Future Resilience for African CiTies And Lands (FRACTAL)
Lead Research Organisation:
Start International
Department Name: Headquarters
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
Planned Impact
FRACTAL aims to alter how African cities include climate change in development planning, in a context with no direct historical precedent. This is critical given that the interests of the majority urban population place an inviolable demand (with substantial regional dependencies) on water, energy and associated infrastructure. FRACTAL recognizes that supply-driven climate information (e.g. IPCC) is having limited impact in real world decision making, largely due to messages of limited relevance or robustness at the scales and for the contexts of decision making.
We directly address this inadequacy through increased understanding of regional climate information and informed by co-exploration with decision makers. FRACTAL seek s to bring fundamental changes in key decision pathways (around water, flooding and energy) to increase the resilience of city-regions. This will leave a legacy of new knowledge, capacity and learning exemplars in 5 city-regions from which Africa can build. FRACTAL will provide an essential counterpart and balance in a landscape where the majority of climate development actions have non-urban, sectoral or rural foci.
There are four groups of beneficiaries:
A). Policy and decision-makers in government, resource management and infrastructure from local officials (case-study cities) to national-scale line Ministries which oversee urban development and the planning of infrastructure and regional services, which benefit through: co-generation of information and policy guidelines; new frameworks for incorporating climate change information in the context of multiple stressors and competing agendas; deep co-learning benefits led by researchers embedded in city governments; peer-to-peer relationships that lead to learning opportunities amongst the city partners; written materials generated by the project.
B) International and regional development institutions. The project will present research findings to guide development organizations and funders who are important contributors to development and adaptation trajectories. This will be strengthened by leveraging existing networks, such as the consortium's IPCC/WCRP/SASSCAL/Future Earth presence.
C) Academic disciplines and research communities in Africa and internationally. A publication strategy will place papers in disciplinary journals and the work will be disseminated at major conferences. Academics from under-capacitated African universities will benefit through the production of research, teaching tools and supporting publications. New inter-institutional relationships will foster the establishment of critical research capacity within the region to initiate key research agendas. Collaboration with the international community provides much needed reverse flows of knowledge, giving African researchers valuable entry to participate in research governance on the international scale (e.g. WCRP, IPCC, etc.).
D) Society. While largely an indirect process, this grouping has potential to receive the largest impact and benefit. By operating in the placed-based context of the majority of the population, FRACTAL can help steer development to enhance the quality of life and human security of large sections of society, as well as protect the economic system through both enabling opportunities and managing the very high risk of maladaptation with its attendant costs, damages, and inefficiencies. Informed city governance can lead to greater awareness and understanding in the voting population which can introduce major shifts in how nations choose to respond to climate change. Likewise, by changing the policy environment new opportunities for economic engagement are created.
Lastly, a significant cross-cutting impact is the building of trust relationships, dialogue and learning between and within these communities, which fosters growth potential as adaptation increasingly adopts a policy-first approach (versus a science-scenario-first approach).
We directly address this inadequacy through increased understanding of regional climate information and informed by co-exploration with decision makers. FRACTAL seek s to bring fundamental changes in key decision pathways (around water, flooding and energy) to increase the resilience of city-regions. This will leave a legacy of new knowledge, capacity and learning exemplars in 5 city-regions from which Africa can build. FRACTAL will provide an essential counterpart and balance in a landscape where the majority of climate development actions have non-urban, sectoral or rural foci.
There are four groups of beneficiaries:
A). Policy and decision-makers in government, resource management and infrastructure from local officials (case-study cities) to national-scale line Ministries which oversee urban development and the planning of infrastructure and regional services, which benefit through: co-generation of information and policy guidelines; new frameworks for incorporating climate change information in the context of multiple stressors and competing agendas; deep co-learning benefits led by researchers embedded in city governments; peer-to-peer relationships that lead to learning opportunities amongst the city partners; written materials generated by the project.
B) International and regional development institutions. The project will present research findings to guide development organizations and funders who are important contributors to development and adaptation trajectories. This will be strengthened by leveraging existing networks, such as the consortium's IPCC/WCRP/SASSCAL/Future Earth presence.
C) Academic disciplines and research communities in Africa and internationally. A publication strategy will place papers in disciplinary journals and the work will be disseminated at major conferences. Academics from under-capacitated African universities will benefit through the production of research, teaching tools and supporting publications. New inter-institutional relationships will foster the establishment of critical research capacity within the region to initiate key research agendas. Collaboration with the international community provides much needed reverse flows of knowledge, giving African researchers valuable entry to participate in research governance on the international scale (e.g. WCRP, IPCC, etc.).
D) Society. While largely an indirect process, this grouping has potential to receive the largest impact and benefit. By operating in the placed-based context of the majority of the population, FRACTAL can help steer development to enhance the quality of life and human security of large sections of society, as well as protect the economic system through both enabling opportunities and managing the very high risk of maladaptation with its attendant costs, damages, and inefficiencies. Informed city governance can lead to greater awareness and understanding in the voting population which can introduce major shifts in how nations choose to respond to climate change. Likewise, by changing the policy environment new opportunities for economic engagement are created.
Lastly, a significant cross-cutting impact is the building of trust relationships, dialogue and learning between and within these communities, which fosters growth potential as adaptation increasingly adopts a policy-first approach (versus a science-scenario-first approach).
Organisations
- Start International (Lead Research Organisation)
- EThekwini Municipality (Collaboration)
- ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability (Collaboration)
- ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability - Africa (Collaboration)
- National Science Foundation (NSF) (Collaboration)
- University of Cape Town (Collaboration)
Publications
Steynor A
(2016)
Co-exploratory climate risk workshops: Experiences from urban Africa
in Climate Risk Management
Ndebele-Murisa MR
(2020)
City to city learning and knowledge exchange for climate resilience in southern Africa.
in PloS one
Ndebele-Murisa M. R.
(2019)
Decision-making and the water sector of Harare
Ndebele-Murisa M. R.
(2018)
Water and energy systems, urban governance and decision-making in Harare
Nchito W
(2018)
Preparing for increased flooding
Mubaya C
(2020)
Alternative inclusive approaches for improving climate information services and decision-making in Harare, Zimbabwe
in Urban Climate
Maúre G
(2018)
The southern African climate under 1.5 °C and 2 °C of global warming as simulated by CORDEX regional climate models
in Environmental Research Letters
ICLEI Africa
(2018)
Talanoa dialogues in Africa
Title | Photo gallery of the Harare START GEC FRACTAL overview |
Description | Gallery of Harare's first Learning lab which was co-hosted by Chinhoyi University of Technology, HArae City Council, START and ICLEI. |
Type Of Art | Image |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Impact | More visibility and views than a report or scholarly article, greater outreach to wider audience. |
URL | https://start.org/news/fractal-harare-learning-lab-photo-gallery/ |
Title | Short video of the Harare START GEC FRACTAL overview |
Description | This is a short video of the overview and main findings of the START Global Change Environmental (GEC) Grant which was additional funding provided by START to support teh FRACTAL project. |
Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Impact | The short video received several viewings and reached a wider audience than traditional forms of research dissemination like scholarly publications. |
URL | https://www.facebook.com/startinternational/videos/2175476256036138/ |
Title | Short video overview and reflections on Harare's first learning lab |
Description | Overview from participants on Harare's first learning lab from a Small Opportunity Grant (SOG) that focused on Decision making pathways in the water sector of the city. The video reflects that participants felt that the workshop was helpful in bringing together different and relevant stakeholders while highlighting the need for continued collaboration to enhance resilience and to bolster effective decision making in the water sector. |
Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Impact | - Improved networking of participants/ stakeholders after the meeting |
URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JISjqgxGH94&feature=youtu.be |
Description | Much of the work has been focused on understanding where and how climate change information can be used at the city-region scale in southern Africa. Through the FRACTAL engagements and research, climate scientists have gained a deeper understanding of city decision processes and how their work does (or does not) fit in. Decision-makers have also gained a deeper understanding of the nature of climate change information. The team has learned a lot about the trans-disciplinary research processes required to facilitate such engagements. Working papers, games, think pieces, conference contributions etc. related to urban complexity and governance, climate change planning in cities, urban resilience and transdisciplinarity have been developed. |
Exploitation Route | Many of the outputs like guides, inforgraphics, reports and videos from this funding illustrate lessons that can be taken up by similar southern African or other cities in the world. The FRACTAL approaches of engagement, co-production and co-exploration are provided in the many publications can easily be accessed and taken up in practice. |
Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Environment,Government, Democracy and Justice |
URL | https://start.org/programs/fractal/ |
Description | Contributed to urban governance discussions and planning related to the future of cities in southern Africa under conditions of climate variability and change (in particular Blantyre, Cape Town, Durban, Gaborone, Harare, Lusaka, Maputo and Windhoek). In the city of Harare fir instances, engagements have contributed towards the development of a climate change desk as well as (under) an Environmental management unit which FRACTAL continues to support; in Blantyre the climate narratives processes have been taken forward to focus on the energy sector and have included a broader set of stakeholders. In Lusaka, FRACTAL findings have contributed to the water security initiate which is taking forward solutions proposed from engagements in the city. In Maputo FRACTAL findings are being taken forward through a malaria prediction tool which relates incidences or hotspots of malaria outbreaks to flooding among other climate parameters. In Gaborone, FRACTAL findings are taken forward through climate policy dialogues and contributions towards the city's climate policies. |
First Year Of Impact | 2018 |
Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Energy,Environment,Government, Democracy and Justice,Transport |
Impact Types | Societal,Policy & public services |
Description | Citation on Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) of emissions strategy planning (for city level) |
Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
URL | https://ndcpartnership.org/countries-map/country?iso=ZWE |
Description | Formation of an Environmental Management Unit in the Harare City Council which integrates and prioritizes decision making for environmental protection including increasing the city's climate resilience. |
Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
URL | https://spotlight.co.zw/iclei-to-help-local-authorities-unpack-climate-actions/ |
Description | Zimbabwe National Adaptation Plan |
Geographic Reach | Africa |
Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
Impact | Establishment of Environmental Management Unit within the Harare City Council Contribution to Zimbabwe National Adaptation Plan (NAPs) Contribution to Zimbabwe and city-specific reduction of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) emissions |
URL | https://futureclimateafrica.org/news/open-dialogue-leads-to-better-infrastructure-planning-in-harare... |
Description | N/A |
Amount | $140,000 (USD) |
Funding ID | ICER 1443746 |
Organisation | National Science Foundation (NSF) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United States |
Start | 08/2015 |
End | 08/2020 |
Description | Education Partnerships for Innovation in Communities - Network (EPIC-N) Africa and Asia |
Organisation | National Science Foundation (NSF) |
Country | United States |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | START has been collaborating with EPIC since February of 2018 in coordinating calls and following up EPIC teams in African cities and in a bid to expand the EPIC network in Africa and Asia. More Recently, START sponsored and convened a training meeting in Durban (2020) and invited three FRACTAL cities to this meeting and is now working with the UN Global Adaptation Network to expand the EPIC training in Asia (2021). |
Collaborator Contribution | EPIC-N, the eThekwini (Durban) Municipality and EPIC Africa co-hosted the Durban Training meeting in collaboration with START International. In addition, the partners work as a collaborative team in coordinating and facilitating the uptake and expansion of the EPIC model across African cities. The National Science Foundation of the USA provided funding for the Durban training and the UN Global Adaptation Network is funding the EPIC training in Asia (May 2021). |
Impact | Workshop training reports Monthly meeting minutes Facebook and social media pages and updates Several projects across Africa including Durban, Lusaka, Harare and Nairobi |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | Education Partnerships for Innovation in Communities - Network (EPIC-N) Africa and Asia |
Organisation | eThekwini Municipality |
Country | South Africa |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | START has been collaborating with EPIC since February of 2018 in coordinating calls and following up EPIC teams in African cities and in a bid to expand the EPIC network in Africa and Asia. More Recently, START sponsored and convened a training meeting in Durban (2020) and invited three FRACTAL cities to this meeting and is now working with the UN Global Adaptation Network to expand the EPIC training in Asia (2021). |
Collaborator Contribution | EPIC-N, the eThekwini (Durban) Municipality and EPIC Africa co-hosted the Durban Training meeting in collaboration with START International. In addition, the partners work as a collaborative team in coordinating and facilitating the uptake and expansion of the EPIC model across African cities. The National Science Foundation of the USA provided funding for the Durban training and the UN Global Adaptation Network is funding the EPIC training in Asia (May 2021). |
Impact | Workshop training reports Monthly meeting minutes Facebook and social media pages and updates Several projects across Africa including Durban, Lusaka, Harare and Nairobi |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | Fortitude Initiative |
Organisation | ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability |
Country | Germany |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Worked on a concept note that explains the partnership as well as the Fortitude Initiative being fostered by ICLEI. Included therein are ways in which to integrate FRACTAL work as well as timelines for implementation of research activities. |
Collaborator Contribution | ICLEI convened a Fortitude Initiative Launch event in December of 2019 in which the specific activities relating to the partnership with START International and FRACTAL were co-designed and placed under Capacity Building component. Part of ICLEI and START's responsibilities are to refine teh concept note going forward and to fund raise for anticipated research activities in teh future. |
Impact | Fortitude Initiative Concept note |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | Improved Municipal Planning for African CiTies (IMPACT): For a climate resilient urban future |
Organisation | ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability - Africa |
Country | South Africa |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | Supported the organization, facilitation (including virtual) of workshop events in Harare, Zimbabwe. Contributed to written reports after each event. Contributed towards literature review for proposal and project outputs. |
Collaborator Contribution | Ran an Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) Climate Change Dialogue in each of the countries with stakeholders from national and local government, academia and the private sector. Engaged with national and local government officials in each country to unpack mandates around four thematic themes. Situational and socio-economic analysis reports, one for each city. Stakeholder mapping in each country. |
Impact | Reports Booklet: https://africa.iclei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/IMPACT-booklet-June-2019_-DIGITAL.pdf |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | Leading Integrated Research for Agenda (LIRA) 2030 in Africa |
Organisation | University of Cape Town |
Country | South Africa |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Using Durban (South Africa) and Harare (Zimbabwe) as case studies, this project (2018-2020), led by Alice McClure from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, sought to better understand the potential of Transformational Adaptation (TA) in managing climate-related water risks through engagement with stakeholders. The research team worked collaboratively to compare the two cities (Durban and Harare) to conduct city exchanges and learning labs as well as share knowledge and experiences of transformational adaptation approach to promoting resilience. |
Collaborator Contribution | Chinhoyi University of Technology and START provided research leadership and organized events in Harare (Zimbabwe) while University of Kwa-Zulu Natal did the same in Durban, South Africa working with their respective local council representatives. University of Cape Town coordinated and managed the project. |
Impact | -Project blogs: https://bit.ly/2MU5DiY and https://council.science/current/blog/transforming-southern-african-cities-in-a-changing-climate-q-and-a-with-alice-mcclure-from-the-university-of-cape-town/ - Videos: https://youtu.be/ClzUKqbLkOM and https://caes.ukzn.ac.za/news/virtual-film-screening-explores-transformative-river-management-in-durban/ - Conference presentation: https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/portal/files/16001524/DetailedProgram_ITD19_08_20.pdf - Working paper: https://council.science/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/LIRA2030_Pathways-to-Transformative-Climate-Adaptation_WP-June-2019.pdf - Policy briefs |
Start Year | 2018 |
Title | Webtool/Application - Early-warning tool that helps predict malaria outbreaks based on the weather conditions (for Mozambique) (2019) |
Description | A web-based tool for estimation of risk of vector-/water-borne diseases as a function of climate variables is being co-developed and co-tested with real data climate and epidemiological data. This enhanced our understanding of how vector-/water-borne diseases relate to climate variables, thus, allow relevant stakeholders to trigger adequate actions that favour early adaptation to climate risk within the Municipality. |
Type Of Technology | Webtool/Application |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Impact | The Maputo FRACTAL Team was requested by the Ministry of Health to work with relevant stakeholders in further developing the tool at a national level, beyond the city of Maputo. |
URL | https://start.org/highlights/teamwork-tools-and-technology-how-a-collaborative-project-is-advancing-... |
Description | 9th Ecosystem Services Partnerships (ESP) World Conference |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | This conference is a series of international workshops that are held bi-annually and are rotated across continents in order to reach a wide audience in the ecosystem services community. Two participants from Windhoek attended the conference and presented findings from the GEC Project. The theme for the 2017 conference focused on the role of ecosystem services in ecosystem restoration and nature-based solutions in natural, rural and urban areas to achieve a more sustainable and eco-friendly society. Information and knowledge was shared, and this helped the audience to appreciate the work that is being done around ecosystem services around the world as well as in Windhoek. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | http://www.espconference.org/espconference2017 |
Description | A talk/presentation on burning issues in the city of Harare |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Approximately 50 people attended the FRACTAL Meeting dubbed 'Lusaka Urban Caucus' in June of 2019; whose objectives were to showcase the learning and research processes that had been undertaken in the FRACTAL cities. To augment learning during the caucus, a field tour to one of informal settlements in the City of Lusaka to further connect with climate related challenges that impact cities in Southern Africa was arranged. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Urban-Caucus-Report-web.pdf |
Description | Administering FRACTAL Small Opportunity Grants (SOGs) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The Small Opportunity Grants (SOGs), administered by START, were the main source of funding for city research in the FRACTAL program. SOGs place a strong emphasis on cross-cluster and cross-city knowledge exchange, learning by doing, mentorship, capacity and relationship building as well as scoped, regional social science, natural science, or interdisciplinary research projects of limited duration (< 6 months) that address FRACTAL research questions and burning issues in the FRACTAL cities, and/or are used for learning activities, such as sponsoring city exchanges, field visits, or small, locally based, multi-stakeholder workshops. To date, a total of eight SOG projects have been conducted. Several products have been produced from the projects which include online articles, short videos and reports. Of late, emphasis was put on producing non-academic communications products or outputs using innovative media (e.g. policy briefs, videos infographics, comic strip, interactive games, radio programs, etc.) that appeal to a wider audience as well as a specific stakeholder group to increase learning and participation in FRACTAL. In the last round of SOGs, three FRACTAL cities (Harare, Lusaka and Windhoek) hosted learning labs, councilors' training and Talanoa dialogues respectively which followed previously identified burning issues in the cities that emanated from prior FRACTAL engagements. All eight participating cities and audiences reported increased awareness and better understanding of issues in their cities and found the FRACTAL approaches innovative in increasing trans-disciplinary engagement, building of trust and relationships. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018,2019 |
URL | https://start.org/news/enabling-transdisciplinary-and-cross-city-learning-to-address-burning-issues-... |
Description | Annual Meeting |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | Around 50 people from FRACTAL partner institutions attended the annual meeting in Cape Town to discuss research progress and plans for 2016-2017. Progress on FRACTAL research was presented by the different working groups and sessions were held to discuss working group workplans for 2016/2017. Each working group finalized their workplans; additional interconnections and interdependencies were discovered between the working groups; and partners left with a more comprehensive understanding of where the research is currently at in FRACTAL and next steps. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Blantyre learning lab 2 January 2021 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Approximately 35 people attended this workshop whose objective was to upscale Waste-to-Energy Value Chain from the 2018 'Think piece'. The workshop sparked discussions on strategies on how to utilize different energy sources and particularly the clean ones to harness energy for the city. The participants reported renewed interest and appreciation of different sources of energy and how strategizing on their utilization was beneficial for the city. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/events/list/?tribe_paged=1&tribe_event_display=past&tribe-bar-date=2021-02... |
Description | City Exchange Visits |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Three visits to Lusaka and Windhoek were made by Research Teams from the cities of Harare, Windhoek and Lusaka respectively. The idea of the visits was to learn from each city in terms of the research work and outputs as well as compare the three southern African cities. One cross-cutting issue was water as a central theme under a changing climate and how the three cities were coping with related climate-water impacts such as droughts, flooding, and associated challenges in solid waste management, energy and livelihoods. These visits were insightful in providing best practices and lessons learnt from each city as well as a regional overview of the climate-water sectors. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za |
Description | City learning lab (LL) workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Approximately 50 people attended the learning lab workshop which fostered discussions from the climate narratives which Blantyre worked on in 2018-2019 and how these relate to the energy needs of the city. Options of how to proceed to build resilient or rather sustainable energy systems for the city under a changing climate were put forward while the different stakeholders (academia, local city council forestry, energy, civil sectors) co-explored the issues and co-produced the way forward. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | City of Harare FRACTAL research |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | The FRACTAL Harare Research Team worked on a policy brief whose main target audience is policy and decision-makers in this and similar cities. The research documented covers 3 years since the FRACTAL project was implemented in the city and focuses on the water sector. The objective was to disseminate the findings and some recommendations emanating from the 3 years research work that the team conducted in the city. The brief will be used in follow-up engagements in the city. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Harare-Policy-Brief.pdf |
Description | City of Harare Innovation Think Tank |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | The objective of the Innovation Think Tank research was to understand the values and perceptions that underpin decision-making in the FRACTAL cities. In Harare the focus was on the decision-making processes for the refurbishment of the Morton Jaffrey Waterworks. Approximately ten (10) people participated in the final workshop while eight (8) key informants from six (6) organisations were interviewed prior to the think tank event. The think tank presents a unique model for unpacking important decision-making processes in that although stakeholders that were involved in the think tank were from different organisations (government departments and civil society organisations) with potential for tensions, they were able to have a common ground and agree on issues that really affect decision-making within the city and carve a resilient development pathway for the city. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Climate narratives: Contribution to urban governance discussions and planning related to the future of cities in southern Africa under conditions of climate variability and change (Harare in particular). |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Several (20 or so) practitioners were engaged in the city of Harare in co-developing plausible future scenarios (climate narratives) which then gave precedent to further dialogue on what the future of the city could be and insights on what needs to be done in order to get to a desired, resilient future. Participants reported a more open view and better understanding of cause and effect and how actions in the past and present can affect future pathways. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Learning_climate-narratives-briefing-note.pdf |
Description | FRACTAL Annual Meeting |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Over 50 people from the FRACTAL consortium, including city and university partners from the nine FRACTAL cities as well as external partners attended this event. The objectives of the event were to: ? collaboratively articulate a big picture of FRACTAL work that has been undertaken during the project; ? unpack the FRACTAL-related impacts in cities and the frontiers in science; and ? collate recommendations from team members for carrying FRACTAL work forward at an individual, institutional and community level ? strategically think about pulling bits together for the last 6 months Participants felt that the meeting was successful as a planning tool and observers reflected that the impact of FRACTAL in conducting trans-disciplinary, collaborative, participatory research through co-production in southern Africa was emulative and there was need to showcase the work and outputs. As a planning meeting it was also successful on reflecting on the way forward and the remaining activities for this year (2019). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | http://www.futureclimateafrica.org/news/southern-african-cities-and-climate-scientists-enjoy-fruitfu... |
Description | FRACTAL Annual Meeting |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | Around 54 people from FRACTAL partner institutions attended the annual meeting in Cape Town to discuss research progress and plans for 2018-2019 and to reflect on progress, approaches and project milestones since inception. Progress on FRACTAL research was presented by different working groups and cities and interactive sessions were held to reflect on the work and how it answers the overall project objectives. Each working group reviewed their workplans and aligned it accordingly to the FRACTAL Workplan. In general, partners felt that the event was informative, interesting and thought provoking and useful in providing clarity and a way forward for the next two years. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016,2017 |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/ |
Description | FRACTAL Annual Meeting |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | About 60 people attended this meeting which is a traditional annual meeting that FRACTAL has hosted since 2015. However, the purpose of this particular meeting was to review the program for the past four years, evaluate its impact and then map a way forward in terms of winding down Phase 1 of the FRACTAL project. Participants reported that they were clearer about their individual or local team tasks and activities as well as aware of others' plans and how the FRACTAL calendar panned out for the rest of the year. More specifically, the meeting sought to: 1. Collaboratively articulate a big picture of FRACTAL work that has been undertaken during the project; 2. Unpack the FRACTAL-related impacts in cities and the frontiers in science and; 3. Collate recommendations from team members for carrying FRACTAL work forward at an individual, institutional and community level. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/FRACTAL_Annual-meeting-2019_report_15032019.pdf |
Description | FRACTAL Inception Meeting (Cape Town) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | Representatives from the FRACTAL partner organizations, including research and capacity development institutions from Africa, Europe, and the United States, as well as partners from the cities of Windhoek, Lusaka, Maputo, Cape Town, Blantyre, Harare, and Gaborone attended the FRACTAL inception meeting in Cape Town to refine research questions and draft a work plan. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Fifth International Conference on Climate Services (ICCS5) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | The fifth International Conference on Climate Services (ICCS 5) was held in Cape Town from the 28th of February to the 2nd of March and convened 240 participants, bringing together policy makers, international actors, scientists, service providers and product developers. A number of sessions which covered several themes were convened and this was useful in assessing the use of climate services in developing climate decisions as well as the limits and gaps. In addition, a marketplace where different activities, projects products and services were interactively displayed helped provide a platform for knowledge sharing and collaboration to promote climate resilience and the advancement of climate service capabilities worldwide. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | http://www.climate-services.org/iccs/iccs5/ |
Description | Flood Risk Adaptation Among Poorer Households: A Case of Kanyama and Kalikiliki, Lusaka |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The Lusaka Team made an oral presentation at the FRIARS 2018 Conference (themed: 6th International Conference on Flood and Urban Water Management) in Spain. This was an excellent international dissemination platform for the FRACTAL and START GEC work that the research team embarked on. This is because FRIAR seeks to develop an improved understanding of emerging flood risk management and urban water management challenges, drawing on the expertise of numerous disciplines and considering a range of responses. The conference provides a rich forum for the development of innovative solutions that can help bring about multiple benefits toward achieving integrated flood risk and urban water management strategies and policy. The meeting is aimed to attract researchers, academics and practitioners actively involved in improving understanding of urban water systems and flood events. It brought together social scientists, surveyors, engineers, scientists, and other professionals from many countries involved in research and development activities in a wide range of technical and management topics related to urban water and flooding and its impacts on communities, property and people. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://www.wessex.ac.uk/conferences/2018/friar-2018 |
Description | Gaborone learning lab: Policy dialogues |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Approximately 40 people attended this workshop whose objective was to discuss policy relating to climate and specific for the city of Gaborone where mainstreaming (vs. dedicated approaches) for climate action at the city scale, as well as climate finance was done. Stakeholders brainstormed ways in which climate change might be mainstreamed into city planning. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/events/list/?tribe_paged=1&tribe_event_display=past&tribe-bar-date=2021-02... |
Description | Harare Global Environmental Change (GEC) Culmination Workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | A total of 23 people representing the Research Team from Chinhoyi University of Technology, their FRACTAL project and city partner institutions attended this meeting in Harare to discuss not only the Harare FRACTAL projects but to reflect on the lessons learnt in this as well as findings from the project. Participants, who represented an array of decision makers, and stakeholders in the water sector of Harare discussed, validated and refined findings from the Global Environmental Change (GEC) research which was presented by the Research Team. In addition, the way forward in terms of the FRACTAL and related work in the city was presented and provided a base for continued partnership in this and other projects. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Harare Learning Lab 1 Oct 2020 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Approximately 40 people attended the virtual workshop and the discussions on how to support the the Harare City Council's Environmental Management Unit and specifically the climate change desk yielded offers from stakeholders to help facilitate meetings, develop communication and planning strategy for the unit. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Harare Learning Lab 2 November 2020 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Approximately 40 participants attended the face-to-face + virtual workshop that was held in Harare and politicians and/or decision makers in the city (Harare Mayor, Harare Provincial Director) acknowledged the importance of science based evidence for decision-making and improving the city's resilience. In addition, the local council's departments were able to make inputs to the Environmental Strategy Plan for the city to be implemented by the Environmental Management Unit. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=421956122156455 |
Description | ICLEI's Daring Cities conference 2020 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | This conference session brought together over 50 participants drawn from local governments, academia and members of both the FRACTAL and EPIC initiatives in an interactive panel-style session to share on learnings and methods for building a legacy at local level long after a project or initiative has ended. Conference participants reported increased appreciation of both the FRACTAL and EPIC models in terms of building relationships that outlive the projects. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://daringcities.org/program/continuing-the-learning-leaving-a-legacy-of-partnerships-at-local-l... |
Description | International conference |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The Adaptation Futures conference is a once-every-two years major international gathering of scientists, policy and decision-makers as well as practitioners in the Adaptation space. This time, it attracted over 1,000 participants from all over the world. FRACTAL had an impressive number of participants and sessions within the conference program who presented, discussed, debated, disseminated findings from the project. All the early researchers involved in the project were able to participate in the conference in the form of poster and oral presentations as well as organizing conference sessions and assisting in the conference as administrators. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://adaptationfutures2018.capetown/ |
Description | START ProSus online magazine Issue |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | The third issue of START's ProSus Magazine featured reflections, research and stories from the Future Resilience for African Cities and Lands (FRACTAL) program. The articles featured in this ProSus magazine demonstrated FRACTAL's novel philosophy and approach. The stories from cities and partners provided concrete examples of how FRACTAL has advanced understanding of, and engagement around, climate risks in urban areas and how the relationships forged through FRACTAL are an enduring legacy of this effort. Published twice a year, ProSus explores ideas and solutions for a more sustainable future. It showcases the voices of researchers, practitioners and thinkers, and perspectives that build bridges between science and society, between local and global realities. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | http://start.org/wp-content/uploads/publication/ProSus-3-FRACTAL-FINAL-LR.pdf |
Description | Seminar and presentations at the African climate Risks Conference |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The goal of the seminar session was to share lessons from cities that were involved in FRACTAL and therefore offer lessons in climate action, as well as developing resilience, climate adaptation and mitigation. The six oral presentations spoke to the African Climate Risks Conference (ACRC)'s conference theme: 3. Evidence for action: climate change risk analysis as gathering and using evidence on the impacts and risks of climate change and the need for adaptation; compiling data on climate impacts and vulnerability; assessing climate risks to society; attribution of extreme climate events; and exploring the best way to use this knowledge to protect the public and inform policymakers, including addressing the needs of specific sectors and stakeholders. The presentations covered innovative research work that was conducted under the FRACTAL program in the cities of Blantyre, Harare, Maputo and Windhoek. They offered insights on both climatic and non-climatic risks; contextualizing and working with local communities and city stakeholders in proffering solutions to these risks as well as adaption and resilient development for future planning. The FRACTAL program advocates for bottom-up, transdisciplinary, inclusive (co-exploration, co-design and co-production) approaches in engaging cities in southern Africa to offer useful, contextualized climate information that can be taken up in decision-making as well as the practice. The lessons from this program and case studies showcased in the session are useful for upscaling and adoption in other African and similar cities. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://start.org/news/start-seminar-and-presentations-at-the-african-climate-risks-conference/ |
Description | Short video on overview of FRACTAL learning lab in Harare |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The first learning lab in Harare focused on exploring decision making pathways in the water sector and was collaboratively conducted with the city of Blantyre, ICLEI and START (See: https://start.org/news/fractal-harare-learning-lab-photo-gallery/ and http://www.poly.ac.mw/news/supremacy-of-intellectual-decisions-in-easing-water-problems-05-04-2019). Participants reported the overwhelming need to collaborate more and work together in order to deal with complex and multi-faceted problems in the city but more importantly appreciated the challenges and opportunities that come with this effort. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JISjqgxGH94&feature=youtu.be |
Description | Windhoek 2nd Learning Lab |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | A total of 40 people representing the Research Team from University of Namibia, their FRACTAL project and city partner institutions attended this meeting in Windhoek to discuss not only the Windhoek FRACTAL projects but to reflect on the lessons learnt in this and other FRACTAL cities. Progress on the FRACTAL, Global Environmental Change (GEC) and research was presented by the Research Team while the city and stakeholders contributed to the discussions. In addition, the need for provision of support and input to develop the Namibia Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan was discussed as well as future plans for the projects were made and agreed on. Overall, participants felt that the project(s) were becoming clear and there was a keenness to be involved. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Windhoek City Learning Lab |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | This was the first city learning lab in Windhoek with the purpose of engaging ~32 stakeholders in Windhoek, developing relationships between the stakeholders and FRACTAL researchers, and learning from the Windhoek stakeholders what the burning issues related to climate change, water, and energy are in Windhoek. The learning lab was a two-day workshop where the first day was spent discussing FRACTAL's objectives, how Windhoek benefits from engaging in FRACTAL, what the burning issues in Windhoek are, and distilling the burning issues. The second day focused on discussing the current effects and potential scenarios for future climate change effects in Windhoek, and linking the burning issues to these climate change effects. The outcome was envisioning what stakeholders would like to see happen through engagement in FRACTAL and an action plan that they can carry out going forward. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Writing workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Approximately 20 people from the FRACTAL project participated in this event and it has generated interest to collaborate and work towards potential communication products in the form of working papers, policy briefs, academic journal papers. The participants reported the event as successful in generating interest, clarity and conceptualization of the writing process and improving writing skills. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/publications/ |