News and Events 

R2I2 Annual Meeting Highlights Collaboration to Advance Regional Resilience

The 2026 R2I2 Annual Meeting brought together project leaders, National Science Foundation (NSF) program officers, and national resource partners in Minneapolis on September 17–18. The meeting followed a pre-meeting gathering and tour of the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory on September 16.

Report: Year 1 Highlights

As we drafted our Year 1 annual report for NSF, we pulled together a few highlights to capture the work of the RNO since September 2025. 

Our efforts focused on establishing national network infrastructure, creating foundational support services and shared tools, and organizing peer learning and knowledge sharing opportunities through network engagement groups. 

RNO Welcomes Natalie Bennett 

We are thrilled to welcome Natalie Bennett as the Community Partnerships and Engagement Specialist for the NSF Regional Resilience Innovation Incubator (R2I2) National Office. Natalie joined us in late March and brings over a decade of experience in climate resilience and community-based adaptation across the Federal government, academia, and the consulting sector.

Join us on Slack!

Are you looking for ways to connect with other R2I2 teams? 

We’ve created a Slack workspace to connect the network of researchers, practitioners, community partners, and coordinators working together across the R2I2 projects. Slack is a great way to connect around key topics of interest and to stay up-to-date on news and events. 

Login is required to join. 

Amanda Farris Joins RNO as Managing Director

Amanda Farris joined the Research Development Office in November as managing director for the NSF Regional Resilience Innovation Incubator (R2I2) National Office. 

In this new role, Amanda brings nearly 15 years of experience in climate adaptation and resilience including previous roles as associate director of the Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership and program manager of the Carolinas Integrated Sciences and Assessments team.

UMN to Lead National Resilience Hub

The University of Minnesota has been selected by the U.S. National Science Foundation to house the National Office for the Regional Resilience Innovation Incubator (NSF R2I2) program. Backed by a two-year, $2 million award, the office will coordinate a network of 19 funded NSF R2I2 teams nationwide. The initiative positions the University at the forefront of advancing practical solutions for community resilience.