Future Resilience for African CiTies And Lands (FRACTAL)
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cape Town
Department Name: Environmental and Geographical Sciences
Abstract
The problem: Building climate change resilience necessarily means building urban resilience. Africa's future is dominated by a rapidly increasing urban population with complicated demographic, economic, political, spatial and infrastructural transitions. This creates complex climate vulnerabilities of critical consequence in the co-dependent city-regions.
Climate change substantially complicates the trajectories of African development, exacerbated by climate information that is poorly attuned to the needs of African decision makers. Critical gaps are how climate processes interact at the temporal and spatial scales that matter for decision making, limited institutional capacity to develop and then act on climate information, and inadequate means, methods, and structures to bridge the divides. Current modalities in climate services are largely supply driven and rarely begin with the multiplicity of climate sensitive development challenges.
There is a dominant need to address this disconnect at the urban scale, yet climate research in Africa is poorly configured to respond, and the spatial scale and thematic foci are not well attuned to urban problems. Most climate-related policies and development strategies focus at the national scale and are sectorally based, resulting in a poor fit to the vital urban environments with their tightly interlocking place-based systems.
Response: FRACTAL's aim is to advance scientific knowledge about regional climate responses to anthropogenic forcings, enhance the integration of this knowledge into decision making at the co-dependent city-region scale, and thus enable responsible development pathways.
We focus on city-region scales of climate information and decision making. Informed by the literature, guided by co-exploration with decision makers, we concentrate on two key cross-cutting issues: Water and Energy, and secondarily their influence on food security. We work within and across disciplinary boundaries (transdisciplinarity) and develop all aspects of the research process in collaboration with user groups (co-exploration).The project functions through three interconnected work packages focused on three Tier 1 cities (Windhoek, Maputo and Lusaka), a secondary focus on three Tier 2 cities (Blantyre, Gaborone and Harare), and two self-funded partner cities (Cape Town and eThekwini).
Work Package 1 (WP1) is an ongoing and sustained activity operating as a learning laboratory for pilot studies to link research from WP2 and 3 to a real world iterative dialogue and decision process. WP1 frames, informs, and steers the research questions of WP2 and 3, and so centres all research on needs for responsible development pathways of city-region systems.
WP2 addresses the decision making space in cities; the political, economic, technical and social determinants of decision making, and seeks to understand the opportunities for better incorporation of climate information into local decision making contexts.
WP3, the majority effort, focuses on advancing understanding of the physical climate processes that govern the regional system, both as observed and simulated. This knowledge grounds the development of robust and scale relevant climate information, and the related analysis and communication. This is steered explicitly by WP1's perspective of urban climate change risk, resilience, impacts, and decisions for adaptation and development.
The project will frame a new paradigm for user-informed, knowledge-based decisions to develop pathways to resilience for the majority population. It will provide a step change in understanding the cross-scale climate processes that drive change and so enable enhanced uptake of climate information in near to medium-term decision making. The project legacy will include improved scientific capacity and collaboration, provide transferable knowledge to enhance decision making on the African continent, and in this make significant contribution to academic disciplines.
Climate change substantially complicates the trajectories of African development, exacerbated by climate information that is poorly attuned to the needs of African decision makers. Critical gaps are how climate processes interact at the temporal and spatial scales that matter for decision making, limited institutional capacity to develop and then act on climate information, and inadequate means, methods, and structures to bridge the divides. Current modalities in climate services are largely supply driven and rarely begin with the multiplicity of climate sensitive development challenges.
There is a dominant need to address this disconnect at the urban scale, yet climate research in Africa is poorly configured to respond, and the spatial scale and thematic foci are not well attuned to urban problems. Most climate-related policies and development strategies focus at the national scale and are sectorally based, resulting in a poor fit to the vital urban environments with their tightly interlocking place-based systems.
Response: FRACTAL's aim is to advance scientific knowledge about regional climate responses to anthropogenic forcings, enhance the integration of this knowledge into decision making at the co-dependent city-region scale, and thus enable responsible development pathways.
We focus on city-region scales of climate information and decision making. Informed by the literature, guided by co-exploration with decision makers, we concentrate on two key cross-cutting issues: Water and Energy, and secondarily their influence on food security. We work within and across disciplinary boundaries (transdisciplinarity) and develop all aspects of the research process in collaboration with user groups (co-exploration).The project functions through three interconnected work packages focused on three Tier 1 cities (Windhoek, Maputo and Lusaka), a secondary focus on three Tier 2 cities (Blantyre, Gaborone and Harare), and two self-funded partner cities (Cape Town and eThekwini).
Work Package 1 (WP1) is an ongoing and sustained activity operating as a learning laboratory for pilot studies to link research from WP2 and 3 to a real world iterative dialogue and decision process. WP1 frames, informs, and steers the research questions of WP2 and 3, and so centres all research on needs for responsible development pathways of city-region systems.
WP2 addresses the decision making space in cities; the political, economic, technical and social determinants of decision making, and seeks to understand the opportunities for better incorporation of climate information into local decision making contexts.
WP3, the majority effort, focuses on advancing understanding of the physical climate processes that govern the regional system, both as observed and simulated. This knowledge grounds the development of robust and scale relevant climate information, and the related analysis and communication. This is steered explicitly by WP1's perspective of urban climate change risk, resilience, impacts, and decisions for adaptation and development.
The project will frame a new paradigm for user-informed, knowledge-based decisions to develop pathways to resilience for the majority population. It will provide a step change in understanding the cross-scale climate processes that drive change and so enable enhanced uptake of climate information in near to medium-term decision making. The project legacy will include improved scientific capacity and collaboration, provide transferable knowledge to enhance decision making on the African continent, and in this make significant contribution to academic disciplines.
Planned Impact
FRACTAL aims to fundamentally 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. hFRACTAL 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. These 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. These 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
- University of Cape Town (Lead Research Organisation)
- Lusaka City Council (Collaboration)
- Harare City Council (Collaboration)
- epic-n (Collaboration)
- Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) (Collaboration)
- University of KwaZulu-Natal (Collaboration)
- EThekwini Municipality (Collaboration)
- International Water Stewardship Programme (Collaboration)
- Environmental Resources Management (Collaboration)
- University of the Witwatersrand (Collaboration)
- City of Windhoek (Collaboration)
- ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability - Africa (Collaboration)
- Gaborone City Council (Collaboration)
- Maputo City Council (Collaboration)
- Blantyre City Council (Collaboration)
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Project Partner)
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Project Partner)
- European Commission (Project Partner)
- EThekwini Municipality (Project Partner)
- City of Cape Town (Project Partner)
Publications
Nikulin G
(2019)
A simple set of indices describing the Tropical Rain Belt over central and southern Africa
in Atmospheric Science Letters
Wolski P
(2017)
Interannual rainfall variability and SOM-based circulation classification
in Climate Dynamics
Maoyi M
(2017)
Simulating the characteristics of tropical cyclones over the South West Indian Ocean using a Stretched-Grid Global Climate Model
in Climate Dynamics
Steynor A
(2020)
Learning from climate change perceptions in southern African cities
in Climate Risk Management
Jack C
(2020)
Climate risk narratives: An iterative reflective process for co-producing and integrating climate knowledge
in Climate Risk Management
Steynor A
(2016)
Co-exploratory climate risk workshops: Experiences from urban Africa
in Climate Risk Management
Vogel C
(2019)
Climate services in Africa: Re-imagining an inclusive, robust and sustainable service
in Climate Services
Visman E
(2022)
Defining metrics for monitoring and evaluating the impact of co-production in climate services
in Climate Services
Title | Video: Learning Labs: creating collaborative ways to address climate change in African cities |
Description | Learning Labs bring diverse stakeholders together to spur new thinking about how to tackle the climate change adaptation issues emerging in urban Africa. This video outlines the Learning Labs approach as used in Windhoek |
Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Impact | None yet |
URL | https://www.sei.org/featured/learning-labs-creating-collaborative-ways-to-address-climate-change-in-... |
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 transdisciplinary 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. Several major research frontiers have been pushed through FRACTAL research and engagements, namely; transdisciplinary co-production processes for climate change adaptation, developing receptivity to better produce applicable climate change information, learning processes and capacity development for interrogating climate change information, as well as integrating this into decision making, and decision-making in southern African cities. The team aimed to test the scalability (streamlining and sustainability) of transdisciplinary climate resilience learning processes during the extension of FRACTAL, which was set to take place from October 2019-March 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic brought about challenges associated with these tests as face-to-face learning processes could not take place in cities. However, the situation forced the team to be extra creative and to test virtual engagements, which have been partially successful. |
Exploitation Route | Several strategic plans have been developed in pilot sites and policies have been influenced. The climate change agenda has substantially progressed in several places. Researchers also continue to carry forward the lessons learned during FRACTAL into other projects and processes. Relationships between various actors (including both academic and non-academic actors) continue to provide a foundation for climate-related work. |
Sectors | Education Environment Government Democracy and Justice |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za |
Description | FRACTAL relationships, networks and knowledge products continue to inform planning across southern African cities. For example, FRACTAL partners from Lusaka recently reported the use of FRACTAL knowledge on future climate in planning related to boreholes. |
Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Energy,Environment,Government, Democracy and Justice |
Impact Types | Societal Policy & public services |
Description | Climate Change Awareness Workshop for City of Windhoek Junior Council |
Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Impact | The workshop fully engaged the youth in discussions around climate change impacts, adaptation and mitigation. In addition, it enhanced the exchange of knowledge, ideas and good practices through the climate change negotiations simulations. We are convinced that the information shared and interactions the learners were involved in has imparted some deep thoughts on climate change impacts and it will be of great value in their daily lives as young leaders on climate change. Reflection - The youth reflected that the workshop was informative, thought-provoking and educational to them as they are the future custodians of this planet. Many agreed that the workshop sensitized their conscience on climate related issues, actions and solutions, and they were ready to carry on good practices in order to strengthen youth climate movement not only for them but for the generations to come. |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Windhoek-Junior-Council-Climate-Change-Workshop... |
Description | Climate change information input to the eThekwini biodiversity and climate change monitoring framework |
Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Description | Climate change training - councilors in Windhoek |
Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/2018/01/19/unam-and-city-of-windhoek-run-joint-climate-change-and-decision... |
Description | Co-production of knowledge for the Windhoek Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (CCSAP) |
Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
Description | Development of Harare policy brief |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Harare-Policy-Brief.pdf |
Description | Influenced the development & implementation of the Lusaka Water Security Action and Investment Plan |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Impact | The policy briefs that have been co-developed in Lusaka on water and climate change issues have been integrated into the training for decentralised implementation of the Lusaka Water Security Action and Investment Plan. |
Description | Local Authorities Awareness Workshop on Climate Change and Decision-Making |
Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/windhoek/ |
Description | Lusaka City Governance Dialogue and Talanoa Dialogue |
Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
Impact | Participants of the Talanoa Dialogues reflected on where they are in terms of climate change planning, where they want to go and how they want to get there. |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Lusaka-City-Governance-and-Talanoa-Dialogue-Rep... |
Description | National Adaptation Planning Guidance; Maputo and Windhoek |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/NAP-Cities-guidance-Windhoek.pdf |
Description | Shifting practice at the science-policy interface |
Geographic Reach | Africa |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
Description | Southern African urban caucus |
Geographic Reach | Africa |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Impact | The FRACTAL team (led by Lusaka) hosted the first southern African climate resilience urban caucus in October 2019. The event brought stakeholders from across the region together to share climate resilience learnings, key messages and useful processes from FRACTAL. |
Description | Support for the Inclusive development of the Windhoek Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan |
Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Impact | The FRACTAL learning lab processes supported the development of the Windhoek Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (CCSAP), through an inclusive transdisciplinary process involving science, practitioners and civil society. |
Description | Supported mainstreaming of climate change in the Lusaka City Council Strategic Plan (2017-2021) |
Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
Impact | The Strategic Plan better integrated cllimate change issues as a result of FRACTAL processes. |
Description | Supported mainstreaming of climate change into the City of Gaborone planning, development and management processes |
Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
Description | Supported the development of the Windhoek Integrated Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan |
Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
Impact | The FRACTAL processes supported an integrated approach to developing the Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan. The plan considers the impact of climate change on various sectors and will be implemented soon. |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/2020/01/21/learning-labs-in-windhoek/ |
Description | Talanoa dialogues: Lusaka and Windhoek |
Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/2018/11/15/connecting-cities-with-national-level-actors-through-talanoa-di... |
Description | Training of Councillors in Lusaka |
Geographic Reach | Africa |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Impact | Enhanced awareness of government staff on issues of climate change |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/ |
Description | Transdisciplinary development of policy briefs (Lusaka) |
Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Impact | Stakeholders in Lusaka are using the policy briefs to guide planning and actions in several sectors including water and planning. |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/lusaka/ |
Description | Transformational leadership in climate change training |
Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Impact | The FRACTAL project supported the "transformational leadership in climate change workshop" for decision makers in Windhoek, Namibia. During this workshop, decision makers and reserachers co-produced a set of principles for transformational climate change adaptation. |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/2018/07/17/principles-for-transformational-leadership-on-climate-change/ |
Description | Transformational leadership in climate change training for Strategic Executives |
Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Impact | Because of the success of the 2018 transformational leadership in climate change training that took place, a second training was hosted for eight Strategic Executives in the City of Windhoek |
Description | Applied Research Fund |
Amount | £77,172 (GBP) |
Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 04/2017 |
End | 06/2018 |
Description | COP26 Adaptation and Resilience Scoping Call |
Amount | £194,362 (GBP) |
Funding ID | 2021COPA&R37Daron |
Organisation | University of Bristol |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2021 |
End | 03/2022 |
Description | Innovation Funding in 16/17 for International Development |
Amount | £49,918 (GBP) |
Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2017 |
End | 06/2017 |
Description | START Global Environmental Change Grants |
Amount | $135,000 (USD) |
Organisation | START International Inc |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United States |
Start | 08/2016 |
End | 11/2017 |
Title | Adaptation Inspiration online training modules |
Description | The training was informed by cases collated from FRACTAL project partners as examples of good practice in urban adaptation in Africa. The cases cover a range of approaches to adaptation and urban challenges to a range of climate hazards and other stressors. Solutions also address several of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. |
Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
Year Produced | 2018 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Participants in the training module have noted feeling inspired and gaining ideas from the module |
URL | https://www.weadapt.org/placemarks/maps/view/40466 |
Title | Climate risk and climate change narratives |
Description | This novel visualisation approach is designed to communicate complex climate analyses, and refine impacts associated with climate risks in a particular context. Ideally, narratives are iteratively refined with government and civil society stakeholders to match the needs of the next-user in the city-region context. |
Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | Policy-makers and practitioners more engaged in the process of knowledge co-production. |
Title | Improving methods of communicating climatic uncertainties to aid decision-making |
Description | Through the Applied Research Fund within Future Climate For Africa, guidelines were developed on improving methods of communicating climatic uncertainties to aid decision-making based on FRACTAL experiences |
Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
Year Produced | 2018 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | This tool will support the communication of climate information to decision makers and other users. Guidelines and a video are available. |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/FCFA-Report-Communicating-Climate-Change-to-Dec... |
Title | Inspiring climate action in African cities: practical options for resilient pathways |
Description | This paper highlights climate adaptation projects across Africa, specifically in fast growing urban and peri-urban areas. It also considers the Sustainable Development Goals that these adaptation projects seek to address. |
Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
Year Produced | 2018 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | The options for climate action have been used in training material to inspire African decision makers |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Butterfield-R-Inspiring-Climate-Action-in-Afric... |
Title | Re-design of the CSAG Winterschool |
Description | FRACTAL experiences have underpinned the redesign of the CSAG Winterschool, which is run annually. |
Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
Year Produced | 2018 |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | The lessons learned from FRACTAL have supported a more holistic interrogation of how climate information fits into decision making. The Wintershool programme has already been redesigned and the course taught, with very good feedback received. |
Title | Spilling the beans |
Description | Spilling the beans is a game that explores the term resilience as it relates to climate change. Through this interactive activity players come to understand two contrasting interpretations of the same term. This tool is an output of the Small Opportunity Grant (SOG) project designed within FRACTAL |
Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
Year Produced | 2017 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | The tool has been used multiple times within FRACTAL to explore the concept of resilience, including the in the "Transformational climate change leadership workshop" |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/SpillingTheBeans_facilitation.pdf |
Title | Teamwork, tools and technology: how a collaborative project is advancing solutions to cholera and malaria outbreaks in Maputo |
Description | The research team in Maputo developed an interactive tool that uses the weather forecast to estimate the risk of outbreaks of malaria, cholera, and other vector- and water-borne diseases in Maputo. "We were ready to deploy the tool, but unfortunately there was a leadership change at the city level, and we are now working with the new leadership to get them familiarized with all our FRACTAL activities. However, the tool attracted the attention of the Ministry of Health, that asked us to work on a similar platform, at country-wide scale." |
Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | It is too soon to tell |
Title | The Wheel of Context |
Description | This is a tool that helps unpack multiple meanings of the same term. Any term can be explored. It is to be used in a multi-disciplinary setting allowing participants from various backgrounds to understand how climate-related terminology is applied in other sectors or disciplines. |
Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
Year Produced | 2017 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | The tool has been used within FRACTAL in the City of Cape Town to explore climate-related terminology |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/TheWheelofContext_FacilitationNotes.pdf |
Title | Transdisciplinary knowledge integration series Explainer & "How-To" Guide |
Description | SEI researchers working with southern African cities that are grappling with climate change adaptation planning devised a game to address gaps in understanding about related concepts and terminologies. The companion briefs presented here consist of an "explainer" that outlines the underlying premise, and a "how-to" guide that provides basic instructions to use and adapt the game. They are the first in a planned series of companion guides on serious games for climate adaptation decision making. |
Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | None yet |
URL | https://www.sei.org/publications/game-play-to-address-climate-change-adaptation/ |
Title | Understanding adaptation terminology in a city context |
Description | This e-learning tool aims to deepen understanding of climate change adaptation in a city context. It also explores some of the complicated facets of climate change adaptation. It is an output of the Small Opportunity Grant (SOG) project designed within FRACTAL. |
Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
Year Produced | 2017 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | This e-learning tool introduces concepts such as adaptive capacity, mitigation, adaptation deficit and their relation to adaptation. Decision makers are able to contextualise and grasp these terms. |
Title | High resolution dynamical downscaled climate projections for Southern Africa |
Description | This data is the result of the application of the C-CAM variable resolution climate model run by the CSIR. The model was used to further downscale the C-CAM CORDEX Africa 50km simulations to 8km resolution. Six different GCM forced simulations have been completed. The data will be made available once a suitable formatting and documentation have been completed. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | These results are currently being integrated into climate change analyses for the Western Cape / Cape Town, and for other FRACTAL cities. |
Title | Process based model evaluation and projections over southern Africa from CORDEX and CMIP5 models |
Description | This work has developed an innovative approach to analysing the sources of contradictions between global climate models (GCMs) and regional climate models (RCMs) using Self Organising Maps (SOMs) |
Type Of Material | Data analysis technique |
Year Produced | 2017 |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | The paper is under review with the International Journal of Climatology. This analysis contributes to the important challenge of determining the added value of RCM based downscaling for decision making over Africa |
Title | Regional climate model nudging experiment |
Description | A series of modeling experiments has been performed to explore the role of local variability versus large scale/global variability over southern Africa. This was done using the CSIRO/CSIR CCAM stretched grid model using various degrees of atmospheric "nudging" |
Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
Year Produced | 2017 |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | This output will assist in understanding the relative role of local source of climate variability (eg. soil moisture feedbacks) and large scale or global sources of variability (eg. ENSO) |
Title | Zone of maximum precipitation detection |
Description | The Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone is a key climate feature in Africa and instrumental in the seasonal evolution and inter-annual variability of rainfall in tropical and sub-tropical regions. This analysis tool/method allows for the identification of the position, variance, intensity and width of this zone (or its proxy, the zone of maximum precipitation) through analysis of daily rainfall fields. |
Type Of Material | Data analysis technique |
Year Produced | 2017 |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | This method is a useful contribution because it relies purely on daily rainfall fields and not pressure level fields unavailable in many model experiment archives. It will therefore be very valuable in analysing the performance of a range of climate models, global and regional |
Description | City partners |
Organisation | Blantyre City Council |
Country | Malawi |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Intellectual input Developing and presenting training material on climate change adaptation Facilitating social learning processes relevant to climate resilience |
Collaborator Contribution | Knowledge on city processes, policy and development Intellectual input Facilitating social learning processes |
Impact | City learning processes related to climate-resilient development. Capacity building of city officials on topics related to climate variability and change Many outputs have been developed relevant to the city partnerships, which can be seen in other sections of the form (i.e. city-relevant work) |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | City partners |
Organisation | City of Windhoek |
Country | Namibia |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Intellectual input Developing and presenting training material on climate change adaptation Facilitating social learning processes relevant to climate resilience |
Collaborator Contribution | Knowledge on city processes, policy and development Intellectual input Facilitating social learning processes |
Impact | City learning processes related to climate-resilient development. Capacity building of city officials on topics related to climate variability and change Many outputs have been developed relevant to the city partnerships, which can be seen in other sections of the form (i.e. city-relevant work) |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | City partners |
Organisation | Gaborone City Council |
Country | Botswana |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Intellectual input Developing and presenting training material on climate change adaptation Facilitating social learning processes relevant to climate resilience |
Collaborator Contribution | Knowledge on city processes, policy and development Intellectual input Facilitating social learning processes |
Impact | City learning processes related to climate-resilient development. Capacity building of city officials on topics related to climate variability and change Many outputs have been developed relevant to the city partnerships, which can be seen in other sections of the form (i.e. city-relevant work) |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | City partners |
Organisation | Harare City Council |
Country | Zimbabwe |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Intellectual input Developing and presenting training material on climate change adaptation Facilitating social learning processes relevant to climate resilience |
Collaborator Contribution | Knowledge on city processes, policy and development Intellectual input Facilitating social learning processes |
Impact | City learning processes related to climate-resilient development. Capacity building of city officials on topics related to climate variability and change Many outputs have been developed relevant to the city partnerships, which can be seen in other sections of the form (i.e. city-relevant work) |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | City partners |
Organisation | Lusaka City Council |
Country | Zambia |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Intellectual input Developing and presenting training material on climate change adaptation Facilitating social learning processes relevant to climate resilience |
Collaborator Contribution | Knowledge on city processes, policy and development Intellectual input Facilitating social learning processes |
Impact | City learning processes related to climate-resilient development. Capacity building of city officials on topics related to climate variability and change Many outputs have been developed relevant to the city partnerships, which can be seen in other sections of the form (i.e. city-relevant work) |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | City partners |
Organisation | Maputo City Council |
Country | Mozambique |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Intellectual input Developing and presenting training material on climate change adaptation Facilitating social learning processes relevant to climate resilience |
Collaborator Contribution | Knowledge on city processes, policy and development Intellectual input Facilitating social learning processes |
Impact | City learning processes related to climate-resilient development. Capacity building of city officials on topics related to climate variability and change Many outputs have been developed relevant to the city partnerships, which can be seen in other sections of the form (i.e. city-relevant work) |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | EPIC-N Partnership |
Organisation | epic-n |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Matching cities and universities to take advantage of one another's needs and capacities, and doing so at a bigger scale than more typical one-off university-community projects, is the EPIC innovation that actually helps move the needle on pressing community issues while also training the next generation workforce and professionals. And because the EPIC approach works within the existing administrative structures of both universities and cities, the model is highly replicable and adaptable. FRACTAL partnered with EPIC-N and contributed to the first Africa-focused EPIC training. Two FRACTAL focal points have been (for Durban and Lusaka) have been awarded president status at EPIC-N for the Africa focussed work. These presidents successfully ran the Africa-focused EPCI-N workshop. |
Collaborator Contribution | EPIC-N and FRACTAL have been sharing lessons learned related to research-action partnerships |
Impact | The collaboration is transdisciplinary in nature |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | Fortitude initiative |
Organisation | ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability - Africa |
Country | South Africa |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | The Fortitude Initiative (started by ICLEI Africa) will support ongoing benefits from partnerships and collaborations that have been strengthened through FRACTAL. |
Collaborator Contribution | ICLEI Africa is a FRACTAL partner; they will actively seek opportunities for learning within and between FRACTAL cities and beyond |
Impact | None yet; too soon to tell |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Joint intent with Lusaka Water Security Initiative (LuWSI) |
Organisation | International Water Stewardship Programme |
Department | Lusaka Water Security Initiative |
Country | Unknown |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | Intellectual inputs (contribution to water security initiatives through research). The extension phase of FRACTAL will support the development of Local Area Plans within the implementation of the Lusaka Water Security Action and Investment Plan, which is a LuWSI process. |
Collaborator Contribution | Social capital and water-related networks in Lusaka |
Impact | Strengthened network of practitioners, politicians and researchers related to water security. The partnership is transdisciplinary. The outputs associated with this partnership include the policy briefs on water supply, groundwater pollution, groundwater levels and flooding |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | NDC partnership |
Organisation | ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability - Africa |
Country | South Africa |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | FRACTAL supported the development of outputs that contribute to developing and iterating NDCs. The project also supported inputs from the city level to NDC processes |
Collaborator Contribution | ICLEI supported conversations relevant to NDCs |
Impact | Blog on "Connecting cities with national-level actors through Talanoa Dialogues" |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | SEI Initiative on Climate Services |
Organisation | Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) |
Country | Sweden |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Research and insights on climate services |
Collaborator Contribution | Sharing results from climate services research |
Impact | Ten ways to support climate change adaptation planning and decision-making |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | Self funded partners |
Organisation | Environmental Resources Management |
Country | Global |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | Co-exploration of city decision networks and the intersection with climate change information |
Collaborator Contribution | Co-exploration of city decision networks and the intersection with climate change information |
Impact | Joint collaboration and planning meeting. Multi-disciplinary (sometimes transdisciplinary) with biodiversity (in Durban), climate science, land use planning, decision making, and urban policy. |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | Self funded partners |
Organisation | University of KwaZulu-Natal |
Department | Department of Land Use Planning and Management |
Country | South Africa |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Co-exploration of city decision networks and the intersection with climate change information |
Collaborator Contribution | Co-exploration of city decision networks and the intersection with climate change information |
Impact | Joint collaboration and planning meeting. Multi-disciplinary (sometimes transdisciplinary) with biodiversity (in Durban), climate science, land use planning, decision making, and urban policy. |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | Self funded partners |
Organisation | University of the Witwatersrand |
Country | South Africa |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Co-exploration of city decision networks and the intersection with climate change information |
Collaborator Contribution | Co-exploration of city decision networks and the intersection with climate change information |
Impact | Joint collaboration and planning meeting. Multi-disciplinary (sometimes transdisciplinary) with biodiversity (in Durban), climate science, land use planning, decision making, and urban policy. |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | Self funded partners |
Organisation | eThekwini Municipality |
Country | South Africa |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | Co-exploration of city decision networks and the intersection with climate change information |
Collaborator Contribution | Co-exploration of city decision networks and the intersection with climate change information |
Impact | Joint collaboration and planning meeting. Multi-disciplinary (sometimes transdisciplinary) with biodiversity (in Durban), climate science, land use planning, decision making, and urban policy. |
Start Year | 2015 |
Title | Early-warning tool that helps predict Malaria outbreaks based on the weather conditions (for Mozambique) |
Description | The tool uses state-of-the art technology to identify patterns in the data - an artificial intelligence system based on mathematical approaches called Generalized Additive Mapping and Self-Organizing Maps. These approaches allow to clearly reveal and map non-linear relationships between climate data and outbreaks of diseases using geographical information systems, and ensure that the tool will be able to self-understand and adapt to a changing climate in the future. |
Type Of Technology | Webtool/Application |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Impact | Too early to tell |
Description | Africa's new urban climate: Maputo illustrates the urban dimension of climate change-related challenges facing Africa |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Story blog illustrating the challenges associated with planning for climate change in African cities |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | https://stockholmenvironmentinstitute.exposure.co/africas-new-urban-climate |
Description | Article in "The conversation Africa" |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Article focused on FRACTAL |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://theconversation.com/how-african-cities-residents-are-creating-climate-change-solutions-98487 |
Description | Blantyre city meetings and introduction to FRACTAL |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | Engagements with the Polytech, University of Malawi to kickstart project activities |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/fractal-news/ |
Description | Blog on pioneering new approaches to tackle urban flooding in Lusaka |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | The blog showcased work that has been done in Lusaka over the past few year, tackling issues related to urban flooding risk. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://start.org/highlights/pioneering-new-approaches-to-tackle-urban-flooding-in-lusaka |
Description | Blog on water scarcity in Windhoek |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | The blog highlighted the climate-related issues in Windhoek, on which FRACTAL climate change interventions have been focusing |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://start.org/highlights/the-other-day-zero-shining-light-on-water-scarcity-in-the-city-of-windh... |
Description | Bridging the knowledge-practice gap in climate response at city-region scale in Africa: the case of climate knowledge co-production in the City of Lusaka (Zambia) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | FRACTAL researcher shared co-production process for Lusaka at an international conference |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Building city-region resilience in Africa: lessons from practice |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | A think piece was produced as an output from a mini-workshop held at the Resilience for Development 2017.Building city-region resilience in Africa: lessons from practice collates the ideas that were shared during the session, with a view to contributing to guidance on resilience for practitioners working in African cities. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/ResDev-colloquium_think-piece_June2017.pdf |
Description | Building climate resilience through the rehabilitation of urban rivers in Africa |
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 | This workshop introduced students, government representatives, members of the public and private sector and the Nairobi public to Design Thinking as a tool for innovation and solving complex problems. James Cullis from Aurecon outlined the challenge of 'Building climate resilience through the rehabilitation of urban rivers in Africa' - in this instance, the Nairobi River. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/By-the-Rivers-Nairobi-May-2017-web.pdf |
Description | City learning labs for dialogue and decision making |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | This webinar was hosted by FCFA to share insight into the learning lab approach |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=QQ7Su0rEUxw&t=195s&ab_channel=FutureClimateForAfrica |
Description | Climate Resilient Decision Making |
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 | Rebecca Illunga from Aurecon presented work that the team has been undertaking in Lusaka, winning best prize with her poster: 'Climate Resilient Decision Making'. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/ILUNGA_.pdf |
Description | Climate Resilient Decision Making: A City-Centric Approach to Water Security |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Poster from the 14th International Water Association conference |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/ILUNGA_.pdf |
Description | Climate data in Southern Africa: Agreements and Contradictions |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | Victor Indasi, Bruce Hewitson, Chris Jack and Piotr Wolski presented a poster, Climate data in Southern Africa: Agreements and Contradictions. This poster considered twelve freely available datasets as well as highlighting the limitations of current climate data sets and access to meteorological information. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/SASAS2016poster_Victor.pdf |
Description | Contribution at Africa Water Week |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | James Cullis from Aurecon and Chris Jack from CSAG presented at technical breakout session held at Africa Water Week that was entitled 'Inclusive and sustainable urban water, sanitation and drainage services under climate change - lessons from African cities'. Cullis presented on Integrating climate change into water and sanitation infrastructure. Jack looked at how to integrate climate information into urban planning decisions, using Lusaka as a case study. Both their presentations are available to download and view on the FCFA website. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://futureclimateafrica.org/news/africa-water-week-2018-inclusive-urban-wash-services-under-clim... |
Description | Contribution to "How three research groups are tearing down the ivory tower" |
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 | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | FRACTAL featured in the Nature publication: How three research groups are tearing down the ivory tower. In order to develop this, the authors interviewed FRACTAL team members |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-06858-4 |
Description | Embedded Researcher approach presented at Adaptation Futures 2018 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | The Embedded Researcher approach, which has been pivotal to FRACTAL, was presented at the Adaptation future Conference in Cape Town in June 2018. A conference paper was also produced. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://adaptationfutures2018.capetown/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/AF18-Conference-Proceedings.pdf |
Description | Embedded researcher approach to integrate climate information into decision-making |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | This webinar, hosted by FCFA, gave insights into the Embedded Researcher approach |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=gi-ZU9qQuSQ&t=110s&ab_channel=FutureClimateForAfrica |
Description | Embracing the uncomfortable silences in climate information exchange |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | When climate and social science researchers sat down with a roomful of city managers and technicians in the Namibian capital of Windhoek in August 2018, someone from the city's wastewater treatment plant threw them a curve-ball: what, she asked, are the projections for when water temperatures in the city might climb beyond a certain point? This article describes a co-production process for moments like this |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.climatechangenews.com/2019/01/31/embracing-awkward-can-spark-breakthrough-climate-proble... |
Description | Evaluation of cloud properties in RCA4 CORDEX Africa ensemble. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | A poster was presented by FRACTAL researchers from SMHI: Evaluation of cloud properties in RCA4 CORDEX Africa ensemble. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/AMS2016poster-v2.pdf |
Description | Exploring the power of collaboration to address climate change in urban Africa |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | This blog describes how events in Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia, underscore the links between urban growth, climate change and residents' health. SEI's work through the Future Resilience for African CiTies And Lands (FRACTAL) project is exploring new approaches to policymaking to deal with these issues. Reflecting on the experiences in Lusaka are three participants in the project: SEI Research Fellow Liz Daniels; SEI Senior Research Fellow Sukaina Bharwani; and Brenda Mwalukanga, the FRACTAL embedded researcher with Lusaka City Council and the University of Zambia. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.sei.org/perspectives/exploring-the-power-of-collaboration-to-address-climate-change-in-u... |
Description | Exploring the power of collaboration to address climate change in urban Africa |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Events in Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia, underscore the links between urban growth, climate change and residents' health. SEI's work through the Future Resilience for African CiTies And Lands (FRACTAL) project is exploring new approaches to policymaking to deal with these issues. Reflecting on the experiences in Lusaka are three participants in the project: SEI Research Fellow Liz Daniels; SEI Senior Research Fellow Sukaina Bharwani; and Brenda Mwalukanga, the FRACTAL embedded researcher with Lusaka City Council and the University of Zambia. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.sei.org/perspectives/exploring-the-power-of-collaboration-to-address-climate-change-in-u... |
Description | FCFA Launch Event |
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 | Public event to launch FCFA in Africa, showcasing our consortium project. Consisted of panel discussion that reached out to the participants of the Climate Change and Development for Africa Conference (CCDA-5). This catalysed discussions and further dialogue with partners and other interested parties. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
URL | http://www.futureclimateafrica.org/ |
Description | FRACTAL Seminar to the University of Cape Town |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Information seminar to the university community to raise the profile of the project among interested parties. Catalysed multiple discussions and engaged with potential collaborators. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za |
Description | FRACTAL Seminar to the University of Cape Town |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Information seminar to the university community to raise the profile of the project among interested parties. Catalysed multiple discussions and engaged with potential collaborators. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za |
Description | FRACTAL South African Cities Foundational engagement |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | Initial discussions on the partnership modalities and plans for collaboration in the first year of activities. This achieved clarity with the roles and responsibilities of the core research team and the city partners. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | FRACTAL annual event |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | FRACTAL project annual meeting to share information on achievements related to pathways to impacts. Attended by CDKN, which shared with the wider FCFA audience. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/workshop-and-meeting-reports/ |
Description | Gaborone Climate Change and Scenario Planning Workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | FRACTAL supported co-exploration of climate change scenarios for the City of Gaborone with planners and other relevant stakeholders |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Gaborone city meetings and introduction to FRACTAL |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | Engagements with the University of Botswana and city officials to kickstart project activities |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/fractal-news/ |
Description | Harare city meetings and introduction to FRACTAL |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | Engagements with Chinhoyi University (FRACTAL partners), Harare City Council and the Zimbabwe National Water Authority to kickstart project engagements |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/fractal-news/ |
Description | Helping Windhoek plan for climate change |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | The blog describes SEI's work with partners in the Namibian capital, Windhoek, underpins the development of the city's first integrated climate change strategy and action plan - and is a model for other African cities. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.sei.org/featured/windhoek-climate-change-plan/ |
Description | Helping Windhoek plan for climate change |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Blog on the FRACTAL processes in Windhoek |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.sei.org/featured/windhoek-climate-change-plan/ |
Description | How can scientists play a bigger role in shaping the future of cities? |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Producing actionable information for urban decision-making is crucial in order to take early action for urban resilience, yet policies and practices to reduce the risks of climate change are slow to materialize in many cities, especially in highly vulnerable areas of the world. So, how can scientists bring their knowledge to bear on policy and implementation to shape the development trajectories of cities? |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | https://www.sei.org/perspectives/scientists-shaping-cities/ |
Description | Inception workshop for FRACTAL |
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 | Inception meeting for the project drawing together all partners for a 3-day intensive planning discussion. Established the workplans and collaboration intentions for the first year of activities. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za |
Description | Integrating climate change information into long-term planning and design for critical water-related infrastructure in Windhoek and other African cities |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | A research team within FRACTAL undertook work on a question that came out of the first Learning Lab: "What climate information is needed for infrastructure design in Windhoek?" The conference paper, Integrating climate change information into long-term planning and design for critical water-related infrastructure in Windhoek and other African cities, was based on the outcomes of this work. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Walker-et-al_Waternet-paper-2017.pdf |
Description | Lusaka City Foundational Engagements |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Series of meetings to establish relationships, planning and collaboration framework, and included the following institutions: University of Zambia, Lusaka City Council, Millennium Challenge Account (USAID), Red Cross / Red Crescent Zambia, Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company Ltd, GIZ. Outcomes are the foundations for moving forward with the project. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Lusaka city dialogues |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The Lusaka city dialogues focussed on developing an output focussed on water resources and climate change in the Lusaka city-region. These outputs support the city learning processes. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/2017/02/20/reflecting-on-the-first-city-dialogue-lusaka-water-resources-an... |
Description | Lusaka councilor training |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Training for new councillors in Lusaka on issues related to the effects of climate change, to contribute towards the pathway to impact of resilient development |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/ |
Description | Lusaka learning labs |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | 43 stakeholders attended a FRACTAL learning lab (social learning) that initiated the transdisciplinary process to co-produce climate knowledge for the Luska city-region |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/2016/12/08/fractals-first-learning-lab-watching-it-all-come-together/ |
Description | Lusaka learning labs |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | The Lusaka learning lab is a social learning process that evolves the identification of climate-related problems and serves as a space in which many different stakeholders co-produce climate knowledge for resilient development. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/2016/12/08/fractals-first-learning-lab-watching-it-all-come-together/ |
Description | Lusaka-Windhoek exchange |
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 | The Windhoek team developed a concept for an exchange through which Lusaka and Windhoek exchanged lessons on water managed within a changing climate. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/2017/11/27/reflections-from-lusaka-windhoek-exchange-the-case-of-abundance... |
Description | Maputo illustrates the urban dimension of climate change-related challenges facing Africa |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | A photo story that sheds light on the complex challenges faced in urban areas in southern Africa |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | https://stockholmenvironmentinstitute.exposure.co/africas-new-urban-climate |
Description | Maputo learning labs |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | The Maputo learning lab is a social learning process that evolves the identification of climate-related problems and serves as a space in which many different stakeholders co-produce climate knowledge for resilient development. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | https://stockholmenvironmentinstitute.exposure.co/africas-new-urban-climate |
Description | Ongoing engagements in Blantyre, Malawi |
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 | FRACTAL has supported ongoing engagements in Blantyre on issues of climate change |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016,2017,2018,2019 |
Description | Ongoing engagements in Gaborone, Botswana |
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 | FRACTAL has supported ongoing engagements in Gaborone on issues of climate change and suitable planning for Gaborone |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016,2017,2019 |
Description | Ongoing engagements in Harare, Zimbabwe |
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 | FRACTAL has supported ongoing engagements in Harare on issues of climate change |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016,2017,2018,2019,2020 |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/2017/01/31/solving-problems-with-a-positive-attitude-learning-from-the-eng... |
Description | Online article focused on a learning journey on water, energy and governance in Harare |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | The blog was written to showcase work that has been done in Harare on collaborative learning processes to deal with climate change. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://start.org/highlights/a-learning-journey-water-energy-and-governance-in-harare |
Description | Participation in Resilient Cities Congress |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Ongoing FRACTAL participation at ICLEI Resilient Cities Congress |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016,2017,2018,2019 |
URL | https://iclei.org/en/Resilient_Cities.html |
Description | Presentation on FRACTAL principles for co-producing climate information |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Researchers and practitioners attending the WCRP Open Science conference attended the presentation, which was a key note, which sparked questions and debate. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://wcrp-osc2023.org/program/full-program/program-day4 |
Description | Projected Impacts of Climate Extremes over Selected African Coastal Cities |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Victor Indasi from the Climate Systems Analysis Group at the University of Cape Town presented some of the findings from FRACTAL's climate science research at the Cities IPCC conference in March: 'Projected Impacts of Climate Extremes over Selected African Coastal Cities'. The poster included findings from research models that CSAG ran for several southern African coastal cities, including three cities involved in the FRACTAL project: Cape Town and Durban in South Africa, and Maputo in Mozambique. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/2018-Indasi-Victor-CitiesIPCC.pdf |
Description | Research and Action: Education Partnerships for Innovations in Communities in Africa (EPIC Africa) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | FRACTAL team member gave a talk on the EPIC-N partnership, with whom FRACTAL has a partnership |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://adaptationfutures2018.capetown/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/AF18-sessions.pdf |
Description | Seminar on lessons from the FRACTAL experience |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | The FRACTAL approach was presented at a seminar series in the Department of Agronomy at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA. The talk was entitled Communicating climate information: lessons from the FRACTAL experience. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Testing co-exploratory approaches for decision support and eliciting information needs in urban contexts in southern Africa |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | Talk on several approaches implemented through FRACTAL |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Three ways for cities to adapt to climate change |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Anna Taylor offers three lessons for cities seeking to adapt to climate change. Originally published by The Conversation Africa, this article draws on her experiences living in drought-stricken Cape Town and on her research into adaptation, decision-making and governance for SEI and the African Centre for Cities at the University of Cape Town. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://www.sei.org/perspectives/three-ways-cities-adapt-climate-change/ |
Description | Training Workshop on Climate Change over the Himalayan Mountainous Area |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | The FRACTAL approach was presented at the Indian Institute Tropical Meteorology, for The Science and Training Workshop on Climate Change over the Himalayan Mountainous Area. Centre for Climate Change Research. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Trust me, I'm an engineer |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Committed to championing scientific innovations and advancements, Illunga is affecting change in her community and throughout Africa-and this year's judges of the Africa Storytelling Challenge lauded these impressive efforts. Recognized as a runner-up in this year's contest, Illunga shares her essay submission. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | http://www.fractal.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Ilunga-Africa-Story-Telling-Challenge-2018.pdf |
Description | UK FCFA and FRACTAL inception actions |
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 cross-consortia inception followed by a closed session of the FRACTAL participants that examined the multiple modalities of collaboration for the FCFA program, and initial working plans for FRACTAL within FCFA. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Windhoek learning labs |
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 | The Windhoek learning lab is a social learning process that evolves the identification of climate-related problems and serves as a space in which many different stakeholders co-produce climate knowledge for resilient development. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Working in Tandem: focusing on collaboration to link climate science and climate policy |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | This blog describes how policy-makers and planners are trying to make decisions about how to adapt to climate change but often do not use relevant scientific information, even when it is available. As a result, research on climate change adaptation has been slow to impact policy and practice. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.sei.org/featured/working-in-tandem-focusing-on-collaboration/ |
Description | Working in Tandem: focusing on collaboration to link climate science and climate policy |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Policy-makers and planners who are trying to make decisions about how to adapt to climate change often do not use relevant scientific information, even when it is available. As a result, research on climate change adaptation has been slow to impact policy and practice. SEI's new Tandem framework aims to address this gap between good science and good decision-making. It outlines a process for engaging policy-makers and planners dealing with adaptation-related decisions as full design partners of climate services. The framework is currently being tested through case studies on four continents. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.sei.org/featured/working-in-tandem-focusing-on-collaboration/ |