Bringing insights from Indigenous and local knowledge into climate change research requires addressing the transferability, integration, and scalability of this knowledge. Using a review of research on place-based observations of climate change impacts, we explore ways to address these challenges. Our search mostly captured scientist-led qualitative research, which – while facilitating place-based knowledge transferability to global research – did not include locally led efforts documenting climate change impacts. We classified and organized qualitative multi-site place-based information into a hierarchical system that fosters dialogue with global research, providing an enriched picture of climate change impacts on local social-ecological systems. A network coordinating the scalability of place-based research on climate change impacts is needed to bring Indigenous and local knowledge into global research and policy agendas.