Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington

What Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington does

The Climate Impacts Group (CIG) is a 30-year-old research unit within the University of Washington's College of the Environment and an EarthLab member organization, headquartered on the UW campus in Seattle. It produces regionally downscaled climate projections, hydrologic and stream-temperature models, sea-level rise assessments, and climate-analog studies focused on the Pacific Northwest. Its proprietary technical outputs include the dynamically downscaled WRF hydroclimate projections (12 km, hourly), the RMJOC-II Columbia River streamflow dataset based on CMIP5 downscaling and VIC/PRMS hydrology, the DHSVM and River Basin stream-temperature modeling pipeline applied to tribal watersheds, and interactive visualization tools (sea level rise and heavy precipitation). CIG also hosts the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center (NW CASC) consortium — a USGS-led federal-university partnership spanning eight Northwest universities — as well as the Washington State Climate Office, the Washington Tribes Coastal Resilience Program, and the Climate Equity and Resilience Institute (CERSI). Its primary customers and funders are federal natural-resource agencies (USGS, NOAA, EPA, BIA, Army Corps, Bureau of Reclamation, BPA), Washington State agencies (Department of Ecology, Department of Fish and Wildlife, Department of Health), tribal governments (Squaxin Island Tribe, Nooksack Indian Tribe, Swinomish), and county governments (King, Pierce, Snohomish, Whatcom).

CIG operates as a grant-funded, non-commercial research organization. Revenue is sourced exclusively from competitive federal grants, state appropriations, and tribal/county contracts; no products or services are sold, and all datasets, tools, and publications are made publicly available at no charge. Go-to-market is relationship-led: work is acquired through collaborative partnerships, targeted proposals to funding opportunity announcements, and direct engagement with decision-makers needing climate science support. Outputs are distributed through a combination of direct research collaboration, an open data portal (CIG datasets, RMJOC-II, WRF), an analysis-tool suite (sea level rise visualization, heavy precipitation projections), curated resource portals (CAR-WASH, tribal vulnerability resources), the bimonthly "Our Climate Future" webinar series, and 826 lifetime peer-reviewed and applied publications. The organization is small (12 employees) but operates through an extended consortium, with 127+ field partners across the Northwest, 89 trained research fellows via NW CASC, and 418 engagement activities completed in 2024.

Name

Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington

Legal name

Climate Impacts Group, University of Washington

Website

https://cig.uw.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington is a research unit that produces downscaled climate projections, hydrologic models, and decision-support tools to enable science-based climate adaptation by federal, state, tribal, and local government agencies across the Pacific Northwest.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Climate Science Research and Impact Assessment

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (541620), Administration of Conservation Programs (92412)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Climate & GHG/Emissions Modeling & Scenario Analysis (Inventories, Projections, Net-Zero Pathways) (EUAHAKAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Downscaled Climate Projections & Scenario Analytics (CMIP, SSP/RCP, Regionalization) (EUABALAB), Climate Change Mitigation, Adaptation & Resilience Programs (BPAIAMAD)

Keywords

• Climate impact research
• Downscaled climate projections
• Hydrologic climate modeling
• Climate adaptation planning
• Pacific northwest climate assessment

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Federal Grants: Primary funding from competitive grants awarded by federal agencies including NOAA, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and the National Science Foundation. The NW CASC is a partnership between USGS and Northwest universities.
2. State Government Funding: Project funding from Washington State agencies including the Department of Ecology, Department of Fish and Wildlife, and state legislature appropriations. Funding for the Washington State Climate Office.
3. Tribal Government Contracts: Direct funding from tribal governments including the Squaxin Island Tribe and other Northwest tribes for collaborative research projects addressing tribal climate resilience needs.
4. Local Government Contracts: Project funding from county governments including King County, Snohomish County, Whatcom County, and Pierce County for climate impact assessments and adaptation planning.
5. Federal Power Agency Funding: Funding from Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) Technology and Innovation Program, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for Columbia River climate change studies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Climate Impacts Group is a University of Washington research unit, founded in 1995 and based in the College of the Environment, that conducts applied research on climate variability and change in the Pacific Northwest. It produces downscaled climate projections, hydrologic and ecological impact assessments, and decision-support tools used by federal, state, tribal, and local agencies, tribes, and resource managers to plan for climate impacts on water, forests, coasts, and communities.

Product overview

The Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington is a research organization that develops and provides climate science data, tools, and resources rather than a commercial product company. Its portfolio consists primarily of climate and hydrologic projection datasets (including the Columbia River Climate Change dataset, WRF dynamically downscaled projections, and global climate model summaries), interactive data visualization tools (sea level rise visualization tool, heavy precipitation projections tool), and research programs including the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center (NW CASC), Washington State Climate Office, and Climate Equity and ReSilience Institute (CERSI). Access to data is provided through downloadable datasets, Google Maps interfaces, and direct data request forms rather than programmatic APIs. The organization also conducts education and outreach through the 'Our Climate Future' webinar series and various climate adaptation resource portals like CAR-WASH.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pacific Northwest Climate Impact Assessments

Quantifiable outcome

• 418 engagement activities completed in 2024
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUSGS is the federal partner in the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center, a federal-university partnership that produces accessible science on climate change impacts and adaptation actions for Northwest resource managers and decision makers.
• Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center (NW CASC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of nine Climate Adaptation Science Centers nationally. A partnership between USGS and Northwest university and non-university partners led by UW. Includes Boise State, Portland State, Oregon State, University of Montana, Washington State University, Western Washington University, Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, and Northwest Indian College.
• EarthLab (UW College of the Environment)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEarthLab is a UW College of the Environment initiative that supports application-focused interdisciplinary collaboration. CIG is a member organization alongside Center for Health and the Global Environment, Future Rivers, Nature and Health, Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center, Washington Ocean Acidification Center, and Washington State Climate Office.
• Washington State Climate OfficecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides credible, accessible climate information for Washington State, including updates on snowpack and El Nino conditions. Co-located with CIG on UW Seattle campus.
• Squaxin Island TribemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research on future sea level, streamflow, and stream temperature projections on salmon-bearing streams. Funded by Bureau of Indian Affairs and NW CASC. Addresses tribal headquarters flood risk and salmon habitat concerns.
• Puget Sound PartnershipmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on State of Knowledge: Climate Change in Puget Sound report and ongoing water demand scenarios project examining how future water management can support Puget Sound Recovery goals.
• The Nature ConservancymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered on Adapting to Change climate adaptation booklet for Puget Sound and fact sheets addressing climate change and floodplains, stormwater, and human health.
• King CountymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on Effect of Climate Change on Flooding in King County Rivers study, providing climate projections to support floodplain management decisions.
• Pierce County (Floodplains for the Future Partnership)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorking alongside Floodplains for the Future Partnership on approximately $250M capital projects to ensure climate change is accounted for in flood risk reduction, agricultural viability, and salmon recovery planning.
• Western Washington University (Huxley Spatial Institute)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on mapping work for State of Knowledge: Climate Change in Puget Sound report through the Huxley Spatial Institute.
• Multiple UW Departments and LabsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborations include UW School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, Applied Physics Laboratory, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, and others.
• Washington Department of HealthmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIG supports DOH's development of Water System Planning Climate Resilience Element requirements through supplemental workbooks and curated resources.
• Washington State Silver JacketsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInteragency group including FEMA, Army Corps, and state/federal flood risk management agencies. CIG worked to integrate climate change into flood risk management practices.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Climate Central: A non-profit climate science communications and research organization producing sea level rise projections, coastal flooding analyses, and visualizations for U.S. audiences. Highly comparable in mission of translating climate science into actionable tools for decision-makers, though broader geographically than CIG.
• Great Lakes Integrated Sciences and Assessments (GLISA): A NOAA-funded university climate adaptation center at the University of Michigan producing regional climate assessments for the Great Lakes region. Directly comparable in structure as a NOAA-funded university research consortium translating climate science for regional decision-makers.
• Aspen Global Change Institute: A non-profit research institute convening climate scientists and producing assessments on climate impacts and adaptation. Comparable in mission of connecting climate science to decision-makers, though smaller in scale and more workshop/convening focused than CIG's modeling capabilities.
• Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center: A sister Climate Adaptation Science Center housed at UMass Amherst, part of the same federal-university CASC network as NW CASC. It conducts comparable applied climate science for natural resource managers in the northeastern U.S., with a similar business model of federal grants and stakeholder co-production.
• Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center: Another CASC consortium led by the University of Arizona, serving the southwestern U.S. with downscaled climate projections and tribal/state/local partnerships. Operates under the same USGS-CASC federal mandate and structure as CIG's NW CASC, making it a direct institutional peer.
• NOAA Climate Program Office: NOAA's primary climate science funding and coordination office, a major funder of CIG's research. Operates comparable climate science programs and produces national climate assessments, but functions as a federal agency program rather than a university research unit.

Broad incumbents

• Scripps Institution of Oceanography: A major UC San Diego climate and oceanographic research institution producing climate projections and atmospheric science at large scale. Comparable in producing downscaled regional climate science and engaging decision-makers, though with much broader national/international scope than CIG.
• National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR): NCAR is the premier U.S. climate and atmospheric science research center, operated by UCAR and sponsored by NSF. It produces global climate models and projections comparable to CIG's regional downscaled work, but at significantly larger scale and scope across the entire U.S. rather than just the Pacific Northwest.
• Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory: Columbia University's earth science research arm producing climate and earth system science. Comparable in producing peer-reviewed climate science and engaging stakeholders, but with global research portfolio rather than CIG's regional Pacific Northwest specialization.

Regional players

• Rocky Mountain Climate Organization: A regional climate policy and impacts organization serving the Rocky Mountain West with similar applied climate science and stakeholder engagement work. Comparable in regional focus and decision-maker engagement, but more advocacy-oriented than CIG's university research orientation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CIG_UW
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/uw-climate-impacts-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington