Three principles for evaluating co-produced climate services
(2021) VBRM15 20211Division of Risk Management and Societal Safety
- Abstract
- As climate change impacts unfold across the globe, growing attention is paid towards producing climate information that supports evidence-based adaptation efforts. The use of such scientific knowledge remains limited in practice. Researchers and practitioners have started to co-produce climate services to ensure that information is contextual, timely and relevant to support climate change adaptation decision-making. Recent research shows a pressing need to better understand how to evaluate co-produced climate services, in particular their impact on policy and action. This thesis explores this issue through a systematic literature review, and an online questionnaire that targeted actors with previous experience in co-producing climate... (More)
- As climate change impacts unfold across the globe, growing attention is paid towards producing climate information that supports evidence-based adaptation efforts. The use of such scientific knowledge remains limited in practice. Researchers and practitioners have started to co-produce climate services to ensure that information is contextual, timely and relevant to support climate change adaptation decision-making. Recent research shows a pressing need to better understand how to evaluate co-produced climate services, in particular their impact on policy and action. This thesis explores this issue through a systematic literature review, and an online questionnaire that targeted actors with previous experience in co-producing climate services. Three principles are proposed, which outline methodological choices applicable when evaluating co-produced climate services: 1) Theory of Change methodology, 2) participatory evaluation, and 3) mix-methods with a focus on visual products. (Less)
- Popular Abstract
- As stressed by climate change activist Greta Thuneberg: “ I want you to act as if the house is on fire, because it is”. There is an urgent need to adapt to the many changes in our climate to reduce the many negative impacts that arise from rising sea levels, increased temperatures, and changing rain patterns. Decision-makers need relevant, timely, and contextual information to take effective climate action. To meet this pressing need for information, science has resorted to an emerging field known as climate services. Climate services provide information tailored to user-needs to support climate smart decisions, and includes anything
from rain pattern forecasts to heatwave impact studies. Climate services are the best when co-produced,... (More) - As stressed by climate change activist Greta Thuneberg: “ I want you to act as if the house is on fire, because it is”. There is an urgent need to adapt to the many changes in our climate to reduce the many negative impacts that arise from rising sea levels, increased temperatures, and changing rain patterns. Decision-makers need relevant, timely, and contextual information to take effective climate action. To meet this pressing need for information, science has resorted to an emerging field known as climate services. Climate services provide information tailored to user-needs to support climate smart decisions, and includes anything
from rain pattern forecasts to heatwave impact studies. Climate services are the best when co-produced, meaning that they are developed together with users. Given their huge potential, we need more knowledge on how to utilize climate services for the greatest possible impact. Many have therefore turned to evaluation.
The present study set out to investigate what methods can be used to evaluate co-produced climate services. Through a systematic literature review and online questionnaire targeting actors with previous experience in co-producing climate services, the following methodological principles are proposed for evaluating climate services:
1. Theory of Change methodology
2. Participatory evaluation
3. Mix-methods - with a focus on visual products
The principles are designed to offset previously identified challenges and shortcomings encountered when evaluating co-produced climate services, and are expected to yield many benefits. Key benefits include helping stakeholders to map complex change
pathways; capturing external factors; measuring intangible outcomes and impact; bridging conflicting interests; identifying potential unexpected effects; and many other. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9062503
- author
- Englund, Mathilda LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- VBRM15 20211
- year
- 2021
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- climate change adaptation, transdisciplinary research, participatory research, evaluation method, research impact evaluation
- language
- English
- id
- 9062503
- date added to LUP
- 2021-08-16 11:21:52
- date last changed
- 2021-08-16 11:21:52
@misc{9062503,
abstract = {{As climate change impacts unfold across the globe, growing attention is paid towards producing climate information that supports evidence-based adaptation efforts. The use of such scientific knowledge remains limited in practice. Researchers and practitioners have started to co-produce climate services to ensure that information is contextual, timely and relevant to support climate change adaptation decision-making. Recent research shows a pressing need to better understand how to evaluate co-produced climate services, in particular their impact on policy and action. This thesis explores this issue through a systematic literature review, and an online questionnaire that targeted actors with previous experience in co-producing climate services. Three principles are proposed, which outline methodological choices applicable when evaluating co-produced climate services: 1) Theory of Change methodology, 2) participatory evaluation, and 3) mix-methods with a focus on visual products.}},
author = {{Englund, Mathilda}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Three principles for evaluating co-produced climate services}},
year = {{2021}},
}