Climate, In People’s Own Words
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An open call for community members and organizations in key states

About the project

Climate and clean energy matter to a lot of people, but conversations around the topic often don’t go deep enough to understand what resonates, what doesn’t – and importantly, why.

Climate Power, a national organization working to make climate and clean energy a priority for voters, is partnering with Cortico to go deeper. Through recorded small-group conversations across key states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania — this project is designed to hear from people across a range of perspectives. The goal is to understand how climate and clean energy actually show up in people’s lives, and what might genuinely resonate.

The lived experiences and real feelings surfaced in these conversations will directly shape how Climate Power and its partners connect with communities and make the case for climate action. We’re looking to partner with people and organizations across these states who want to bring this kind of conversation to their community.

Conversation participants will explore questions like:

  • Think about your own community — what environmental or energy-related changes have you noticed, and how have they affected daily life?
  • When it comes to climate and clean energy, what gives you hope? What makes you feel stuck?
  • Have you seen anything work — in your neighborhood, your town, or somewhere else — that made you think, okay, that’s actually making a difference?
Our approach

Cortico, a national nonprofit dedicated to bringing underheard voices into public life, is leading this effort in partnership with Climate Power.

Cortico brings people together in recorded small-group conversations. Through a balance of human listening and technology, Cortico helps partners make sense of what they hear, surfacing patterns, themes, and insights across conversations while keeping real voices at the center. The result is a living record of what communities are saying in their own words.

Cortico has worked with 300+ partners across the country, in cooperation with the MIT Center for Constructive Communication.

Who we want to collaborate with

We’re looking for individuals and organizations in key states who are connected to their communities and willing to host a small-group conversation with people they know or work with.

You don’t need a background in climate or facilitation, just a genuine interest in hearing what people in your community actually think and feel about these issues. We train and support everyone who participates.

We’re particularly interested in reaching beyond the usual climate conversation, which means we’re looking for people and organizations whose networks reflect a range of perspectives, not just those already engaged on climate.

What we’re asking
Complete Cortico’s facilitator orientation — no prior experience needed. If you’re an organization, nominate one staff member to serve as the facilitator.
Recruit 4–6 participants from your own network (people you know in your community) for a small-group conversation.
Host a recorded conversation (about 90 minutes).
Cortico handles everything else: conversation guide, facilitator training, analysis, and outputs.
What you & your community get

Beyond surfacing what your community thinks and feels about climate, here’s what your participation includes:

  • Facilitator training that gives you practical listening and facilitation skills you keep long after the project ends
  • Full support from Cortico: Cortico handles the technology, transcription, and analysis so you don’t need any in-house infrastructure to participate
  • Your community’s real voices and insights from conversations, for your own advocacy and programming
Sign up & learn more

Sign up here

 

Need more information? Sign up for an info session via the links below:

  • Info session 1: Tuesday, October 13 from 12:00 – 12:45 pm EST [RSVP HERE]
  • Info session 2: Tuesday, October 20 from 3:00 – 3:45 pm EST [RSVP HERE]
  • Info session 3: Monday, October 26 from 12:00 – 12:45 pm EST [RSVP HERE]

Questions? Reach out anytime at programs@cortico.ai.

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