Kate Lonsdale

Principal Consultant - Climate Change Practice Area Lead

I have worked on resilience building and adaptation to a changing climate as a researcher, trainer, facilitator, consultant, mentor, evaluator and in an advisory capacity for over 22 years in both developed and developing country contexts. I have lead and managed projects in a range of settings including civil society, academia and government policy and within organizations that aim to create a bridge between these different sectors.  Key areas of interest are how you put vague concepts like ‘resilience’, ‘social learning’ or ‘transformational adaptation’ into practice; how you make climate information usable; how transformation adaptation can be achieved without exacerbating vulnerability; how you identify different perspectives on ‘success’ and bring together ‘unlikely alliances’ rather than the usual subjects.

I enjoy designing and facilitating participatory processes, workshops and events which provide a space for dialogue and learning and am an accredited action learning set facilitator.   I was the Learning Team Lead, HMG Climate Change Compass as part of the IMC Worldwide Ltd team. Formerly ICF MEL, Compass was established by DFID, BEIS and Defra to learn from current ICF programmes to inform future climate finance investment decisions and policy in, and beyond, the ICF.  I have a PhD on the design of urban drainage systems and a PGDip in facilitating organisational change.  I was the 2012 Victorian Centre for Climate Adaptation Research (VCCCAR) International Visiting Fellow in Melbourne focussing on how to build effective state policy-research collaborations for climate change. 

UK Climate Resilience Programme logo

The UK Climate Resilience Programme

The UK Climate Resilience Programme brings together climate research and expertise and undertakes climate risk and adaptation research to build resilience to climate change in the UK.

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Transformational adaptation

A summary of themes from the literature and workshop discussions on the concept of transformation, how it might be applied and priorities for future research and practice. 

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The cover of the PROVIA guidance document, composed of 6 images: image of people walking through a flooded urban area, image of people standing in a flooded field with cattle, 2 images of grass fields, 1 image of a settlement near a river, image of sand dunes

PROVIA Guidance on Assessing Vulnerability, Impacts and Adaptation to Climate Change

This guidance provides clear technical guidance on climate change vulnerability, impacts and adaptation at the local, national and international levels, in both developed and developing countries.

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Network Rail

Case study on Network Rail: Increasing resilience to flooding

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Fruit growers

This case study describes how Pixley Berries investigated and integrated changing weather conditions and impacts on crop management and harvest and post harvest infrastructure.

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What is Social Learning?

'Social' learning is thought to occur through the sharing of knowledge between individuals, groups and organisations in society through interactions, particularly in novel environments and situations where new opportunities and spaces of possibility can be explored. 

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Kate is a member of the following Themes, Networks or Projects

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Climate Change Adaptation Knowledge Platforms

This Network, managed by the KE4CAP project, provides a space for adaptation knowledge platform operators and managers to connect and learn from one another.
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52dfc4e74363ctransforming-governacne 1 - climate adaptation.

Governance, institutions and policy

Advancing new insights into good governance for sustainable development in the face of social and ecological change.
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