The Climate Change Adaptation in Africa CCAA Research and Capacity Development Programme

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The Climate Change Adaptation in Africa (CCAA)
Research and Capacity Development Programme

• Fatima Denton, Programme Leader, CCAA
• International Development Research Centre

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3 Step Story

• Concept
• Process
• Outputs

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Part 1 What matters to CCAA?

• Knowledge
• Participation
• Action

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Purpose of the CCAA

• To significantly improve the capacity of African
  countries to adapt to climate change in ways that
  benefit the most vulnerable

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What the Scoping Exercise Revealed?

• Capacity Development - Enhanced adaptive capacity
  needed in Sub-Saharan African countries
• Integrated Approach - Cross-sectoral research
  would contribute most significantly to improving
  climate adaptive capacity
• Policy conduits - NAPAs and national strategies
  as policy hooks on which to link research on
  climate change impacts
• Demand driven CCAA should contribute to real
  outputs and research should be a vector for
  capacity development

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Where do we want to get to?

• Knowledge Generation Management practical
  ways to reduce vulnerability
• Policy Support and Development policy processes
  are better informed by science
• Sharing and Networking application, sharing and
  dissemination

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What is our rationale ?

• Knowledge
• Technical capacity is limited
• Capacity is developed but not sustained
• The complexity of research as a social process is
  not well appreciated
• Policy Support
• Climate and development linkages are poorly
  understood
• Policy processes and instruments necessary for
  effective mainstreaming are not fully
  understood
• The imperative of homegrown solutions and climate
  leadership in adaptation remains largely
  rhetorical

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Rationale

• Partnerships
• Opportunities for partnership and networking are
  not sufficiently exploited
• Financial constraints limit adaptation
  opportunities
• Little application and implementation of
  adaptation strategies solutions
• Building trust and confidence within a learning
  environment
• Using networks as an action-oriented process

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Part 11 - How do we get there?

• Action Research as a key vector for generating
  new knowledge
• Practical and participatory
• Stakeholders are co-learners -knowledge and
  skills of stakeholders are brought to bear on the
  problem
• Encourages learning by doing
• Non- elitist
• Non-linear
• Brings both users and people generating the
  knowledge together
• Is iterative and adopts a process of
  identification, research, action plan
  development, implementation, ME, reflection,
  revision
• Part of a social process
• Research that seeks to change behaviour

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Outcome areas

• Knowledge generation and management
• Testing adaptation strategies
• Shared learning
• Informed policy processes

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What is our strategy?

• African Leadership placing African its
  institutions at the centre stage of climate
  adaptation
• Knowledge Generation- Action research as a key
  tool to reducing poverty and strengthening the
  agency of the poor
• Capacity Development - demand-driven approach to
  address the specific CD needs
• Productive Partnerships-create a space for
  application, dialogue, networking, sharing and
  learning
• Catalytic Effect - funds serve as a catalyst for
  a critical mass of fundable projects on
  adaptation

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Concretely what does this mean?

• Knowledge Generation
• Traditional knowledge for coping with drought,
  water shortage is documented
• Farmers and researchers develop options to cope
  with droughts and CV
• Water professionals and policy makers anticipate
  climate change impacts to better manage supply
  and demand
• Health professionals and policy makers understand
  and take steps to ameliorate shifting patterns of
  disease
• People living in areas prone to flooding get
  adequate warning can evacuate/respond

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Activities

• Funding and mentoring action research
• Knowledge generation, management and sharing
• Education and training
• Networking
• Research to policy linkages

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Capacity Development Activities

• Structural Support
• Concept Note Writing Workshop for CCAA
• Proposal Development
• Methodology Development
• Policy Support
• Negotiating skills
• Understanding policy processes and instruments
• NAPA training and support network
• Workshops on Effective Mainstreaming
•  

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Capacity Development Activities

• Educational Support
• Curriculum development providing funds and
  incentives to key institutions to introduce CC as
  part of national curriculum
• Conference Support Fund allow attendance of
  African researchers to key conferences on
  adaptation
• Fellowship and Internship Fund

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Part 111- First call for concept notes, June 2006

• Six panels of independent technical experts, to
  ensure scientific rigour
• Holistic Approach external input on CCAA
  process and vision
• Assessment - qualitative and quantitative
  evaluation
• 16 initial research projects for development by
  CCAA

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Start-up phase Call for concept notes

• African-led
• Contribute to CCAA objectives
• Build capacity
• Promote dialogue learning by doing to
  climate-proof development, disaster preparedness
• Demand driven, facilitating better demand-supply
  links
• Criteria
• Value, contribution
• Certainty, quality
• Outcomes

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Eligibility for CCAA funding

• Projects led by African researchers and
  implemented in Africa
• Projects that encourage dialogue among
  researchers, policy makers, vulnerable people,
  other stakeholders
• Clear Engagement Strategy with key stakeholders
• Projects that contribute to capacity building
• Projects that further the CCAA objectives
• Projects able to address gendered dimensions of
  CC
• Projects with clear outcomes
• Projects with verifiable indicators

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Concept Notes Submitted to CCAA
Total 280 East 95 West
89 North 8 Southern 44 2 regions
23 3 regions 11 All of Africa 6 Others
4
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First phase of project development

• Malaria epidemic prediction
• Strengthening resilience and innovation in
  smallholder farming
• Better policies for integrated land and water
  management
• Projects in East ( 5), West ( 3), Southern ( 4),
  North ( 1) Africa (2)

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Key lessons

• Capacity development as highest priority
• Seek regional balance
• Develop a strategy to boost demand in
  under-represented areas (North Africa)
• Concepts notes process constitutes a continuous
  learning process for CCAA
• Selection criteria is not perfect but provided an
  opportunity to make adjustments

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Hopes

• Innovative approach and introduce
  non-traditional research themes
• Adapt and change to better understand the problem
• Bring in new players and enhanced the capacity of
  frontrunners in climate adaptation research

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What issues are we wrestling with?

• Devolution need to do this gradually to provide
  institutions with the relevant capacity to take
  ownership
• Selection We realised that institutions are at
  different levels of capacity development and we
  need a method to target the most needy
• Now versus Later What projects should we focus
  on current vulnerabilities versus long term
  projections
• Effective mainstreaming Finding practical ways
  of integrating climate change into mainstream
  national development priorities

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Contact us

• email ccaa_at_idrc.ca
• http//www.idrc.ca/ccaa
• Dakar 221 864-000
• Nairobi 254 20 271-3160
• Cairo 20 2 336-7051
• Ottawa 613 236-6163

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Concept notes submitted to CCAA
Total 280 East 95 West
89 North 8 Southern 44 2 regions
23 3 regions 11 All of Africa 6 Others
4
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Concept notes selected for full proposal
development by CCAA
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Concept notes submitted to CCAA
Adaptation General Rural Livelihoods ENRM Capaci
ty Building Health Urban issues Climate
Info. Others
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Concept notes selected for full proposal
development by CCAA
Adaptation General Rural Livelihoods ENRM Cap
acity Building Health Urban issues