Multisolving is defined as working together across sectors to address multiple problems with one policy or investment. In the context of climate change, multisolving means changing lives for the better while protecting the climate.
In 2015, Dr. Elizabeth Sawin, Climate Interactive’s co-founder and now advisory board member, developed multisolving to describe projects she and colleagues were studying and participating in around the world. These projects were different from each other in most ways, but they had one theme in common: they used one investment of time, money, or effort to address multiple problems at the same time. These projects—from walk-to-school programs to urban orchards to solar microgrids and home energy upgrades—showed people working together across sectors and silos to improve health, equity, well-being, and biodiversity while also protecting the climate.
That launched the Multisolving Program which was an important part of Climate Interactive’s work for six years. From that program emerged an influential TEDx talk, dozens of articles and interviews, and a rising demand for training, research, and communications about multisolving. To meet that demand, the team most involved in multisolving at Climate Interactive has launched a new, free-standing organization, the Multisolving Institute.
In February of 2022, the Multisolving Institute officially diverged from Climate Interactive and became its own unique organization. The Institute’s purpose is to spread and scale multisolving by helping people overcome some of the most limiting obstacles to it. Climate Interactive is proud to still be closely partnered with the Multisolving Institute, and support the great work they are doing to equitably address climate change and other social issues. To learn more about these changes, please read our blog post.
Watch this four-minute video by Climate Interactive Co-Founder and Co-Director Dr. Elizabeth Sawin for a short and comprehensive introduction to multisolving.