data-driven insights to inform Climate Steps’ future initiatives.