Getting Started with OCRP

New here? Welcome. This page will tell you what OCRP is, who it is built for, and exactly what you can do next — no jargon required.

What is OCRP?

Open Climate Resilience Policies (OCRP) is a free, open library of model climate-resilience policies that anyone can read, use, adapt, and improve.

Every policy in the library is:

Evidence-based — grounded in peer-reviewed science and real legislation.
Enforceable by design — written with binding language (“shall”, “must”) and clear penalties, not wishful wording (“encourage”, “strive to”).
Verified for integrity — sources are checked, dead links are archived, and AI-assisted edits are reviewed before publication.

We built this because too many Climate Action Plans cite dead links, rely on outdated science, or use “weasel words” that lawyers can drive a truck through. We want to give communities the tools to demand better.

Who is OCRP for?

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Citizens & Advocates

You are a resident, activist, or community organiser who wants real change — not promises. Use the policy library to find proven templates, understand what good policy looks like, and bring specific, enforceable proposals to your council or planning board.

🏛️ Policy Professionals

You work in government, an NGO, or a consultancy, and you need model language that will hold up to legal scrutiny. Use OCRP policies as starting points, adapt them to your jurisdiction, and check them against our Integrity Engine criteria.

🔬 Researchers & Students

You are studying climate law, urban planning, or public health, and you want a structured, citable corpus of policies. OCRP's frontmatter metadata makes it easy to filter by hazard type, jurisdiction, and implementation level.

💻 Developers & Open-Source Contributors

You want to contribute code, quality tools, or automation. The project is fully open-source on GitHub. Our scripts directory contains Python tools for link validation, consistency checking, and policy analysis that are ready for improvement.

Your first 5 minutes

Step 1 — Browse the policy library

Head to the Policy Library and search or scroll through the model policies. Each policy includes:

A plain-language problem statement
Specific mandates with numeric thresholds where applicable
Implementation guidance
Official sources you can verify

Step 2 — Read one policy end-to-end

Pick a topic that matters to you — urban heat, flood resilience, green roofs, electric vehicles — and read a full policy. Notice how it is structured: problem → mandate → enforcement → citations. That structure is intentional and replicable.

Step 3 — Understand what makes a good policy

Visit About to learn how OCRP’s Integrity Engine works, or read the full workflow details. The key principle: if a control exists in policy, it must be enforceable. If it cannot be enforced, it is not a policy — it is a press release.

How to get involved

You don’t need to be a lawyer, coder, or climate scientist. Here are real ways to contribute:

What you can do	Where to start
Use a policy — take a template to your local government	Policy Library
Add a missing policy — convert real legislation into our format	Contribute
Fix an error — spot a broken link or bad claim? Report it	GitHub Issues
Suggest a resource — know a great guide or database?	Resources page
Improve the tools — contribute code or QA scripts	GitHub Repository
Spread the word — share a policy that matters to you	Use the Share button on any policy page

Frequently asked questions

Is this free to use? Yes. All content is open. Code is licensed under AGPL-3.0. Policy text is intended to be freely adapted.

Can I use these policies in my city or country? Yes. The policies are written as generic model templates. You will need to adapt legal terminology to your jurisdiction. The Contribute page includes an AI prompt that helps with this.

How do I know the information is accurate? Every policy links to official sources. Our consistency checker validates those links automatically. AI-assisted edits are reviewed before publication. That said — errors can slip through. If you find one, report it and we treat it as a priority.

Do I need a GitHub account to contribute? For code and policy submissions, yes. For suggestions and error reports, you can also open an issue without signing up or contact the team through GitHub Discussions.