Periodic Reporting for period 1 - I-CISK (Innovating Climate services through Integrating Scientific and local Knowledge)
Période du rapport: 2021-11-01 au 2023-04-30
Climate Services (CS) are crucial in empowering citizens, stakeholders and decision-makers in adaptation to climate change and extreme events. Despite advances in scientific data and knowledge, current CS often fail to achieve their full value-proposition to end-users. Challenges include incorporation of social and behavioural factors, local needs, knowledges and customs of end-users. The I-CISK project is addressing these challenges. The ambition is to innovate how climate information is used, interpreted and acted on by users, through a next-generation of Climate Services. These follow a human centred, social and behaviourally informed approach, and are co-created with users. To ensure CS are credible, salient and legitimate, the approach recognises the importance of integrating the local knowledges, needs and perceptions of the diverse users from across sectors and governance levels.
The main objective of the I-CISK project is to develop next-generation CS that follow a social and behaviourally informed approach and that meet the climate information needs of citizens, decision makers and stakeholders at the spatial and temporal scale relevant to them. Six specific objectives have been defined:
(i) Develop a framework for co-creating next-generation, human-centred climate services, recognising the social and behavioural factors of users, and integrating local knowledges with scientific data and knowledge.
(ii) Advance methods for integration and visualisation of local knowledge and data, including from citizen science, with science based sub-seasonal, seasonal forecasts and climate projections (e.g. from Copernicus and GEOSS).
(iii) Develop insight into the feedbacks, causal mechanisms and cross-sectoral influences between climate change and adaptation actions, across hazard types.
(iv) Work closely with citizens, decision makers and stakeholders to demonstrate the value of human-centred climate services in 7 Living Labs established in climate change hotspots in Europe and Africa.
(v) Upscale the use of climate information in risk management and planning across sectors through tools and capacities to strengthen the (European) climate services sector.
(vi) Multiply the storylines from the 7 living labs to citizens, across sectors and to policy; contributing to the consolidation of climate information in supporting climate adaptation solutions and increasing resilience to climatic extremes.
The main objective of the I-CISK project is to develop next-generation CS that follow a social and behaviourally informed approach and that meet the climate information needs of citizens, decision makers and stakeholders at the spatial and temporal scale relevant to them. Six specific objectives have been defined:
(i) Develop a framework for co-creating next-generation, human-centred climate services, recognising the social and behavioural factors of users, and integrating local knowledges with scientific data and knowledge.
(ii) Advance methods for integration and visualisation of local knowledge and data, including from citizen science, with science based sub-seasonal, seasonal forecasts and climate projections (e.g. from Copernicus and GEOSS).
(iii) Develop insight into the feedbacks, causal mechanisms and cross-sectoral influences between climate change and adaptation actions, across hazard types.
(iv) Work closely with citizens, decision makers and stakeholders to demonstrate the value of human-centred climate services in 7 Living Labs established in climate change hotspots in Europe and Africa.
(v) Upscale the use of climate information in risk management and planning across sectors through tools and capacities to strengthen the (European) climate services sector.
(vi) Multiply the storylines from the 7 living labs to citizens, across sectors and to policy; contributing to the consolidation of climate information in supporting climate adaptation solutions and increasing resilience to climatic extremes.
In this first 18-month reporting, project activities have focused on the initiation of tasks that have been defined to work towards the objectives:
(i) Essential has been the forming of the research team, which is constituted of a range of disciplines, and finding a common language and understanding different views, opinions and values of team members. Building a common understanding included extensive meetings and collaborations (mainly online), as well as targeted internal training sessions. This joint learning process will continue throughout the project. Several early career scientists (ECS) have embedded their research in the project and form a community of I-CISK ECS.
(ii)During the reporting period, seven Living Labs (LL), central to the research, were established. Six are in Europe (Spain, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Netherlands, and Georgia). A seventh is in Lesotho (S-Africa). In each LL, multi-actor platforms have been established. More than 50 stakeholder organisations, with >150 individuals are collaborating voluntarily. Roadmaps to detail a continued engagement with each LL and the research in the project have been made.
(iii) A prototype of the climate services co-creation framework was developed, providing guidance to the co-creation of CS in the LL. LL also form a test bed for refinement of the framework. Surveys and interactive meetings and workshops with stakeholders have been held to co-explore CS needs, co-develop climate data and knowledge, and co-identify climate adaption options and strategies.
(iv) The project has developed a new and broader definition of local knowledge (LK) in CS, and who the holders of LK are. This is an important foundation to further research, also exploring different approaches to how LK may be combined with other knowledges, including scientific.
(v) Research into the skill of seasonal and sub-seasonal forecasts over Europe and the LL areas has been developed. This establishes the current state-of-the-art, and supports assessing the value of the integration of local data and knowledge in ongoing research. Further research is exploring user-driven evaluation of forecast data and co-design of novel approaches to visualisation.
(vi) An architectural design of the I-CISK web-based climate services platform has been developed, following an Agile design approach, in close collaboration with LL teams. This open source platform will host pre-operational CS launched in each LL. Business models to ensure CS co-created with users remain sustainable are being explored. A first pilot providing seasonal streamflow information has been launched in the Georgia LL, a first for the country.
(vii) Concepts, activities and (current) results have been communicated through the website, social media, and active blog and media posts, newsletters and Twitter and LinkedIn posts. The project has contributed to scientific conferences as well as side events at high level meetings (e.g. UN Water Conference; UNESCO event), as well as collaboration with other EU projects and outreach to policy, in liaison with the Green Deal Support Office. Two peer-reviewed scientific articles have been published, one other is in review.
(i) Essential has been the forming of the research team, which is constituted of a range of disciplines, and finding a common language and understanding different views, opinions and values of team members. Building a common understanding included extensive meetings and collaborations (mainly online), as well as targeted internal training sessions. This joint learning process will continue throughout the project. Several early career scientists (ECS) have embedded their research in the project and form a community of I-CISK ECS.
(ii)During the reporting period, seven Living Labs (LL), central to the research, were established. Six are in Europe (Spain, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Netherlands, and Georgia). A seventh is in Lesotho (S-Africa). In each LL, multi-actor platforms have been established. More than 50 stakeholder organisations, with >150 individuals are collaborating voluntarily. Roadmaps to detail a continued engagement with each LL and the research in the project have been made.
(iii) A prototype of the climate services co-creation framework was developed, providing guidance to the co-creation of CS in the LL. LL also form a test bed for refinement of the framework. Surveys and interactive meetings and workshops with stakeholders have been held to co-explore CS needs, co-develop climate data and knowledge, and co-identify climate adaption options and strategies.
(iv) The project has developed a new and broader definition of local knowledge (LK) in CS, and who the holders of LK are. This is an important foundation to further research, also exploring different approaches to how LK may be combined with other knowledges, including scientific.
(v) Research into the skill of seasonal and sub-seasonal forecasts over Europe and the LL areas has been developed. This establishes the current state-of-the-art, and supports assessing the value of the integration of local data and knowledge in ongoing research. Further research is exploring user-driven evaluation of forecast data and co-design of novel approaches to visualisation.
(vi) An architectural design of the I-CISK web-based climate services platform has been developed, following an Agile design approach, in close collaboration with LL teams. This open source platform will host pre-operational CS launched in each LL. Business models to ensure CS co-created with users remain sustainable are being explored. A first pilot providing seasonal streamflow information has been launched in the Georgia LL, a first for the country.
(vii) Concepts, activities and (current) results have been communicated through the website, social media, and active blog and media posts, newsletters and Twitter and LinkedIn posts. The project has contributed to scientific conferences as well as side events at high level meetings (e.g. UN Water Conference; UNESCO event), as well as collaboration with other EU projects and outreach to policy, in liaison with the Green Deal Support Office. Two peer-reviewed scientific articles have been published, one other is in review.
The first reporting period of the project focused on developing prototype co-creation framework, operationalising seven LL and initiating research activities. Despite the early stage, progress beyond the state-of-the-art has been made in research and innovation, and contributing to expected impacts. Selected highlights:
(i) Active multi-actor platforms in each of the LL have been established. Actors cover whole CS value chain and represent various sectors, public & private entities, NGOs, and (local) researchers.
(ii) A novel prototype co-creation framework has been developed that is really focused on the development and evaluation of co-created CS.
(iii) A new and broad definition of local knowledge in climate services has been established, useful to co-creation of climate services across sectors, governance levels and both in the Global South and Global North.
(iv) Research on the seasonal forecast skill of hydrological extremes over Europe has provided new insights on the patterns of skill, and underlying drivers of similarities.
(v) A novel conceptual framework to unravel the dynamics between climate services, natural hazards, and human responses has been developed.
(vi) A first step towards a pre-operational climate service providing seasonal forecasts has been launched in Georgia, which is a first in Georgia.
(vii) A theory-of-change approach to support monitoring and evaluation has been developed; with a focus on how co-creation contributes to improved uptake and effectiveness of climate services.
(viii)The project team joins researchers and practitioners from across disciplines, resulting in cross-learning between partners. Targeted outreach activities are informing scientific and policy discourses on co-creation of climate services and how local and scientific knowledges can be integrated in these.
(i) Active multi-actor platforms in each of the LL have been established. Actors cover whole CS value chain and represent various sectors, public & private entities, NGOs, and (local) researchers.
(ii) A novel prototype co-creation framework has been developed that is really focused on the development and evaluation of co-created CS.
(iii) A new and broad definition of local knowledge in climate services has been established, useful to co-creation of climate services across sectors, governance levels and both in the Global South and Global North.
(iv) Research on the seasonal forecast skill of hydrological extremes over Europe has provided new insights on the patterns of skill, and underlying drivers of similarities.
(v) A novel conceptual framework to unravel the dynamics between climate services, natural hazards, and human responses has been developed.
(vi) A first step towards a pre-operational climate service providing seasonal forecasts has been launched in Georgia, which is a first in Georgia.
(vii) A theory-of-change approach to support monitoring and evaluation has been developed; with a focus on how co-creation contributes to improved uptake and effectiveness of climate services.
(viii)The project team joins researchers and practitioners from across disciplines, resulting in cross-learning between partners. Targeted outreach activities are informing scientific and policy discourses on co-creation of climate services and how local and scientific knowledges can be integrated in these.