In 2025, the Great Plains Institute conducted a nationwide survey of local planners and sustainability staff to understand their needs for advancing climate work. Respondents said the most useful addition to their toolkits would be real-world examples of efforts to advance climate goals.

To figure out where those examples were most needed, we compared the survey results with a scan of existing resources and found that data centers, autonomous vehicles, and energy affordability stood out as the topics with the greatest gaps. Continue reading »

As electric vehicles become a vital part of the transportation landscape, it is crucial to ensure that communities are equipped to effectively implement electric vehicle infrastructure. For communities with fewer resources, especially those that are smaller and rural, additional support is essential to ensure they have the capacity to develop this infrastructure. Continue reading »