RE-AMP is an active network of nearly 130 nonprofits and foundations across eight Midwestern states working on climate change and energy policy with the goal of equitably eliminating greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The RE-AMP Network began in 2003, when the Garfield Foundation invited thirteen non-governmental organizations and seven foundations working on energy issues in the upper Midwest to examine long-term goals (i.e. what needs to be accomplished over the next 25 years) and the factors that will determine whether those goals are achieved. Through a professionally-led process, participants analyzed and mapped the region’s energy system, detailed the conditions and forces that encourage or discourage the development of clean energy, identified key interrelationships and potential intervention points, and evaluated the effectiveness of current clean energy advocacy in the region.
The participants not only identified a mutual long-term goal, but also developed a common understanding of the system they must influence to achieve that goal. This mutual understanding of the destination and the landscape ahead allows the creation of aligned strategies and metrics for tracking progress.
Participants were then ready to implement mutually supporting strategies that took advantage of the best available opportunities to move the system toward positive change. RE-AMP identified four major drivers controlling the system that would determine the degree to which the regional energy sector shifts to clean energy. They were:
Beginning in January 2005, 30 carefully selected non-governmental organizations were organized into four planning teams and were provided with funding to examine each of these drivers in detail. This gave birth to some of the first forms of collaboration supported by the Network. Since 2005, RE-AMP has grown to over 130 member organizations, and has expanded into strategically-important issue areas, including transportation policy, federal climate policy, and engaging allies.
An Oral History of The RE-AMP Network in 2018 is a look back at what happened across the network this past year, told through the voices of the people who were there. Here, you will read excerpts from conversations with over 40 RE-AMP members and allies recounting the stories, impressions, and insights from their experiences.
Thanks for joining us to relive a year full of connecting, capacity-building, and collective strategy setting in The RE-AMP Network.
