Webinar on Transforming knowledge management for climate action (May 28, 3PM CEST)

Dear colleagues,

On May 28 we held a webinar to discuss ways in which we can transform knowledge management to increase collaboration and coordination between the climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR) communities. This webinar was part of the European Union PLAtform for Climate Adaptation and Risk reDuction (PLACARD) project, supported by the weADAPT team.

See slides – Transforming knowledge management for climate action

This webinar aimed to kickstart the collaborative transformation of information and knowledge management (IKM) practices to increase the impact of our collective knowledge and work on the ground. It discussed the directions in which, as a community, we can use IKM to better meet the challenge of the global climate change, disaster risk reduction and sustainable development agendas.

During the 1-hour event we discussed the barriers to maximising the usefulness and uptake of knowledge, and present potential solutions to addressing these barriers that, if adopted widely, would promote increased communication, collaboration and learning.

The first of two webinars, this webinar was for:

• Knowledge professionals and researchers interested in improving practices and supporting learning;
• Donors interested in contributing towards significant societal benefits made possible through better IKM and its contribution towards more informed decision-making.

The second webinar was more technical in nature and focussed on how we can leverage emerging IKM and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to support knowledge management for increased climate action.

Rationale and objectives

The urgency of the world’s key global missions: achieving the aims of the Paris Agreement, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction mean we that can no longer afford to squander time or resources searching for the most credible or relevant kernel of information tucked away in some virtual corner. We cannot afford to implement a measure without learning from the experiences of a similar intervention that has proved its worth elsewhere. And, we cannot afford to implement measures that have previously been revealed as ineffective or counterproductive. In short, all people working on these agendas need better, faster ways to learn from one another.

A new report, Transforming knowledge management for climate action: a road map for accelerated discovery and learning presents a way forward. Written for the PLACARD project, the report describes IKM technologies that could help address some of the major challenges inhibiting knowledge uptake and use, and outlines a road map for the collaborative development of these technologies for the climate change adaptation and disaster risk communities.

Comprising a presentation followed by active discussion, this webinar provided an opportunity for participants to share and reflect on past and current IKM efforts, respond to the road map, and state their interest in collaborating to take this work forward.

Agenda

15:00 Presentation:

• Information overload and its consequences
• How standards, taxonomies and ontologies can help
• An example of how we can improve search and discovery: The Connectivity Hub
• A road map forward

15:30 Open Discussion

16:00 Close

Further resources

• Recording of the webinar on transforming knowledge management for climate action
• About PLACARD
• Transforming knowledge management for climate action: a road map for accelerated discovery and learning
• PLACARD virtual conference