1. Sharing Adaptation knowledge across Europe – Climate-ADAPT
Enviroinfo 2016
Berlin, Germany
Venue:
Presenter:
European Environment Agency/
European Topic Center on climate change Impacts, vulnerability and adaptation (ETC/CCA)
Sharing adaptation knowledge in Europe - this is what Climate-ADAPT is about.
Different from the other EEA thematic websites, Wise and Bise, where data are displayed, we are to a large extend a „clearing house“ to enable users in Europe to scan what is avaiable and to be guided to the relevant external resources. Beside this we offer also our unique own features on the platform (e. G. adaptation support tool, adaptation options, case studies).

2. Climate-ADAPT framework (URL: http://climateadapt.eea.europa.eu)
Mandate:
Launched 2012,
supports developing and implementing adaptation strategies, policies and actions
Intended Users:
Experts and decision makers on EU, transnational, national, sub-national levels
research institutes
Maintenance:
Funded and carried out by EEA with DG CLIMA, supported by ETC/CCA
A thematic website like Climate-ADAPT is being developed in a clear policy setting; here the EU Adaptation Strategy. This guides the use of the resources provided for the website development and maintenance.
The content and functionalities of Climate-ADAPT are being developed according to the needs of the intended target audience. We cannot make everybody happy. There are other sectoral platforms which are decicated to the specific needs of sectoral users (e.g. The new knowledge center platform of DG ECHO on Disaster Risk Reduction etc.)
EEA maintains and DG CLIMA funds the new functionality developments via service contracts

3. Gain new users from environmental themes
Adaptation knowledge platform workshop (8 September 2015, 14:00 – 15:30)
Expected outcomes:
Show Climate-ADAPT approach to present complex knowledge on adaption to climate change at EU level
Learn from participant´s experiences in presentating complex information
Gain new users from environmental themes

4. Feedback Summary Enviroinfo/ICT4S 2015, Copenhagen

5. Adaptation knowledge platform workshop (8 September 2015, 14:00 – 15:30)
IT architecture and Workflow (table 5)
Visualisation of climate observation
and projection data (table 2)
Adpatation policy and planning tools (table 2)
Successful and verified approaches (table 3)
Interactive urban vulnerability maps
(table 4)
European countries policy overview
(Table 1)
European Sector Policies (table 3)

6. Content and type of information available on the portal
1. Climate change, impacts and vulnerability:
EU level information (supported by datasets, maps, and indicators)
2. Adaptation policies and measures:
Descriptive information plus key resoures on :
EU adaptation policy and mainstreamint into EU sector policies
Transnational level adaptation
National level adaptation policy (country profiles)
City level information (city profiles)
Guidances for policy and planning :
Map viewers, Time Series Tool, Adaptation Support Tools
Generic adpatation options and inspiring case studies
3. Services:
Easy access to further resources via a searchable database with metadata
News/events
Bimonthly Newsletter
Since people might not know Climate-ADAPT I have briefly listed the different layers of content.
In general, since adaptation is a complex topic all governance levels are needed to take action.
Therfore we have a mulit-level governance approach:
Information layer 1:
European scale information on Climate change, impacts and vulnerability
Information layer 2:
Adaptation information on all levels, but to different extend plus tools developed by EEA and ETC CCA
Information layer 3:
Dissemination services (news/events, newsletter)

7. Interaction with users and information providers
Transparency towards all stakeholders:
via 5-year work plan
Personal interaction with users:
Eionet meeting
Webinars with users; e.g. on case studies
Personal interaction with information providers:
Webinars. e. g. with research community
New webinar autumn 2016
Regualar promotion of new content and functionalities:
Bimonthly newsletter

8. Disseminate platform news via the adaptation newsletter
We try to regulary inform users/information providers about new developments on Climate-ADAPT via a bimontly newsletter (Climate-ADAPT section).
In order to get them involved we also offer opportunities to dissemenate their own results and to enable mutual learning (Transnational/national level adaptation, European research sections).
Dissemination of Climate-ADAPT news

9. Select the knowledge according to our mandate
Climate-ADAPT
Main EU funded research projects
Transnational platforms: projects relevant from transregional perspective
National platforms: National adaptation research databases
How to select the knowledge to be presented from the wealth of knowledge available is another crucial question for a platform.
We have developed a set of criteria (e.g. Information should be in English, should cover the area of Europe and should come from European sources) to select the information. The criteria are made to ensure that – according to our mandate – we maintain the platform in a complementary way to the platforms at transnational (here the Pyrenees platform) and national level (e.g. Here the German platform).
The criteria are also made to meet the expectations of users to be reliable source of information.

10. Presenting knowledge: New features 2016 - Mayors Adapt City profiles
Accessible via map-based search

11. Presenting the knowledge: New features 2016
Improved Navigation structure
How to present the information according to the users needs and their capacities to understand and uptake the information is also crucial.
According to user feedback in the Climate change committee and funded by DG CLIMA in 2015/2016 a better overview on and map-based access to
transnational,
national
and city level information
has been developed.
Improved overview and access to country and regions information

12. Presenting the knowledge: Improved/new features 2015/2016
Improved MRE guidance (08/2016)
Updated and harmonized European countries policy overview (11/2015)
Uupdated European Sector Policies Information (08/2016)
More systematic and transparent database update (12/2015)
Existing features are being updated as well according to users needs/information provider capacities (see examples on the slide).
An important example is the complete update of the country profiles on adaptation policy (based on MMR reporting and valued as official governmental ínformation – visualisation of reporting obligations under MMR 2015).
Improved visualization of spatial climate data and Time Series Tool (11/2015)
Interactive urban vulnerability maps (06/2015)

13. Presenting knowledge - addressing adaptation in sectors
Complete content update
Agriculture, Forestry, Health, Biodiversity, Water management; Urban online now
More specified information:
energy, transport and buildings new, agriculture and forestry split
Improved structure of descriptive information
Policy framework, Improving the Knowledge base, supporting funding and investment
More links to key resources
Another example of how to present the information - are the pages on EU adaptation poliy – here mainstreaming of adaptation in the EU policy sectors.
Please note that only the sectors listed on the slide have been updated. The others will follow at the end of June (due to slow process in the commission).
It can be highlighted that we have
descriptive summaries of the sector policies
including links to key resources (also on research results)
as well as the respective sector related results of the searchable database.
Description of EU policies with links to key resources and indicators at European scale

14. Selecting information: Improved information about EU research
Systematic approach to select information about FP7 and H2020 research projects
Relevant research projects and their results included in the database
Most relevant projects selected for specific highlighting
Schedule for a more timely publication of results
Apply the same approach for Copernicus CC preoperational projects

15. Presenting the knowledge: Improvement of Transnational information
Harmonized structure on all transnational regions based on defintion of Macroregional cooperation programme 2014 – 2020
Policy framework
Assessments and projects
Other policy and assessment initiatives
Improvement of detailed information on adaptation in the regions under preparation:
Baltic Sea Region
Pyrenees
Carpathians
Alpine region

16. Priority 3: Key vulnerable sectors
Evaluating the success of the platform: The 2013 EU Adaptation Strategy
Action 6. Climate proofing the Common Agricultural Policy, Cohesion Policy, and the Common Fisheries Policy
Action 7. Making infrastructure more resilient
Action 8. Promote products & services by insurance and finance markets
Priority 3: Key vulnerable sectors
Action Knowledge-gap strategy
Action Climate-ADAPT
Priority 2: Better informed decision-making
Action 1. Encourage MS to adopt Adaptation Strategies and action plans
Action 2. LIFE funding, including adaptation priority areas
Action 3. Promoting adaptation action by cities along the Covenant of Mayors initiative
Priority 1: Promoting action by Member States
Climate-ADAPT is one of the key elements of the 2013 EU Adaptation Strategy.
We are constantly assuring that we develop the platform according to this mandate of action 5.
But we also support the other priority tasks (e. .g action 2, Encourage MS to adopt strategies by providing the relevant information, promoting action by cities via the Covenant of Mayors Initiative – we host the Mayors Adapt knowlege base with the profiles of signatory cities)
In 2017, there will be a report of the European Commision to the Parliament regarding the sucess of the strategy, including information on Climate-ADAPT.

17. Number of items per adaptation element
Self-assessment of the platform: Regular content analysis
Number of items per adaptation element
Distribution of DB items per adaptation element (1525 in total in Febr. 2015)
By developing and maintaing the platform we would like to see if we are still on track and give the right support.
It is difficult to systematically evaluate the effect of an adaptation platfrom. This can only be done in relation to the policy processes where they are embedded.
But we started in 2015 to constantly analyse (once per year) if we cover the growing adaptation knowledge in Europe to the right extent (right figure) and if we provide material for all the steps of the adaptatio npolicy cycle (left figure).
We modify the content updating in order to close possible gaps or communicate the knowledge gaps to the European Commission to initiate the research that is needed.
The DG CLIMA funded functionality improvements were based on the results of our user feedback collection.
An external evaluation of Climate-ADAPT is foreseen for the second half of 2016 within a DG CLIMA service contract. The results will be included into the Commision report on the EU Adaptation Strategy 2017 to the Parliament (September 2017).
Yearly Statistical Database analyisis, identifying and addressing gaps
Distribution per publication year of ‘Case-studies’, ‘Guidance’, ‘Information portals’, ‘Publications and reports’ and ‘Tools’ types of items in the Climate-ADAPT DB (in February 2015).

18. Climate-ADAPT - Lessons learned
Interacting with uses:
Constantly improve newsletter
Continue with more frequent interactions (webinars)
More in-depth analysis of user statistics
Collect user feedback via survey (end of 2016)
Selecting content:
Continue with criteria based appraoaches
Presenting content :
Explore benefits of migration to Plone
Improve links to other platforms
MRE:
User Survey
Continue self-assessment (database, adaptation options, case studies)
Collect and present „use stories“

19. Climate-ADAPT Outlook
Extended link to Copernicus Climate Services
User friendly EU policy sector information (factsheets)
Update of impacts and vulnerabilities section based on 2016 EEA Impacts report
Extended link to and update of DRR information based on 2017 EEA report
Possible Climate-ADAPT adjustments based on results of EC Adaptation Strategy evaluation

20. Thank you.