Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - PLACARD (PLAtform for Climate Adaptation and Risk reDuction)

Teaser

There is an overlap between activities of the Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) communities. Both aim to reduce negative impacts of climate change and disasters, on the natural environment, human society and economies by anticipating risks and...

Summary

There is an overlap between activities of the Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) communities. Both aim to reduce negative impacts of climate change and disasters, on the natural environment, human society and economies by anticipating risks and uncertainties and by addressing vulnerabilities (Mitchell et al. 2010). However, each field does so through different actors and institutions, and with different time horizons, research methodologies, policy frameworks and patterns in mind (Schipper & Pelling 2006). These differences can lead to suboptimal strategies and duplicated research funding programmes. As climate change is likely to make extreme events more frequent and intense, it becomes paramount to mainstream CCA and DRR into both development practice and planning at the sub-national, national and international levels.

PLACARD’s vision is to become a recognized platform associated with high quality dialogue, knowledge exchange and collaboration between CCA and DRR communities. In a landscape where there is a large and complex variety of stakeholder networks, research, policy initiatives and sources of information and knowledge, PLACARD is a hub for activities to enhance the coherence and give direction to CCA and DRR research, policy and practices, to strengthen cooperation in these domains and counter the ongoing process of fragmentation.

The PLACARD concept (Figure 1) follows three key principles:
1. Provide a common ‘space’ where CCA and DRR communities can come together, share knowledge and experiences and create opportunities for collaboration;
2. Facilitate communication, information and knowledge exchange between both communities and at the science-policy-practice interface;
3. Support the coordination and coherence of CCA and DRR research, policy and practices.


Figure 1 - PLACARD concept for increasing the coordination between CCA and DRR research, policy and practice.

More specifically, PLACARD\'s objectives are:

• Establish a focal point for networks of CCA and DRR stakeholder groups and initiatives at the international, European, national and sub-national scales
• Create a common ‘space’ to facilitate dialogue and consultation among stakeholders and initiatives
• Design effective science, policy and practice dialogues
• Take stock of the CCA and DRR decision-making context
• Facilitate and guide knowledge exchange and mobilisation between CCA and DRR
• Strengthen CCA and DRR institutions and give direction to policy-practice agendas
• Streamline the dissemination and implementation of ongoing and evolving research and innovation activities on CCA and DRR across scales

References
Mitchell T., van Aalst M., Villanueva P.S. (2010).Assessing Progress on Integrating Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation in Development Processes. Strengthening Climate Resilience Discussion. Paper 2, Institute of Development Studies 2010.
Schipper L., Pelling M. (2006). Disaster risk, climate change and international development: scope for, and challenges to, integration. Disasters, 2006, 30(1): 9−38.

Work performed

During the first reporting period all Work Packages (WP) initiated their activities and tasks, except task 5.3, which is scheduled to start at month 26 (July 2017). For this reporting period 14 Milestones were achieved and 7 Deliverables delivered.
A total of 16 dialogues on specific and relevant themes for CCA and/or DRR were organised: 3 workshops, co-organisation of 1 conference and 1 workshop, 8 sessions in different conferences, 2 online discussions and 1 webinar. Through these events PLACARD reached a wide range of different stakeholders, such as researchers, research funders and managers, EU, national and local policymakers, practitioners and climate services providers. PLACARD has been also contributing and, in some cases, providing support to major CCA and DRR conferences.
Other major outputs of the project, apart from the dialogues, have also been delivered. The first stocktaking and mapping exercise (milestone MS9) has been performed, together with the identification of knowledge gaps (milestone MS11). After the end of the first year the PLACARD CCA and DRR Coordination Agenda has been delivered, providing a strategy with concrete activities for PLACARD for year 2 (deliverable D1.1).
The organised dialogues have been supported by a set of background documents assessing current knowledge (deliverable D3.1) and a procedure to translate some of this knowledge to make knowledge accessible to different types of audience has been elaborated (milestone MS12). PLACARD website and intranet portal is in place (deliverable D6.1/milestone MS21), as well as a detailed communication and dissemination plan (deliverable D6.2/milestone MS22) and associated annual report (deliverable D6.3).The Note on longitudinal evaluation and social learning methods (milestone MS 17) has been developed to support the activities in the Learning and Legacy WP5.
All activities related with the project management are in place and on time. Moreover, Lisbon was nominated to host the European Climate Change Adaptation Conference in 2019, organised by PLACARD in collaboration with two other Horizon 2020 research projects.

Final results

The expected results of PLACARD are:
• A platform for organizing consultations and facilitating dialogue among different Stakeholders groups;
• Synergies and increased cooperation among EU, Member-State and internationally funded CCA and DRR initiatives;
• Better dissemination of R&I activities in CCA and DRR; improved accessibility to information and knowledge;
• Increased uptake of foresight issues;
• Improved science, policy and practice communication and exchange of information and knowledge.
These results will be achieved by supporting the ambitious international and European strategies, plans and frameworks with the aim of bridging the gaps between CCA and DRR communities. PLACARD aims to support these ambitions by facilitating dialogue and close cooperation among international, European, national and sub-national institutions and initiatives. This will allow PLACARD to enable knowledge and experience sharing, to strengthen the institutional linkages and coherence of research and policy agendas, and to learn collaboratively about strategies and practices between networks. Better coordination between CCA and DRR research, policy and practice within and outside Europe will increase security to the long-term risks of climate change, including risks from extreme weather events, for Europe and its citizens.

PLACARD aims to impact large segments of society such as researchers, research funders, national governments, practitioners, businesses, as well as European (and international) populations at large. This will be primarily achieved by placing a strong focus on the gaps and coordination needs of the CCA and DRR science-policy-practice interfaces.

The Interchange and platform functions of PLACARD are prepared to handle and cooperate with multiple CCA and DRR networks and initiatives. Therefore, PLACARD will not only potentiate its own impact but that of its end users. Further, the insights that will be generated by WP2 to 5 will provide a consistent and updated knowledge base into the CCA and DRR domains. This will support as a key player in these fields, carrying along societal impact potential, by enhancing the resilience against the challenges of Climate Change.

Website & more info

More info: http://www.placard-network.eu/.