Topic 4: Communications, knowledge brokering and stewardship to stimulate and enable action

This page features the key lessons shared by CAPs on the current practices, innovations and challenges related to communications, knowledge brokering and stewardship to stimulate and enable action.

Multiple Authors

29th Aug 2021
3 min read
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Background: The KE4CAP Synthesis Report

This topic page forms a chapter of the KE4CAP Synthesis Report, which brings together learning from across all KE4CAP’s activities (see Further Resources for links to relevant pages). The KE4CAP project is providing a global forum for developers and operators of climate adaptation knowledge platforms (CAPs) to come together to share knowledge and best practices, and to work together to address common and emerging challenges.

Introduction: Communications, knowledge brokering and stewardship

CAPs do far more than just provide climate information; they are knowledge brokers and stewards providing a wealth of services such as tailored knowledge products, resources libraries, guidance and training materials, and various tools. Communications are universally seen as essential for promoting visibility, uptake and use of CAPs while knowledge brokering, through packaging, synthesising and otherwise tailoring knowledge to meet the needs of users, is seen as key to enabling adaptation. This valuable brokering and stewardship role is being increasingly recognised, both by CAPs and those using them. However, understanding evolving users’ needs remains a challenge.

Lessons Learnt

Current practices

Getting knowledge into use. CAPs are: working with users to co-develop fit-for-purpose knowledge products; enhancing users’ capacities through developing guidance and learning resources; curating, synthesising and tailoring knowledge to make it accessible and useable by users; providing easy, structured access to relevant information and knowledge; and sharing use-cases showing how climate information and knowledge can be used in decision-making.
Promoting peer knowledge sharing. CAPs are convening actors to share their knowledge, including local level actors. This is supporting the sharing of relatable and compelling stories and experiences, both of climate change and adaptation actions, and in some cases is informing regional and national policymaking.
Providing a centralised resource. CAPs are working to provide a go-to resource for information and knowledge on and for climate change adaptation, including on what adaptation actions are being taken and where.

Selected innovations

Several platforms have designed innovative knowledge resources for specific users. Examples include Adaptation Scotland’s ‘Climate Ready Places’ tool, TCCIP’s (Taiwan) ‘Climate Change Atlas’, NI Adapts’ (Northern Ireland) Service Area Factsheets, Climatedata.ca’s Sectoral Modules, South Korea’s MOTIVE system, and the ‘Climate Crab’ cartoon by Pacific CCCS.

A-PLAT‘s (Japan) use of anime shows how art and culture can be integrated into platforms and their knowledge products to appeal to and engage users.

CoastAdapt (Australia) and the Intact Centre (Canada) enable the development of, gather and share community and institutional case studies of adaptation activities, to motivate others to take action.

CAPA (Alps), AdapteCCa (Spain), and Climate-ADAPT (EU), amongst others, leverage established research networks and programmes to promote their CAP and to gain feedback on user needs.

Shared challenges

Understanding how best to continuously support and inspire different groups of users to move from knowledge to action, including building users’ climate literacy, capacities, and confidence to undertake the different stages of the adaptation cycle.
Identifying, engaging and understanding the needs of existing and new users, including from the health and private (especially finance) sectors, and tailoring content for these diverse users.
Integrating creative and cultural practice into CAPs and their services to support uptake and action without being tokenistic.