Workshop report - weADAPT

Climate Knowledge Brokers Workshop 2013
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Conclusions emerging
The report backs from each group showed there were strong similarities in the types of
activities proposed under each option, although the scale of activities would obviously
depend on the available resources. This was a good sign that CKB members are on the same
page in terms of priorities. There was a clear desire, in particular, to do more to capture
learning and good practice and to provide capacity building support for other CKBs, especially
in developing countries. Another common message was that we need to avoid the trap of
being too inward looking – it’s not about us; it’s about what we can do to improve the
services we offer to our information users.
After further discussion, we then tested how ambitious participants felt we should be by
voting first on which option was most appealing, and then on which seemed most realistic in
the short term. Here’s how the votes turned out:
Option
What’s most
appealing
What’s most
realistic
A. Status Quo MINUS 0 0
B. Status Quo 0 10
C. Establish secretariat 7 6
D. Big Programme 11 2
This showed a clear appetite to be ambitious, but a recognition that we won’t be able to get
there in one step. The consensus was that we should start by consolidating what we’re doing
now, getting more CKB members to step in to share responsibilities, and use this as a
platform to work towards more ambitious goals.
Raising funds to achieve our more ambitious aims will obviously be a challenge. We have a
good base to build on with the trust and credibility already achieved, and the fact that we’ve
demonstrated the ability to deliver, not just talk. But we recognised that without a new
injection of time and resources, the tendency will be to slip back to a lower level of activity.
So we need to keep the momentum going.
Before we start serious fundraising it was agreed we need a clearer articulation of what the
CKB Group is, its goals and objectives. The ideas put forward in the final session provide most
of the raw material for this, but these need to be captured and spelt out in a clear and
compelling way. We agreed our working title – the Climate Knowledge Brokers Group – is
perhaps not ideal as few outside the community are familiar with the knowledge broker term.
The Steering Group was tasked with working on this.
Several specific possibilities were mentioned for the CKB Group to engage with existing
processes - to “jump on trains that are that are already leaving the station”:
Nadine Smith spoke of a potential link-up with a new working group on climate
finance being set up by the Commonwealth Secretariat.
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