Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
ResilientMA Climate Change Clearinghouse Website
Access to climate data is a critical element of planning for and mitigating the impacts of climate change. The Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) manages a central repository that allows scientists, environmentalists, and engineers to retrieve current data as it emerges. This clearinghouse, originally modelled after another state’s similar website, outgrew its initial design. EEA turned to BSC Group and subsidiary software design firm Geonetics to support, maintain, and extend the system.
Offering niche expertise in both climate science and custom software development, our team immediately initiated a program to reorganize existing data and identify new resources and needs. We then created a user-friendly, navigable website that allows the public to easily access this information.
The BSC/Geonetics team worked collaboratively with EEA to refine the scope to achieve greatest value with the agency’s funding. An intense discovery task allowed our team to assess existing resources, transfer data to a new EEA-controlled domain, and identify opportunities to enhance utility and navigability. The project also included the design and implementation of a new MVP Portal that will dovetail with the main resilientMA.org site. Also, part of the project were visual improvements to upgrade the look and feel of the clearinghouse website.
Our team’s approach engaged software developers, climate scientists, and planners to curate and organize data in a user-friendly format. This process was informed by BSC’s experience supporting Massachusetts communities under the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Program. Our end-user perspective allowed us to propose and implement a new system that empowers Massachusetts communities to better plan for climate change.
With project funding tied to the FY2020 budget, rapid project scoping, and initiation were essential to meeting the client’s goals. We undertook an accelerated schedule to provide our first deliverable, the site’s migration to EEA-managed Amazon servers, in just four weeks.