Massachusetts is taking steps to bolster its defenses against the impacts of climate change with the ResilientMass Finance Strategy. This initiative, spearheaded by ResilientMass, aims to reduce risks from natural hazards and climate change through coordinated planning, programs, and partnerships.
Understanding the ResilientMass Finance Strategy
The Investment Assessment
A key component of the strategy is an investment assessment that estimates the financial needs and potential benefits of seven key resilience measures. These measures—including improvements to modest bridges and culverts, dams, forests, wetlands, transportation infrastructure, water infrastructure, and heat preparedness—are designed to protect critical infrastructure, natural resources, and public wellbeing.
Roadmap: Building Capacity for Action
The strategy outlines a three-phase roadmap for implementation. Phase 1 focuses on piloting and aligning existing tools. Phase 2 aims to expand institutional and financial infrastructure. Phase 3 seeks to fully integrate resilience into governance and funding systems.
The roadmap prioritizes making projects easier to implement, streamlining funding access, developing financing mechanisms, and building regional and organizational capacity. The state recognizes that collaboration with the private sector and philanthropic organizations will be essential for success.
Our Public Engagement
The development of this strategy involved extensive public engagement, including input from over 30 members of the ResilientMass Finance Advisory Committee, who represented a diverse range of stakeholders. Five meetings were held between September 2024 and June 2025 to gather feedback and refine the plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is ResilientMass?
ResilientMass is Massachusetts’ statewide commitment to reducing risks and building resilience to natural hazards and the local impacts of climate change.
What are the seven key resilience measures?
The seven key resilience measures are: small bridges and culverts, significant and high hazard dams, forest conservation and tree planting, coastal and riverine wetlands and floodplains, strategic transportation infrastructure, drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure, and heat preparedness and relief.
What are the phases of the Roadmap?
The Roadmap is structured in three phases: Phase 1: Piloting and Aligning, Phase 2: Resilience in Everything, and Phase 3: Systemwide Resilience.
As Massachusetts moves forward with this strategy, will these investments be sufficient to address the growing challenges posed by climate change?
