Open KE Fellowship to support evidenced-based policymaking for resilient recovery in the Caribbean

Lead Research Organisation: Overseas Development Institute
Department Name: Climate Change, Enviroment and Forests

Abstract

During the 2017 Hurricane season, several islands in the Caribbean sustained considerable damage, particularly Dominica, Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Dominican Republic, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Sint Maarten, Cuba, Turks and Caicos, and Puerto Rico. These devastating impacts seriously compromise positive development trajectories in the region. Exposure to risk is extreme and disaster impacts deepened by economic fragility, weak governance and social inequalities.
The period following disaster events, when political attention is heightened and key decisions are being made on rehabilitation, can be a chance to radically reduce future risk. Disasters can destroy decades of development gains, but they also offer an opportunity for increasing resilience. Political willingness to engage with radical change in the Caribbean is strong, particularly in Dominica, where Prime Minister Skerrit has established his ambition for Dominica to become the first climate resilient nation. Implementing this vision in a post-disaster setting will require continued political support, financing and, most importantly for this KE Fellowship, the use of NERC science. Capital investment decisions are being taken now to restore the natural and built environments; new policies to promote economic resilience are being considered in the recovery period (with a risk of these not addressing ecosystem restoration and sustainability); risk financing products are being developed (that may not consider non-climate-related risks); and new initiatives to promote risk assessment, preparedness and early warning systems are being rolled into recovery planning. NERC science can play a pivotal role in informing these decisions, but it needs to get into the hands of decision-makers in the right form and in response to their specific needs. Collaboration is needed between policymakers, researchers and practitioners (including the private sector) to plan for long-term recovery and build back better.
The UK has a strong record of collaborative research in this region, but this is currently as fragmented as the myriad problems that beset Small Island Developing Stated in general, and small Caribbean islands in particular. There is however strong willingness within the UK research community to take the time to learn about the network of projects already embedded in the region, collaborate and engage with Caribbean stakeholders to understand and address critical knowledge gaps.
Through this Knowledge Exchange Fellowship, I will respond to the demand expressed by Caribbean governments and regional stakeholders for greater use of science to build back better; and to growing interest in the UK to support recovery through demand-driven research.
 
Title Caribbean Comeback podcast 
Description Caribbean Comeback podcast examines how Caribbean countries are recovering from hurricanes and volcanic crises, adapting to climate change, and producing lessons for Covid-19 recovery around the world. This podcast is hosted by Jamaican journalist Paula-Anne Porter Jones, in conversation with co-directors of the Caribbean Resilience and Recovery Knowledge Network (CRRKN) Emily Wilkinson from ODI, and Donovan Campbell from The University of the West Indies. Episode 1 Education: The volcanic crisis in Montserrat (1995-97) interrupted education with long-term effects on young people, but important lessons were learned that can help educators and governments around the world respond to Covid-19. Crises will become more frequent in the future, so how can we adapt our education systems? Episode 2 Climate Justice: Dominica has lived through increasingly intense hurricanes and was devastated by Hurricane Maria (2017), which laid bare vulnerabilities that date back to colonial decisions. For Dominica and all Caribbean islands, colonisation and climate change have, and will continue to have, damaging consequences. So, do we now need 'climate justice'? Episode 3 Resilient Economies: The long-term economic impacts of Hurricane Gilbert (1988) in Jamaica reveal a lack of attention to disaster risks in planning decisions, and even deficiencies in the way economics is being taught. How far have economic models and national planning systems in the Caribbean come since the 1980s? Episode 4 Leaving No One Behind: During a crisis, politicians will say 'we are all in the same boat', but are we? Disasters can deepen inequalities, and the case of Haitian migrants in the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian is a stark example of this. But disasters also shine a light on problems and create opportunities for change. Episode 5 A Future by the Sea: Caribbean island coastlines have changed beyond recognition, and ecosystems and livelihoods are under threat. But advances in nature-based solutions and calls for a 'green recovery' from the Covid-19 pandemic provide hope and a vision for a more resilient future in the Caribbean. 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2021 
Impact The podcast has been well received by audiences in the Caribbean, shared by CREAD in Dominica, and received praise from the head of communications, who said 'everyone interested in sustainability, climate change or disaster risk management in the Caribbean should listen to this'. 
URL https://shows.acast.com/caribbean-comeback/episodes/a-future-by-the-sea
 
Description Through the KE Fellowship, I have been supporting the Climate Resilience Execution Agency for Dominica (CREAD) to advance its agenda to become the first climate-resilient nation. My most significant achievements relate to:
(a) Co-authorship of Dominica's Climate Resilience and Recovery Plan (2020-2030)
(b) Direct support to the government of Dominica to help move from a national resilience plan, to an understanding across government of what needs to be done to implement the plan and how progress will be measured (indicators and a reporting framework);
(c) Regional knowledge-sharing so other Caribbean countries are aware of what is happening in Dominica and can create similar levels of ambition and institutional arrangements for building resilience
(d) Showcasing and international profiling of Dominica's ambitious resilience goals.
Exploitation Route My role as Chief Scientific Adviser to CREAD in Dominica, through the KE Fellowship, has been critical in helping the Government of Dominica make progress on its resilience ambition including through harnessing expertise and experiences from outside Dominica (including, but not limited to UK NERC scientists). Importantly, the technical assistance that I have been able to provide to government has been demand-driven (i.e. not attached to an investment or donor policy). This is a very successful model of technical assistance, which donors could learn from.
The KE Fellowship has also demonstrated the importance of sharing lessons from particular experiences of locally-led resilience agendas with other small-island developing states through policy networks and fora. This was achieved at COP26 through the organisation of 3 events with the Government of Dominica on increasing ambition on climate resilience in small-island developing states.
Using the KE Fellowship to work with one agency that has a clear mission and ambition to drive forward climate resilience has proven to be a really successful model for science translation and knowledge exchange.
Sectors Agriculture, Food and Drink,Communities and Social Services/Policy,Environment,Financial Services, and Management Consultancy,Healthcare,Government, Democracy and Justice
URL https://www.creadominica.org/about-us
 
Description I have been provide direct policy advice to the Government of Dominica, as Chief Scientific Adviser to the Climate Resilience Execution Agency for Dominica. This involves sharing the results of my research and that of other UK scientists, putting CREAD in touch with researchers that can support on different issues - for example on developing resilient infrastructure standards for Dominica's road network. Through the KE Fellowship, I am supporting Dominica in the development of indicators and a reporting system for its Climate Resilience and Recovery Plan, drawing on important research in the UK and beyond on resilience measurement. In addition to the policy influence of my work in Dominica, I am now engaging in broader discussions around resilience ambition in SIDS, on improving access to finance and measuring progress. This engagement is shaping SIDS' influence on the Global Goal on Adaptation under the UNFCCC. A series of policy roundtables held in 2021 with high level participation from international organisations, is also beginning to influence the multilateral development banks and OECD, who are considering changes to eligibility for ODA for SIDS, and improving access to concessional finance
First Year Of Impact 2019
Sector Communities and Social Services/Policy,Environment,Government, Democracy and Justice
Impact Types Economic,Policy & public services
 
Description Development of indicators and results framework for Dominica's Climate Resilience and Recovery Plan (CRRP)
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
Impact The exercise of identifying indicators has already led to changes in public sector planning, with a number of ministries adapting their Strategic Plans to align better with the National CRRP targets and indicators. Reporting will occur annually, starting with the 2023 baseline, and will improve accountability of government spending in relation to the national resilience goal.
 
Description Influence on Dominica's Climate Resilience and Recovery Plan
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Citation in other policy documents
Impact I helped to draft Dominica's CRRP including a section on overall goals for 2030 and related milestones and indicators. This Plan is highly influential as all 5-year strategic plans developed by ministries in Dominica will have to make direct reference to relevant CRRP targets and align their projects and budgets with these. They will be accountable for achieving progress on resilience over the next 5 years. This represents a huge improvement in planning and coherence in public service delivery in Dominica. From February 2021, I am providing hand on support to help support ministries to adapt their strategic plans so that activities are aligned with and make a direct contribution to the CRRP targets. I will be using experience from my work with Dominica to share and showcase this resilience ambition with other Caribbean islands and SIDS more broadly.
URL http://dominica.gov.dm/images/documents/CRRP-Final-042020.pdf
 
Description Adapt'Action
Amount € 213,216 (EUR)
Funding ID CLI-2017-060-01-MS03 
Organisation Agence Française de Développement 
Sector Public
Country France
Start 03/2020 
End 02/2021
 
Description Caribbean Cyclone Cartography: Mapping histories, narratives and futures of hurricane 'resilience' in a changing climate.
Amount £435,666 (GBP)
Funding ID ES/T00312X/1 
Organisation Economic and Social Research Council 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 11/2019 
End 10/2022
 
Description Caribbean Frontiers of Science Follow-on Grant
Amount £11,764 (GBP)
Funding ID FOS\R1\191012 
Organisation The Royal Society 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country United Kingdom
Start 12/2019 
End 12/2020
 
Description GCRF Caribbean Resilience and Recovery Knowledge Network
Amount £146,729 (GBP)
Funding ID EP/T00357X/1 
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 09/2019 
End 09/2021
 
Description Chief Scientific Adviser to CREAD 
Organisation Climate Resilience Execution Agency for Dominica
Country Dominica 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution ODI signed an MOU with CRAED in March 2019 and I was appointed Chief Scientific Adviser to the Climate Resilience Execution Agency for Dominica. I have been supporting CREAD with: developing the Climate Resilience and Recovery Plan 2020-2030 including climate change and disaster impact data for developing the CRRP, writing the resilience concepts introduction, developing a targets and measurement framework. I led strategy development for achieving the resilient housing target; on developing a risk financing strategy (with the World Bank); provided advice and peer review of papers to the policy board (including on developing high value economic exports).
Collaborator Contribution CREAD has sought my advice across a range of topics and supported by attendance at the UNSG Climate Summit in New York and UN General Assembly, attending with the Dominica delegation. I wrote the President's speech for the UNGA and the presentation of the Foreign Minister at a Commonwealth Secretariat event on the circular economy. CREAD is supporting my efforts to develop an agenda around 'raising resilience ambition' for COP26, through which countries with ambitious plans can provide some examples and leadership on target setting and financing their resilience and adaptation plans.
Impact Main outcome = Dominica's Climate Resilience and Recvery Plan
Start Year 2019
 
Description Partnership with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency on historical drivers of risk 
Organisation Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency
Country Barbados 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution The research team is collaborating with CDEMA in a longer term endeavour to bring historical perspectives and knowledge of risk drivers to disaster risk management discourse and policy today. We provided information to the CDEMA Director, Ronald Jackson, to include in a presentation he made to the UNISDR Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in the Americas in March 2017. We are organising a workshop at the Global Platform in May 2017 to bring a wider range of regional stakeholders (from the greater Caribbean and from DRR, climate change, environmental conservation and coastal management communities of practice) together to discuss using historical approaches to improve DRR. Following on from this workshop, members of the STREVA team were successful in a GCRF global engagement networks call and are building on the relationship with CDEMA, to develop a formal mechanism for critically assessing disaster impacts and recovery; and building a network of researchers in the Caribbean, with expertise and publications updated on the CDEMA website with a search function. The aim is to make research more accessible to policymakers and practitioners throughout the region.
Collaborator Contribution CDEMA has played an active role in the partnership, taking part in STREVA meetings and workshops, making presentations and using STREVA research actively in its own work and dialogues. CDEMA has been strongly supportive of further forensic analysis of disaster recovery (based on a methodology developed under STREVA), which has been initiated under the GCRF Caribbean Resilience and Recovery Knowledge Network. A forensic analysis of disasters learning lab has been included by STREVA in the programme of the next Regional Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction, to be held in July 2020, in Montego Bay.
Impact CDEMA presents key results from STREVA research and journal article on 'The Dilemmas of Risk-Sensitive Development on a Small Volcanic Island' at 5th Regional Platform or Disaster Risk Reduction in the Americas.
Start Year 2015
 
Company Name ODI 
Description Global Affairs Think Tank 
Impact In 2022, ODI established the Resilient and Sustainable Islands Initiative (RESI), a global advisory network based at ODI, working with Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and their partners to frame policy problems, influence international institutions and find solutions to growing sustainability challenges in small islands. RESI aims to improve the conditions under which SIDS can achieve financial sustainability, environmental justice, international alliances and equitable societies. To-date, RESI has run two high -level events, including one on Climate Justice and the Role of International Law, which highlighted the Vanuatu-led initiative to call for an International Justice Court advisory opinion to clarify state responsibility for climate change. The event brought together 100 climate policymakers, development professionals and legal specialists. Following the event, several developed countries and Latin American countries joined the coalition.
Website https://odi.org/en/about/our-work/resilient-islands/
 
Description Blog on financing resilience in Small-island Developing States 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Co-authored an OpEd for Devex on the challenges of financing resilience in Small-island Developing States. The OpEd argues that some important changes are needed in the international development and climate finance architecture to meet the needs of small-island development states, and in particular to help them meet their resilience goals. The article consulted with a representatives of multilateral development banks and was aimed at this audience. It has prompted further discussion in the lead up to COP26 on the financial commitments of Annex II countries to supporting adaptation and resilience, and the particulate needs of SIDS is now an agenda item for the UK Government.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.devex.com/news/opinion-to-finance-resilience-in-small-states-governments-and-development...
 
Description Building back better presentation to American University 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Presentation on 'Building back better - Raising ambition on climate resilience in Dominica' for American University webinar on Climate Change and Communities: Building Back Better in a Small and Hurricane-Damaged Economy: Dominica's Quest to be the World's First Resilient Nation'
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.american.edu/spa/cep/climate-change/index.cfm
 
Description Imagining the World to Come in Caribbean Small Island Developing States - Laboratory of Ideas - the Post-Covid-19 era 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact With a virtual roundtable, the UNESCO's Cluster Office for the Caribbean, took a step further to shed light on the post-crisis opportunities in "Imagining the World to Come in Caribbean SIDS - Laboratory of Ideas: The Post Covid-19 era" which took place on Friday, 10 July. SIDS are a global priority group for UNESCO, due to their special vulnerabilities. Against this background, the outcomes of the session will feed into a global debate on how to 'build back better' economies and societies in the aftermath of the crisis for a more sustainable future, while informing UNESCO's future engagement in SIDS.
The main outcomes of the discussion included building on the lessons from dealing with Covid to create a paradigm shift in priority-setting towards a sustainable future. It was commonly agreed, that every person needs to be able to understand the reality of the world we are living in and be part of the solutions with an enhanced focus on community-driven conservation initiatives.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://en.unesco.org/news/imagining-world-come-caribbean-sids-laboratory-ideas-post-covid-19-era
 
Description Interview - Al Jazeera 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact I was interviewed on Al Jazeera about the impact of Hurricanes Irma and Maria in the Caribbean
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description Presentation of paper at cross minsterial meeting on disaster recovery 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact I made a presentation to a group of 15 policymakers including two permanent secretaries. In Dominica, which is aiming to become the world's first climate resilient country, the research was eagerly greeted by policymakers; they expressed a desire to discuss how to incorporate risk information when exploring future plans for diversification away from agriculture on the island.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
 
Description Workshop - CDM conference 2019 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact A forensic workshop on disaster recovery, held on Sunday 1 December 2019 as foreground to the 11th Caribbean Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) conference in Sint Maarten. The event brought together policymakers, practitioners, community members and academics to present evidence on recovery after disasters in Montserrat and Dominica. the afternoon discussions were live streamed with an online audience of over 1,000 people.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.facebook.com/cdemacu1/videos/437898993557889/