Resilience Frontiers (RF) Initiative of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)—Driving Support for Sustainable Goals in Times of Uncertainty

This chapter describes the Resilience Frontiers (RF) Initiative, of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This initiative utilizes a unique collective intelligence process to address long-term global resilience beyond 2030 by harnessing the potential of paradigm-shifting frontier technologies and emerging social trends. This case study explains not only how and why climate change itself is an issue of disruption, but also how the UNFCCC Adaptation Division has incorporated related factors—such as the impact of business and government, as well as socio-political influences—into the Initiative to ensure success. Specific experiences are shared of the brainstorming meeting in Gaborone during the Botswana Adaptation Week in August 2022 as an example of the RF Initiative’s work. Discussion is also provided that describes the process of envisioning and attaining post-2030 futures via eight cross-cutting RF pathways, in a bid to facilitate global adaptation efforts and foster enablers of climate resilient development. This case chapter closes with a discussion of organizational policies and strategic management practices that may be used to institutionalize and sustain change.