Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program

What Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program does

Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program (SCIPP) is a NOAA-funded climate research and decision-support program established in 2008, operating under the University of Oklahoma Board of Regents with primary staff embedded at the University of Oklahoma (Norman, OK) and Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge, LA). The program is part of NOAA's Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) network and is currently in Phase IV (2021-2026), with core consortium partners including the University of Oklahoma, Louisiana State University, Texas Sea Grant at Texas A&M University, and Adaptation International. SCIPP serves planners, emergency managers, federal/state/local government agencies, low-capacity communities, academic institutions, and community organizations across Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana — a region described in the program's own materials as one of the most disaster-prone in the country, frequently experiencing billion-dollar climate events.

SCIPP's core products center on the Simple Planning Tool (SPT) for Climate Hazards — an interactive online platform with state-specific versions for Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas, covering 13 climate hazards — and a portfolio of complementary data visualization tools including the Texas Temperature Trends Dashboard (75 stations, 1970-2019), the Southern U.S. Drought Tool, SURGEDAT Storm Surge Tools, a Water Reservoir Data Visualization Tool, and Climograph and Historical Climate Trends tools. Underlying technical components include R Shiny-based dashboards, GIS mapping layers, and curated regional climate datasets produced by an interdisciplinary team of climate scientists, geographers, and engagement specialists. Research outputs include the Gulf Coast Climate Report, the February 2021 Extreme Cold Event Summary, the Hazard Mitigation Planning Guide, and quarterly newsletters; the program also publishes peer-reviewed papers in AMS and ASCE journals and runs the Climate Adaptation Summer Academy for undergraduates.

SCIPP's business model is grant-funded and non-commercial. Phase IV revenue consists of $5.4 million over five years from the NOAA Climate Program Office's RISA program, contingent on congressional appropriations. All tools, publications, datasets, workshops, webinars, and direct technical assistance are provided at no cost to users; there is no subscription, licensing, or fee-for-service component. Distribution occurs through a self-serve website (southernclimate.org), direct field technical assistance, in-person workshops, an annual South Central Climate Resilience Forum (SCCRF), webinars, and partner-mediated outreach — making this effectively a public-good delivery model rather than a commercial GTM motion.

Name

Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program

Legal name

Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program

Website

https://southernclimate.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SCIPP is a NOAA-funded climate research program affiliated with the University of Oklahoma, LSU, and Texas A&M that provides free climate data, decision-support tools, and planning resources to planners, emergency managers, government agencies, and communities across Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Climate Resilience Research and Planning Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Climate Risk & Scenario Analysis (TCFD/IFRS S2) (EUAHAJAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Earth Science & Geoscience Programs (EDAMABAI)

Keywords

• Climate resilience planning
• Climate hazard assessment
• Regional climate research
• Weather risk analysis
• NOAA RISA program

Headquarters

HQ city

Norman

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. NOAA RISA Grant Funding: Primary funding from NOAA Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) program within the Climate Program Office. SCIPP received $5.4 million over five years (2021-2026) for Phase IV operations, contingent on congressional appropriations.
2. Government/Nonprofit Services: SCIPP operates as a grant-funded research program providing free climate science data, tools, and technical assistance to communities, planners, and government agencies in the South Central U.S.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

SCIPP is a NOAA-funded university research program that helps communities and organizations in the South Central United States (Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana) assess and address weather and climate risks. It delivers climate analyses, decision-support tools (such as the Simple Planning Tool and Texas Temperature Trends Dashboard), research reports, planning guides, workshops, and tailored technical assistance to planners, emergency managers, and government agencies.

Product overview

Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program (SCIPP) is a NOAA-funded climate hazards and research program for the south central United States. The program offers a portfolio of climate decision-support tools and resources, including the core Simple Planning Tool for Climate Hazards (an interactive online platform with state-specific versions for Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas), specialized data visualization tools (Texas Temperature Trends Dashboard, drought tools, storm surge tools, reservoir data tools), research reports and publications (Gulf Coast Climate Report, extreme event summaries), planning guides and resource compilations, and educational programs including the Climate Adaptation Summer Academy. The interconnected themes focus on climate-informed planning, governance and collaborative capacity, extreme events in a changing climate, and climate justice.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Simple Planning Tool for Climate Hazards An online interactive climate hazard assessment tool providing planners and emergency managers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas with maps, graphs, and decision-support materials for assessing historical and future climate hazards in their jurisdictions.
• Texas Temperature Trends Dashboard An interactive dashboard presenting historical temperature trends (1970-2019) for 75 stations across Texas, including extreme heat, extreme cold, warm nights, heating/cooling degree days, seasonal averages, and trend lines.
• Climate Data Visualization Tools Suite A suite of interactive data tools including the Southern U.S. Drought Tool, Average Monthly Temperature and Precipitation Tool, Historical Climate Trends Tool, Climograph Tool, SURGEDAT Storm Surge Tools, and Water Reservoir Data Visualization Tool, supporting climate analysis across the South Central U.S.
• Hazard Mitigation Planning Guide A planning guide developed in conjunction with the Building Capacity for Hazard Mitigation Planning in Low-Capacity Communities research project, supporting professionals in creating local hazard mitigation plans.
• Gulf Coast Climate Report A multi-chapter research report covering physical geography, observed temperature/rainfall changes, climate modeling, and hazard summaries for Gulf Coast states including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida.
• February 2021 Extreme Cold Event Summary A 30-page summary documenting the February 2021 extreme cold weather event impacting the south central U.S., including weather patterns, broken records, sector impacts (energy, water, health, infrastructure, economy), and hazard mitigation successes.
• Planning Process and Financial Assistance Resources Compilation A 32-page compilation of planning process and financial assistance resources for communities in the South Central United States, organized into Documents and Websites, Webinar Series and Podcasts, Consulting Services, and Financial Assistance Resources.
• Climate Adaptation Summer Academy A 5-day, all-expenses-paid educational program for undergraduate students from Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana introducing climate adaptation topics and connecting students with professionals in meteorology, climate science, geography, and public administration.

Quantifiable outcome

• SCIPP's Simple Planning Tool was found to have high utility among target audience of planners and emergency managers
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered supporting, core and key.

• Southern Regional Climate Center, Texas A&M UniversitysupportingTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2024Collaborates on climate data tools and resources. SCIPP tools are hosted at the Southern Regional Climate Center.
• Great Lakes Integrated Sciences and Assessments (GLISA)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 October 2021Collaborated on Gulf Coast Climate Report for the FloodWise Communities Project, providing integrated sciences and assessments expertise.
• Stanford UniversitysupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 October 2021Academic collaborator on Gulf Coast Climate Report, contributing research expertise on climate modeling and regional climate analysis.
• Headwaters EconomicssupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 October 2021Collaborated on Gulf Coast Climate Report, providing economic analysis expertise related to climate impacts and resilience.
• Texas Sea Grant at Texas A&M UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021New partner in Phase IV (2021-2026). Collaborated on Texas Temperature Trends Dashboard and other Texas-specific climate tools and resources.
• Adaptation InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021New partner in Phase IV (2021-2026), based in Austin, Texas. Has collaborated with SCIPP on several projects over the years before formal partnership. Works on community resilience, disaster planning, and climate adaptation initiatives.
• National Hazard Mitigation Association (NHMA)keyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Collaborative partner on hazard mitigation planning research, specifically the 'Building Capacity for Hazard Mitigation Planning in Low-Capacity Communities' project. NHMA hosted webinar featuring SCIPP research and provides practitioner perspective.
• FEMA Region VIkeyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Supporting partner on hazard mitigation planning capacity building research. Provides regulatory guidance and connects research to FEMA requirements and programs.
• USDA Southern Plains Climate HubsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Joint initiative partner for Southern Plains Climate Science Webinar Series, addressing climate change impacts on agriculture and communities.
• University of OklahomacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008Lead institution for SCIPP since 2008. Houses SCIPP's primary headquarters and Oklahoma-based team members including Director Rachel Riley and Program Manager Caylah Cruickshank. Affiliated with Oklahoma Climatological Survey department.
• Louisiana State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008Key partner institution since 2008. Houses LSU-based research team including Dr. Barry Keim (Louisiana State Climatologist), Dr. Vincent Brown, and Dr. Derek Thompson. Conducts climate research and data tool development at LSU campus.
• South Central Climate Adaptation Science CentersupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partner on climate adaptation science, jointly hosting webinars and short courses on climate change impacts.
• NOAA Climate Program OfficecoreOthersSCIPP is a NOAA RISA team funded by the Climate Program Office's Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments program. Primary funder and institutional partner.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Great Lakes Integrated Sciences and Assessments (GLISA): Fellow NOAA RISA team based at the University of Michigan that supports climate-informed decision-making for the Great Lakes region. Same funding mechanism (NOAA Climate Program Office), same program structure, and a documented SCIPP collaborator on the Gulf Coast Climate Report.
• Climate Central: Nonprofit that synthesizes climate data into visualizations and reporting for journalists, policymakers, and the public. Closest mission-comparable peer: like SCIPP, it makes peer-reviewed climate science accessible and actionable, though it operates at national scale rather than regional.
• Headwaters Economics: Nonprofit that provides economic analysis and data tools for climate adaptation and community resilience. Direct SCIPP collaborator on the Gulf Coast Climate Report, with comparable stakeholder-driven, free-access model.
• Carolinas Integrated Sciences & Assessments (CISA): NOAA RISA team serving the Carolinas with regional climate research, decision-support tools, and stakeholder engagement. Same program structure, NOAA funding, and applied climate planning focus as SCIPP.
• Western Water Assessment (WWA): NOAA RISA team at the University of Colorado serving the Intermountain West. Identical program structure, NOAA funding model, and applied climate research with decision-support tools aimed at regional planners and water managers.
• California-Nevada Climate Applications Program (CNAP): NOAA RISA team serving California and Nevada via UC Davis and UNR. Same funding mechanism and structure, producing region-specific climate decision-support tools for planners and resource managers.
• Climate Adaptation & Resiliency Alliance (CARA): NOAA RISA team led by the University of Rhode Island serving the Northeast with climate adaptation research and decision support. Identical program architecture and stakeholder-engagement model as SCIPP.
• National Drought Mitigation Center: University of Nebraska-based center that produces drought monitoring tools, planning guides, and applied research for decision-makers. Strong overlap with SCIPP's Simple Planning Tool, drought visualization suite, and stakeholder-engagement model.
• Adaptation International: Austin, TX-based climate adaptation firm that is an official Phase IV partner of SCIPP. Works on community resilience, disaster planning, and climate adaptation initiatives, with directly overlapping service offerings and client base in Texas and the Gulf Coast.

Broad incumbents

• Woodwell Climate Research Center: Established climate science research nonprofit operating nationally and internationally with a broader portfolio spanning carbon cycle, Arctic, and climate impacts research. Larger and more diversified than SCIPP, but operates in the same applied climate research space and engages similar funder communities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/SCIPP_RISA
• Facebookfacebook.com/SouthernClimateImpactsPlanningProgram
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/southern-climate-impacts-planning-program

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program