Does your municipality have a bold climate target and a plan of action to help meet it? Are you in the implementation phase of your journey, facing the challenge of implementing your mitigation and/or adaptation policies and projects? If you could use some support on this journey, we invite you to join the GCOM Canada Implementation Cohort.

The GCOM Canada Implementation Cohort, funded by the European Union, is a training and collaboration program designed to help support municipal staff in the implementation phase of their climate mitigation and/or adaptation efforts. Bridging the gap between planning and implementation is a formidable but necessary step in realizing our climate targets and securing a low-carbon, resilient future.

The GCOM Canada Implementation Cohort will help face this challenge by providing implementation support to municipal staff through one-to-one meetings, group trainings, and peer collaboration workshops and tailored deliverables. By working together, we can identify our implementation challenges and devise strategies to tackle them head-on.

Why join?

• Access facilitated networking and collaboration with peers from across the country to advance the implementation of climate action plans.
• Receive templates and tailored materials to support implementation challenges.
• Gain access to experts and best practices in the field.
• Receive one-on-one support for municipal staff.
• Receive training support for municipal staff and colleagues.
• Receive peer-to-peer support from municipalities with common challenges.
• Receive financial support for logistic costs for participation in a national cohort meeting (approximately 2,000 euros/participant).
• Participate in opportunities to share your experience and lessons learned with a national and international audience.

What are the eligibility criteria?

Only Canadian local governments that are members of GCOM are eligible to join. If you are not a member, reach out to [email protected] for more information. Your local government must have mitigation and/or adaptation targets and plans in place, validated, and recognized by GCOM. You must complete and submit an Application Form and Implementation Self-Assessment Questionnaire.

How to apply?

Complete and submit the Application Form and Implementation Self-Assessment Questionnaire by October 13, 2023.

What is the expected commitment from participants?

Participants are expected to:

• Designate a staff liaison for the project.
• Actively participate in two virtual cohort-wide training seminars to be delivered during the Training phase between December 2023 – September 2024.
• Actively participate in five meetings with Cohort Convener staff to focus on your municipality’s implementation challenges and designing a solution to help overcome them.
• Actively participate in peer-to-peer support workshops.
• Actively participate in one in-person national cohort meeting to be scheduled in Canada during the Training phase between December 2023 – September 2024.
• Share your experiences and lessons learned in a webinar at the Wrap-up Phase of the project.
• Provide an estimated minimum time commitment of approximately 15 days over a 12-month period.
• The working language for this project is English, therefore you must be able to engage in the meetings and trainings in English.
• Sign a partnership agreement confirming agreement with these conditions.

Want to learn more?

If you missed the introductory webinar held on September 20, 2023, at 3:00 pm Eastern Time, don’t worry! You can now access the recorded webinar to learn more about the Cohort, GCOM in Canada, and get answers to any questions you may have.