Building tools to improve policymaking
Stimson is building data tools to democratize information and encourage smart resource, energy, and climate planning

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June 25, 2020

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In June 2020, Stimson launched two new tools that will help policy planners, researchers, and the public understand and evaluate risk around climate change. The Mekong Infrastructure Tracker and the Climate and Ocean Risk Vulnerability Index (CORVI) both use data analysis to encourage better policy making at all levels.

The Stimson Center is a different kind of think tank—one that has a bias toward action. Beyond studying a problem, our researchers look for ways to build tools to address complex problems and then test them in a real-world context. In June 2020, Stimson launched two new tools that will help policy planners, researchers, and the public understand and evaluate risk around climate change. The Mekong Infrastructure Tracker and the Climate and Ocean Risk Vulnerability Index (CORVI) both use data analysis to encourage better policy making at all levels.

The Mekong Infrastructure Tracker (MIT)

The Mekong Infrastructure Tracker is an interactive data tool that provides comprehensive, transparent data on the development of energy, transportation, water, and other infrastructure assets in the Mekong countries and the social, economic, and ecological changes they bring to the region. It is already being widely used: in only three weeks, the Tracker’s Dashboard application was been accessed more than 1700 times, with hundreds of views from the United States, Vietnam, and Thailand and many more from users in Cambodia, Singapore, Myanmar, China, Australia, Laos, and Japan. The Stimson team’s work is directly impacting local communities’ and regional governments’ abilities to analyze energy planning effects in the Mekong through. The tracker will help democratize this critical information while encouraging systems-level energy development planning. 

Climate and Ocean Risk Vulnerability Index (CORVI)

CORVI is an analytical tool designed to help governments, businesses, and financial institutions assess climate risks in coastal cities and pinpoint areas of action to adapt to current and future risks. The two initial case studies of coastal cities—Kingston, Jamaica and Castries, Saint Lucia—identified areas of critical risk and outlined recommended action items for local governments. This tool is designed to help policymakers, public and private investors, and the insurance industry chart a holistic approach to reducing climate risk in coastal cities by effectively prioritizing funding to areas of greatest concern and building resilience before it is too late. Cities are investing billions in resilience projects around the globe—CORVI can help ensure those dollars are spent where they are needed most, and to the greatest effect. 

Learn More 

Watch the launch events of the MIT and CORVI.  

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