Convenings & Workshops

To build support for walkable, healthy, water-secure, and climate-resilient communities, we convene forums with local government leaders (elected officials and staff) to share innovative ideas. This informal environment in a neutral setting is an excellent way for local leaders to learn about new issues from outside experts. Forums are most effective as a monthly or bimonthly series. 

We organize and facilitate the meetings, invite participants and speakers, and secure venues. These forums are most effective at the regional scale, and held over a meal period (breakfast, lunch, or dinner). Our target size is typically 20 to 30 elected officials—a number that provides intimate and productive discussion. As these meetings often generate additional participant questions and interest, the service can also include staff time to provide follow-up assistance.

CivicWell regularly speaks at workshops, conferences, summits, and meetings. We also offer webinars, study sessions for local officials, staff training, and conference planning services. Our team holds expertise in a wide range of technical topics, including but not limited to:

Community Design

• Health and the Built Environment
• Smart Growth Zoning and Form-based Codes for Climate Smart Communities
• Compact, Mixed-Use Development
• Infill Development Approaches and Strategies
• Community Engagement and Equity in the Planning Process
• Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety and Design
• Walkable Community Design
• Safe Routes to Schools
• Complete Streets and Placemaking
• Shared Mobility
• Urban Greening and Green Infrastructure

Water Use and Policy

• Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) Implementation
• Water Conservation & Water Use Efficiency
• Integrated Regional Water Management
• Understanding Your Watershed
• Systems Thinking Application 
• Water-Efficient Landscaping & Rebate Programs
• Water-Smart Growth and Development
• Stormwater Management
• Water and Land-Use Integration 
• Water Equity 

Energy 

• Energy Conservation
• Renewable Energy Generation
• Renewable Energy Implementation
• Electric Vehicle Readiness
• Building Decarbonization
• Grid Resiliency
• Community Choice Energy

CivicWell Policymakers Conference

Since 1991, the CivicWell Policymakers Conference has gathered over 100 mayors, city council members, and county supervisors from across California in an inspiring and collaborative environment. The event is designed to support local elected officials with tools and partnership opportunities to implement innovative solutions locally.

California Adaptation Forum

The biennial California Adaptation Forum (CAF) aims to gather California’s adaptation community to foster knowledge exchange, innovation, and mutual support to accelerate adaptation efforts and create equitable and resilient communities throughout the state.

California Climate and Energy Forum

The California Climate and Energy Forum brings together leaders in local energy and climate action for a two-day event featuring in-depth conversations with local and regional governments and their partners in State agencies, CBOs, NGOs, and private sector service providers.

Clean Mobility Forum

The Clean Mobility Options (CMO) Program, administered by CivicWell in partnership with CALSTART and Shared-Use Mobility Center, convenes clean mobility project implementers, partners, stakeholders, advocates, and researchers at this event focused on clean mobility topics.

New Partners for Smart Growth

This annual conference, which ran from 2001-2018, brought together a diversity of participants crossing disciplinary lines to share experiences, insights, valuable implementation tools, and strategies for addressing smart growth.

CivicWell convenes thought leaders and local government staff for no-cost webinars. Practical and applicable, the webinars cover topics ranging from housing (e.g. Missing Middle Housing, converting underutilized commercial corridors to housing, ADUs) to green infrastructure to sustainable procurement. We also collaborate with the Groundwater Exchange on a groundwater-focused webinar series.

Find the webinar recordings in the CivicWell Resource Library.

Detailed workshops provide local leaders and staff with the information they need to implement changes. CivicWell’s one-day workshop on bicycle and pedestrian design and safety includes a variety of presenters, practical exercises, and a walkability audit. We develop the agenda, invite speakers, secure venues, and arrange speaker travel. The host organization helps conduct outreach to market the event.

Safe Routes to School programs are an excellent way to get more children walking and bicycling safely in their communities. The program is focused on making walking and biking safe ways to get to school, and is based on the 5 Es: Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, Engineering and Evaluation.

Half-day introductory workshop

This workshop, conducted in English and/or Spanish, introduces school, city, and county staff, and local residents, to Safe Routes to School (SRTS). Designed to generate interest in the program, the workshop highlights the benefits of SRTS and discusses the 5 Es. A walkability audit or observation of drop-off/pick-up zones can be included.

Full-day workshop

Based on the one-day workshop developed by the National Center for SRTS, this workshop is focused on helping schools start or expand their program. It includes discussion of the benefits of SRTS and the 5 Es, observation of the pick-up or drop-off conditions around the school, and a short walkability audit. Participants work in small groups to develop a plan to start or expand their school’s SRTS program.

Paul Zykofsky of CivicWell is a nationally certified SRTS workshop facilitator. These workshops can be conducted in English and/or Spanish.

Complete Streets policies help communities create safe and inviting road networks for bicyclists, drivers, transit operators and users, and pedestrians of all ages and abilities. The National Complete Streets Coalition has developed three types of workshops to help local jurisdictions adopt and implement Complete Streets policies:

• Laying the Foundation for Complete Streets
• Complete Streets Policy Development
• Complete Streets Policy Implementation

The full-day interactive workshops help 30-40 key decision makers, stakeholders, and agency professionals learn how to balance the needs of all users and routinely create and maintain Complete Streets. Two Complete Streets design and policy experts help participants learn:

• Why complete streets are important
• What they are and are not
• How they can help achieve transportation, health, and community goals
• How to develop and implement a Complete Streets policy

Workshops are conducted by a nationally certified Complete Streets workshop facilitator, Paul Zykofsky of CivicWell.

CivicWell connects leaders by incubating and coordinating coalitions to enhance energy efficiency, support public health, protect natural systems, and create climate-resilient communities. Learn more about our coalitions and collaboratives:

• Alliance of Regional Collaboratives for Climate Adaptation (ARCCA)
• California Climate & Energy Collaborative (CCEC)
• Capital Region Climate Readiness Collaborative
• Groundwater Exchange
• Local Government Sustainable Energy Coalition (LGSEC)
• NGO Groundwater Collaborative