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Civic climate platform
Layering climate resilience research, data tools, and community storytelling,
The University of Texas at Austin (2024—Present)
SITUATION
Researchers needed to translate a decade of interdisciplinary climate work into an accessible digital resource for communities and policy decision-makers.
Background
Planet Texas 2050 is a 10-year grand challenge initiative uniting researchers across disciplines to address climate resilience and community sustainability in Texas. The culminating project is an interactive public website to provide toolkits, showcase research, foster cross-collaboration, and extend impact beyond the initiative's sunset (launch scheduled for mid to late 2026).
Goals
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Translate complex research into accessible, engaging formats
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Support collaboration among researchers, policymakers, NGOs, and communities
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Highlight project outcomes, tools, and stories to inspire continued action
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Create a digital resource that can live on beyond the initiative
Challenges
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Aligning diverse principal investigator (PI) priorities and stakeholder needs
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Designing for a broad audience with varying levels of technical literacy
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Balancing ambitious feature requests with limited technical capacity
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Coordinating across multiple research groups, projects, and communications teams
Risks
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Fragmentation of vision if stakeholder alignment is not achieved
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Sustainability concerns post-initiative, including ownership and funding
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Potential gaps in usability or accessibility if complex features are overbuilt
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Risk of reduced impact if tools are not localized or relevant to communities
TASK
I was hired to lead the UX strategy and scoping.
Team
UX Consultant (me), Program/Stakeholder Coordinator, Communications/Impact Consultant, 15 principal investigators, 25+ community partners across disciplines, Program Director
My Tasks
Leading UX research and strategy, facilitating PI interviews and workshops, synthesizing findings into actionable insights, guiding information architecture and design direction.
Tools
Asana, Figma, FigJam, Google Suite, UT Drupal CMS, Otter.AI, Google Sheets for analysis, ChatGPT for planning, partial analysis and summarization; Soon to explore: ArcGIS StoryMaps, Leaflet, Tableau, Google Data Studio
Deliverables
Phase 1 and 2 reports, stakeholder survey and analysis, feature matrix, risk tracker, site map, wireframes and mixed-fidelity prototype, design system library, and recommendations for long-term platform sustainability.
Timeline
2-month contract (July-Aug 2025) + 11-month contract (Feb-Dec 2025) + 5-month contract (Jan-May 2026) with phased milestones: Discovery and Interviews, Synthesis and Survey, Comparative Research, Design and Prototyping, Workshops, Card Sorting/Usability Testing/SME Reviews, and Final Buildout.
ACTION 1
I conducted 36 remote 1:1 stakeholder interviews and a survey, revealing differences and overlaps in stakeholder needs, concerns, and perspectives.
Researchers and Academics
Needed a trusted space to share data, highlight outcomes, and support interdisciplinary collaboration.
Community Partners
Wanted plain language, locally relevant tools, and resources that built trust and addressed lived experiences.
Government and Policymakers
Emphasized evidence-based, digestible data visualizations to guide decision-making.
NGOs and Nonprofits
Looked for storytelling and resource-sharing features to extend reach and amplify impact.
Educators and Youth
Requested engaging, interactive tools that could support teaching, learning, and youth engagement.
1/14
ACTION 2
I translated insights into a site map, wireframes and a taxonomy, ensuring key user journeys provide information, features, and tools that are relevant and useful.
Insight 1: Stakeholders approach PT2050 with fundamentally different goals and mental models.
Design Decision: Multi-entry navigation, persona-based pathways, and multiple ways to find resources.
Insight 2: Users want PT2050 to translate research into action, not function as a repository.
Design Decision: Impact-first content structure and curated toolkits.
Insight 3: Trust, legitimacy, and visibility of contributors matter to both researchers and partners.
Design Decision: Standardized project templates with explicit partner and PI link-outs.
Insight 4: Communities want meaningful ways to engage, not just consume information.
Design Decision: Participatory "Take Action" features and feedback mechanisms.
Insight 5: The platform must be maintainable with limited time, budget, and technical staff.
Design Decision: Limited customization, standardized components and governance protocol.
1/2
ACTION 3
I plan to validate designs through card sorting, usability testing, and SME reviews, focusing on mental models, accessibility, representation, usefulness, and technical feasibility.
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An on-site PI workshop with N=10 PIs revealed open questions about the direction, integrations, and capabilities.
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Remote technical reviews with UT Web Services to reveal technical feasibility and custom development estimate.
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Remote card sorting with N=8 end-users to reveal mental models and issues with site architecture and taxonomies.
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Remote usability testing with N=12 end-users, including community leaders, government workers, researchers, environmental practitioners, K-12 teachers, and residents, to reveal usability errors on key tasks by severity + frequency, user impressions, and an overall SUS rating.
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Remote SME reviews with N=30 stakeholders, including community partners and PIs, to develop content that is accessible and representative of the communities it serves.
RESULT
This sentence states the quantifiable result of my work. (coming soon)
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RELEVANCE
"This is a quote from a stakeholder describing the relevance of my impact." (coming soon)
Firstname Lastname, Title
EVOLUTION
This sentence states the key learning (coming soon)
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Aliquam condimentum egestas nibh, quis suscipit neque. In the future, I would do ABC so that XYZ.
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