Climate change adaptation and resilience – like any other form of climate action – must be done collaboratively to reflect realities on the ground, to be locally-tailored and impactful, and to be accepted. However, there remains a lack of knowledge, regarding the initiatives already carried out, as well as those that are the levers, barriers, and priorities that can foster collaborative adaptation. ICLEI Europe is working to address this knowledge gap through its work in the AGORA project.

ICLEI Members Dresden (Germany), Malmö (Sweden), Rome (Italy) and Zaragoza (Spain) have been pilot regions in the project and have served as co-production hubs where stakeholders and local communities could design, develop and implement climate change adaptation solutions. Such activities prove the power of collective wisdom in addressing climate adaptation challenges, fostering an environment of active participation between different actors to support the local climate adaptation process.

So how can you contribute to the conversation?

One of the first steps to facilitate knowledge sharing around collaborative climate adaptation is to map citizen engagement initiatives (CEIs) on climate change adaptation. A team of researchers within the AGORA project is creating a database for the Digital AGORA, to showcase and better understand the variety of ways citizens are engaged in adaptation in Europe. If you are part of a CEI, take 10 minutes and register it in the database here.

Practitioners, decision-makers and researchers involved in CEIs can also share their experiences regarding the levers and barriers experienced in the design or implementation of their initiatives. If you have experience with collaborative adaptation initiatives, take 10 minutes and share your knowledge in this survey.

These surveys are in line with ICLEI Europe and Adaptation AGORA’s work on the European Commission’s Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change, whose goal is to highlight and leverage best practices, innovative approaches, policy instruments, and governance mechanisms to meaningfully and effectively engage communities and regions in climate adaptation.

Learn more about collaborative climate action and the AGORA project here.