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Virtual KE activity 1: An introduction to KE4CAP, where we are, and next steps

This event is the first in a series of virtual KE and engagement activities to be held in mid to late 2020 by the KE4CAP project.
Multiple Authors
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Virtual knowledge exchange event

30 June 2020 14:00 – 16:00 CEST

This event is the first in a series of planned virtual knowledge exchange (KE) and engagement activities to be held in mid to late 2020 by the ‘Stepping-Up Knowledge Exchange between Climate Adaptation Knowledge Platforms’ project.

The focus on responding to the COVID-19 situation and, more generally, on enhancing resilience is opening up further opportunities to explore how CAPs can contribute to national plans and strategies going forward and how they can help in promoting informed decision-making and climate action. Towards realising these opportunities, we are now looking to connect more closely with such platforms within Europe and beyond through a series of virtual KE activities. This first event will introduce the KE4CAP project, summarise results to date, introduce our proposed series of virtual KE activities and seek to understand interest in our initial set of suggested topics fior furture events.

In addition, we are working with DG CLIMA to provide insights towards informing the new EU Adaptation Strategy, as well as furthering knowledge exchange across the international CAP community. To this end, we will be launching a questionnaire during this first event to better understand the current value of adaptation platforms and the roles they can play in the evolving adaptation and resilience agenda.

We hope that developers and operators of CAPs across project partner countries, Europe and beyond will benefit from focussed discussions looking at cross-cutting issues such as integration and coherence across platforms, retaining relevance in a fast-moving world, and using CAPs to support the reporting of progress on actions at national and regional levels.

The agenda can be found on the right.

Outcomes

We welcomed 50 participants working on adaptation platforms in 21 countries (Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Finland, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, UK). The platforms represented varied from those currently being planned, through those that have just been launched to well-established platforms that are now being revised and re-launched.

Please find below the list of topics discussed, results from voting, and copies of the presentations.

Initial list of proposed KE topics for future events:

1. Retaining relevance of CAPs in a fast-moving world (VKE3)

Ensuring platforms agility to meet evolving user needs. Ensuring tools can be further customised to support evolving policy cycles and practice developments. Leveraging other’s work and building on it for innovation and improvement, meeting the increasing need for translating the wealth of data, science and information. How to set priorities?

2. Integration and coherence across multiple (CA) platforms

Integrating CAPs in a ‘world of platforms’. Enhancing interoperability and sharing to promote coherence and comparability. How to align CAPs across the multi-level dimension domestically (national, regional, local)? How can cross-border/states dimensions be strengthened including co-support and sharing? Considering interfaces with related knowledge platforms.

3. Co-evaluating, learning and capacity development to drive continuous improvement

Using effective monitoring and evaluation approaches to better understand strengths and weaknesses and to measure the success of CAPs. How should a national platform be evaluated (policy and practice relevance, usability and credibility) and by whom? How to go beyond available analytics to lead to better development? How to benefit from international peer-learning?

4. Means of communication to stimulate and enable action (VKE4)

Promoting and sharing best practices and innovations to engage and inform policy and practice communities and encourage action e.g. use of story lines, visualizations etc.) Identify the roles of CAPs to support strategically planned and high-quality communications. What can be expected of science for the translation of knowledge?

5. The role of CAPs in monitoring, reporting and evaluating (MRE) progress (VKE5)

Exploring and identifying potential roles of CAPs in supporting the monitoring, evaluation and reporting (stocktaking) of progress on adaptation and resilience at national and transnational levels. How can CAPs contribute to national and international agendas?

6. Business models and value propositions for financing CAPs

What are the various value propositions and models being used and lessons learnt for financing CAPs? Considering public, private and joint investment models going forward that increase accessibility and use. Which parties finance CAPs, under what arrangements (procurement, ownership, judicial aspects, public/private, liability, time-span etc.) and what are the advantages and disadvantages of the various alternatives?

7. Platform architecture and technical development

What system features would be considered ‘best practice’ when establishing and updating a platform, from both the users’ and operators’ perspectives? What approaches are considered ‘user-friendly’ by the various audiences? What worked and what would you do differently if you started now?

8. Working with local authorities and organisations (VKE2)

Sharing advice and lessons learnt and challenges in promoting and supporting action by local actors.

9. Integration of cultural knowledge, capacities and needs into CAPs

Adaptation greatly benefits from the integration of local and indigenous knowledge. How to better integrate this cultural knowledge within platforms? How to better respond to the needs of these communities in terms of translations, appropriate communications (storylines), lack of internet (offline products)? Which organizations can best assist in this integration?

10. Providing credible and usable information through CAPs

How to enhance the credibility and usability of the CAP through assembling, translation, synthesizing, and presentation of data and knowledge? How is the quality control for assembling and synthesizing data organized? How do CAPs deal with norms and standardization? What is the role of ISO-standards?

Results of voting during VKE1:

After considering the proposed additional topics suggested during the event, many can be linked to an expanded framework of the initial ten topics, but two represent new areas for consideration. These are: 11. Governance of platforms and 12. Social justice and equity.

Presentations:

An overview of the KE4CAP project – Roger Street

EU-Australia knowledge exchange event: Services and science supporting climate action – Geoff Gooley

An introduction to A-PLAT and the International Climate Change Adaptation Platforms Meetings – Yasuaki Hijioka

Mapping user expectations to current climate adaptation support – Jeremy Gault

Future virtual KE activities (intentions and framing) – Barry O’Dwyer

KE4CAP learning survey: Exploring good practices and challenges – Julia Barrott

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