Resilient Cities Catalyst
About
We accelerate action and build capacity within communities, cities and regions.
More resilient people, places and systems.
Our purpose
Our mission
We catalyze lasting change in cities and communities to solve the most pressing challenges of today and to build resilience for the future.
Our vision
We envision a world where cities and communities take bold action to ensure people, particularly the most vulnerable, are safer, healthier and more prosperous despite the increasingly frequent shocks and persistent stresses of our time.
Our roots
Where we come from
2020Founded as an independent nonprofit
Resilient Cities Catalyst was founded in 2020, but our roots in urban resilience go back further, to the 100 Resilient Cities initiative at the Rockefeller Foundation. There, our founders worked with 100 cities around the world to hire and train Chief Resilience Officers, develop citywide resilience strategies, and share best practices through a global network of peer cities.
When that program wound down, we started RCC to carry the work forward as an independent nonprofit. The principles are the same. What changed is the focus: as RCC, we’re centered on accelerating action and implementation, working directly with city leaders to make sure their resilience priorities turn into tangible change on the ground.
Our approach
Four moments, in sequence
We are advisors, collaborators, and partners, working hand-in-hand with leaders and practitioners across four moments. Our tools and methods are adaptive and flexible, and each moment produces something a city can use — a plan, a design, a funding strategy, a playbook.
01
Define & Align
We bring uncommon partners into the same room and get agreement on what the risk is and which priorities come first.
- Analytical tools
- Strategic plans
- Research reports
02
Design & Launch
Priorities become specific and we can visualize the path forward, designed with the people who will use it.
- Design briefs
- Concept notes
- Policy recommendations
03
Identify & Activate
Funding and regulatory paths are established, and a real project gets built.
- Implementation plans
- Financing strategies
- Funding collateral
04
Forge New Models
What worked is documented, allowing for future iteration and knowledge sharing, and new partnerships form out of it.
- Knowledge exchange
- Workshops
- Alignment facilitation
What we forge carries into the next round of work
The full mechanism, with the tools we use at each moment and the projects they produced.
From our partners
Lasting change, together
“We have supported Resilient Cities Catalyst since its founding in 2020. What has sustained that support is not only RCC’s catalytic role in complex, multi-stakeholder settings, but also the way it has helped local partners elevate their work, unlocking resources, visibility, and momentum.”
Robert Miyashiro
Program Officer, The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
“RCC kept us in the room together, city officials, community leaders, and institutions, so we could find common ground and collaborate in ways that truly benefit the community.”
Huey Wilson
Founding Director/President, Northeast Houston Redevelopment Council
“To truly deliver for our communities, we need to break down silos and work differently, across agencies and alongside our neighborhood partners. RCC has been essential in helping us do that.”
Laura Patiño
Chief Resilience Officer, City of San Antonio
01
Urban practitioners
Deep experience in municipal government service design and delivery; public and private funding and financing; and philanthropic partnership development. We know the way cities budget, the way cities plan and procure, and how cities operate.
02
Resilience experts
Pioneers in the urban resilience movement. We have collectively partnered with more than 100 cities around the world to catalyze and support their resilience-building journeys, and delivered 20,000+ hours of resilience capacity-building using bespoke tools and curricula.
03
Strategic conveners
We understand the importance of bringing together uncommon partners and practitioners, building action-oriented communities of practice and networks of diverse actors centered on complex resilience challenges such as urban migration, natural infrastructure, and seismic resilience.
Board of Directors
Our board guides RCC’s governance and long-term direction, bringing experience from city government, philanthropy, and the private sector.
Our network
Funders and partners
We’re grateful for the support of funders, partners, and collaborators across philanthropy, government, and the private sector who make this work possible.
Work with us
Interested in joining the team?
Start a conversation
Get in touch
Have a question, or want to explore working together? Get in touch.
New York City · Athens