JOINT BENEFITS AUTHORITY FAQ

The Joint Benefits Authority (JBA) is a proposed governance and finance tool designed to integrate multiple city departments and community partners to deliver district-scale, resilient infrastructure. Based on the Joint Powers Authority (JPA) model, the JBA aims to overcome siloed municipal operations and funding gaps to implement nature-based solutions that address climate change and social equity in underserved neighborhoods.

• The Joint Benefits Authority (JBA) is a governance and finance tool intended to bring city departments and communities together to deliver infrastructure that builds climate resilience and transforms neighborhoods. Its vision is centered on four pillars: establishing integrated project delivery through advanced capital planning, quantifying and capturing co-benefits from public improvements, using creative municipal financing to attract new investors, and advancing social equity by giving communities a voice in neighborhood solutions.
• The JBA is modeled after the Joint Powers Authority (JPA), a legal entity formed by two or more government agencies to manage projects of regional importance. Like a JPA, the JBA consists of a formal agreement and an independent entity that can exercise powers such as bonding authority. Member agencies provide oversight and funding to repay project financing, while a single project team manages the entire life cycle from planning and design to maintenance and monitoring.
• The JBA specifically targets social equity by focusing resources on areas that are historically underserved and already burdened by social and environmental factors. It aims to ensure that project benefits are directed toward existing communities and to build local capacity for the ownership and stewardship of public investments.
• The JBA is designed to solve specific urban and governance challenges, including the 'siloed efforts of city departments,' rising construction costs due to material and labor shortages, and a lack of secure funding for the ongoing maintenance of urban forestry and landscape infrastructure. It proposes that nature-based solutions crossing jurisdictional boundaries can scale integrated infrastructure more effectively than 'business as usual' municipal operations.
• The JBA is being designed and piloted through a partnership between the World Resources Institute, Encourage Capital, the Liquid Assets Project, and the San Francisco Public Utility Commission. This effort is funded by the Moore Foundation, Spring Point Partners, and the Kresge Foundation, with the goal of testing the concept in San Francisco for future replication.
• The JBA will be funded jointly by participating city departments, grants, and philanthropic support. Costs for each department are determined by the benefits they receive from the project, with the objective of reducing overall costs through shared development, delivery, and operations.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). JOINT BENEFITS AUTHORITY FAQ. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-01/joint-benefits-authority-faqs.pdf

Chicago

World Resources Institute. JOINT BENEFITS AUTHORITY FAQ. n.d. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-01/joint-benefits-authority-faqs.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=JOINT BENEFITS AUTHORITY FAQ |url=https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-01/joint-benefits-authority-faqs.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendjoint, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{JOINT BENEFITS AUTHORITY FAQ}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-01/joint-benefits-authority-faqs.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }