The PREP-RI training modules focus on increasing the capacity of decision-makers to enhance local resilience to the effects of natural hazards and climate change, particularly flooding from storms and sea level rise. Thanks to funding from the Rhode Island General Assembly, since 2017, the modules have provided hundreds of government, volunteer board, and community members with practical, science-based information that may be applied to planning, zoning, conservation, infrastructure, and maintenance efforts. Carried out in partnership with the Narragansett Bay Research Reserve, the PREP-RI modules satisfy the state’s requirement that municipal planning boards and commissions receive training on flooding and sea level rise. In 2020, Connecticut Sea Grant adapted some of the modules for their Adapt CT municipal outreach program.
The online module series originated from, and builds upon, a series of efforts over the last decade, and compliments URI GSO’s Coastal Resources Center (CRC) and RI Sea Grant initiatives in building capacity.