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Learning and Informing Practice: The role of knowledge exchange

Roger B StreetTechnical Director

Friday, 25th November 2011Crew Project – Final General Assembly

© UKCIP Adaptation and Resilience to a Changing Climate (ARCC) Coordination Network

Enhance cooperative development and dissemination of research among and beyond the portfolio of funded built environment and infrastructure research projects

Promote end-user and researcher engagement Maximise the potential benefits of the research to all end users

through broadening engagement and targeted dissemination – pathways to impacts

Facilitate the further exploration of related knowledge and knowledge gaps.

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http://www.ukcip-

arcc.org.uk

© UKCIP Lessons Learned from Past Experiences

Building Knowledge for a Changing Climate 2003 - 2006Sustaining Knowledge for a Changing Climate 2006 – 2007

Lessons:Clearly defined governance and management arrangements at the

outset

Effective overarching mechanisms – for engaging stakeholders, for integrating research and stakeholders, and for knowledge exchange

Clearly defined communication and dissemination strategy at the outset

Stakeholders with defined and active roles within and across the research projects

UKCIP and EPSRC working with successful proponents to ensure that the right stakeholders are appropriately engaged and that required mechanisms and procedures are in place at the project level.

© UKCIP Lessons Learned from Past ExperienceStakeholder Engagement Need to bring the community together to enhance

exchange and learning from across the research projects Drawing knowledge from and influencing relevant research

Need for more focused activities around areas of

common interest – themes and geographic areas of interest

Themes: overheating, extremes, decision support tools, mitigation-adaptation link, water as a resource and service

Policy areas, societal groups: nations (e.g., Scotland), regions (e.g., London) and communities

Stakeholders have different needs, expectations and capabilities in terms of engagement and needs for evidence

Coordination of stakeholder engagement – research projects with the same stakeholders

© UKCIP Knowledge ExchangeA two-way process where scientists and decision and policy makers share learning, ideas, experience and knowledge to enhance the impacts of research – inform policy and practice

Benefits:For researchersInforming and improving the quality of the research;Enhancing understanding of research users and their needs; and Applying evidence-based knowledge to inform policy and practice issues.

For those using research:Accessing experts (advice) and (cutting-edge) and evidence to inform policy and practiceAccessing innovative ideas that could improve policy and practice; andEnhancing organisational creativity, performance and productivity

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© UKCIP Informing Policy and Practice User-relevant evidence Evidence that can inform policy and practice

Additional to that required by the academic community Evidence that can inform where progress is needed and can be

made Evidence that can inform choices, including the implications for

tradeoffs Evidence that can inform understanding or risks of actions and

inaction

Need to engage the target users of research when developing evidence and the resulting messages

Who comprise these targeted user communities? Implications of localism and co-generation of policy Changing needs for evidence reflecting the evolving nature and scope of

policy and practice and of users of evidence

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© UKCIP Characteristics of User-Relevant EvidenceAppropriate language for the user community Clear articulation of the issue being addressed Clear articulation of evidence, including relative to existing

evidence and rationalising of differences Clear articulation of the assumptions, limitations and basis of

the evidence

Evidence in the context of decision-making practices Useable within decision and policy-making practices – able to

inform those practices and processes Recognises that decisions are not made in isolation

Need to inform a number of related policies and practices Reference to exceeding of known thresholds or to known

sensitivities, and relative risks (including relative role of climate variability and change as drivers of change)

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© UKCIP Characteristics of User-Relevant EvidenceEvidence that informs consideration of actions Costs and benefits of proposed action – quantification of

benefits of options Barriers to, and opportunities for, action Informs selection of among options and priorities

Existing adaptation deficit and low adaptive capacity Urgency Interdependencies Implications for other policy and practice issues (e.g., inequities)

Allows for consideration of uncertainties as part of the decision and policy making processes – framed in the context of options for action

Engagement of the targeted audience in the development of evidence and the evidence messages and their dissemination

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© UKCIP ARCC CN as part of Living with Environmental Change (LWEC) – 22 organisations that fund, carry out and use environmental researchAims to ensure that decision makers in government, business and society have the knowledge, foresight and tools to mitigate, adapt to and benefit from environmental change

Knowledge exchange and engagement are key to delivery

ARCC CN will be working with the CREW and the broader ARCC CN research and end-user communities:To enhance the impacts of ARCC CN research projects for decision-makers through targeted knowledge exchange. Your input today will inform these activities

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© UKCIP Benefiting from

Final CREW General Assembly

Opportunity to consider the outputs from CREW research Which are the important evidence messages you see coming

from this research? Which outputs do you see as providing benefits (now and in the

future)? Is the evidence sufficient to inform policy and practice?

Opportunity to input into further enhancing the impacts of this research

What more needs to be done to enable action in your community?

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September 2011

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