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What are the stages that a CBA project might pass through on its journey towards adaptation action and what questions should be asked at each stage?

Stages that a CBA project might pass through on its journey towards adaptation action:

  • 1. Recognising risk: preliminary meetings with vulnerable community identified, discussing evidence of exigencies experienced that may be climate related
    • These are the early contacts that may be in response to a recognised crisis situation or part of an intervention aimed at raising awareness of a predicted crisis situation, perhaps in the future
  • 2. Raise interest, approach donors, research-based organisations, local decision makers, national action plans and policy; identify boundary partners
    • a. Identify and contact all boundary partners
    • b. This is the stage at which it becomes possible to know whether the project is viable or not. Questions to be asked:
      • i. Is the problem conducive to an adaptation project or should some other vehicle be used?
      • ii. Does the community unite behind the idea that a climate related problem exists and that they want to do something about it?
      • iii. Is sufficient information available? If so, is it accessible?
      • iv. What sort of timeline is involved?
      • v. Are there sufficient human resources to manage and implement the project, particularly in the community concerned?
      • vi. Can sufficient money be raised to start the project? If so, will it be enough to see the project through? Consider:
        • Finance
        • Micro-finance
        • Private capital
        • Donor money
  • 3. Develop project proposal. The project is likely to take place in one or two phases, the first being concerned with primary and secondary research, awareness raising, community workshops, confirmation of risk exposure and report writing, the second with risk screening and prioritisation of adaptation action, capacity raising, and implementation of the actions themselves.
  • 4. Carry out in-depth field research, secondary literature search, climate data gathering and other forms of research
  • 5. Hold multi-stakeholder community workshops to raise awareness, hear from all relevant groups, engage physical and social science in debate, discuss possibilities of adaptation and the capacity that would be required to be built to engage in these kinds of action
  • 6. Gather and collate evidence and information from 1, 4 and 5 above to create synthesised analysis of problem, validate and present vulnerability exposure in both quantitative and qualitative ways

All of these stages involve boundary partners to a greater or lesser degree and Figure 1 below puts the variety of possible boundary partner into perspective. The list is not exhaustive and may vary between project according to the theme, location and community involved.

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