Participatory processes#
Participatory processes are fundamental for the assessment of climate risk and are thus located at the very heart of the CLIMAAX Framework. They allow for inclusion of multiple bottom-up aspects that are relevant to undertake a comprehensive CRA and ensure that diverse knowledge systems and interests are recognized and reflected — especially those of groups most affected by climate change — thus making assessment outcomes more legitimate and actionable. Integrating principles of social justice, equity, and inclusivity throughout a CRA also strengthens the foundation for risk management and adaptation planning. An inclusive and participatory co-creation approach, where all knowledge holders have the possibility to engage with their contributions fully respected (Van Aalst, Cannon and Burton, 2008) is therefore strongly recommended. This process therefore ranges from involving stakeholders across all CRA stages, from system scoping to designing actionable solutions. In summary, participation and stakeholder engagement can:
Improve the quality and fairness of assessments and decisions by recognizing and incorporating a rich knowledge about territorial dynamics, culture, constraints, contingencies as well as the social context — thus reflecting a wide range of perspectives.
Increase the legitimacy and acceptance of the CRA process and the decision-making outcomes by reflecting the best and most comprehensive available knowledge.
Build or increase understanding, knowledge, and capacities in the actors involved.
In this process, proper recognition of the diversity of interests, knowledge, values, identities, and vulnerabilities of affected social groups and communities is essential. Failure to acknowledge this diversity can undermine the depth and quality of CRA and hinder efforts to achieve just resilience, potentially shifting benefits and reducing the burdens unfairly, to the detriment of the most vulnerable.
Fig. 5 Illustration created by Scriberia with The Turing Way community. CC-BY 4.0. 10.5281/zenodo.3332807#
Ensuring Justice, Equity and Inclusivity through Participatory Processes#
In the context of CRA, not all stakeholders have equal visibility, access to participatory spaces, or the ability to meaningfully contribute. Certain groups may face implicit and explicit barriers that hinder their ability to participate, ultimately influencing the outcomes of risk assessments and adaptation (Bulkeley et al., 2014). Factors such as gender, ethnicity, age, educational background, income, geographical location, and belonging to marginalized or minority groups can influence an individual or community’s capacity to engage. Inclusive participatory processes need to consider the use of reduced language, existing digital and climate literacy barriers, access to and availability of information, safe and accessible spaces for engagement as well as working with trusted community organizations and civil society networks to reach underrepresented groups.
Levels of exposure and vulnerability vary widely depending on location, economic, and social conditions. Communities with histories of disadvantage or marginalization are often more exposed and less able to cope with climate impacts, which can affect multiple dimensions of health and well-being. For instance, socio-economic status influences the risk of heat-related illnesses and deaths while financial constraints make it challenging for low-income groups to prepare for and recover from extreme weather events (ETC/CCA, 2018; European Environment Agency, 2018). Low-income residents, immigrants, or elderly populations often face disproportionate exposure and are more vulnerable to climate hazards such as floods and heatwaves due to factors like housing affordability, limited mobility, extent of social network, or poverty (European Environment Agency, 2022a; 2022b).
Failing to include these groups during CRA can perpetuate cycles of marginalization and injustice or create new inequalities and vulnerabilities. Overlooking their specific needs and risks can undermine the feasibility and effectiveness of adaptation options that rely on public support, users’ adoption, and stakeholder buy-in. Failing to get these communities on board can also manifest as misrecognition or disrespect potentially leading to procedural injustices — with perspectives and experiences dismissed or undervalued — and in turn to distributional injustices, leaving certain groups disproportionately bearing climate impacts without receiving commensurate benefits or support from adaptation (Ciullo et al., 2020). Therefore, in CRA, ensuring procedural justice means that all relevant stakeholders — not just the most powerful or well-resourced — are able to access and understand the necessary information and contribute to adaptation.
Engagement opportunities across the CRA steps#
Stakeholder and citizen engagement can be facilitated through various approaches depending on available resources, capacities, and institutional preferences. Authorities are encouraged to engage stakeholders and citizens throughout the full CRA cycle. A co-creation approach, which invites stakeholders to participate across all stages — from defining the problem to designing solutions — represents the most comprehensive form of engagement. Engagement can be continuous and iterative (e.g., establishing climate assemblies with direct mandates or creating communities of practice to provide input at each of the CRA steps) or event-based (e.g., through workshops, focus group discussions or World Cafè sessions tailored to the objectives of each CRA step). Table 1 below summarises a set of suggested actions and suitable engagement approaches for each step of the CRA process, along with references to supporting tools and guidance detailed in the Practical resources section including those provided by CLIMAAX Community of Practice.
CRA Step |
Purpose of Engagement |
Suggested Methods and Approaches |
Supporting tools and Guidance |
|---|---|---|---|
Scoping |
Co-define the purpose, scope, and boundaries of the CRA with stakeholders; identify relevant stakeholders and priority groups and their interests and needs. |
Stakeholder mapping and analysis; introductory workshops; initial community meetings. |
|
Risk Exploration |
Co-identify climate risks, vulnerabilities, and opportunities; bring in local knowledge and perceptions. |
Focus group discussions and World Café sessions (that can be effective across different phases) to stimulate cross-sector dialogue, or focus group discussions with homogeneous actors (e.g. farmers, youth) to explore specific risks and their significance for specific groups. |
|
Risk Analysis |
Complement quantitative analysis with local data and context; validate and interpret results. |
Participatory GIS mapping for community-driven data collection to further understand exposure and identify most vulnerable groups; Climate risk storylines or Climate stories for communicating risk outputs in accessible and actionable ways. |
|
Key Risk Assessment |
Prioritise risks and evaluate urgency, severity, and capacity to respond. |
Deliberative workshops using the risk evaluation protocol and dashboard to support collective appraisal, understanding the social significance of risks, their prioritization and capacity of regions to respond. |
|
Monitoring and Evaluation |
Review progress, evolving risks and adapt measures; sustain stakeholder engagement over time. |
Communities of practice; citizen panels |
Practical resources in detail#
DIY Manual for Stakeholder and Citizen Engagement#
The DIY Manual for Stakeholder and Citizen Engagement by MIP4Adapt is the main reference point for participatory methods and tools. It draws on the Regional Adaptation Support tool (RAST) and brings together a wide range of practical guidance to support regional and local authorities design and carry out stakeholder and citizen engagement across all stages of the adaptation cycle. Rather than duplicating existing materials, the Handbook refers users to the manual, which consolidates step-by-step instructions and examples for approaches such as climate assemblies, communities of practice, focus groups, World Café sessions - including the majority of approaches presented in Table 1.
The manual is suitable for both experienced and beginner regions, offering guidance, practical steps, and tips. It is available in English and 23 EU languages and complemented by thematic flyers and related tools, which can be used throughout the CRA as well as adaptation planning cycle — especially for:
Establishing the core foundation of participation
Designing stakeholder mapping and analysis exercises
Planning climate change communication strategies
Selecting suitable engagement approaches for each CRA step
Creative engagement
Engagement with the private sector
Supporting vulnerable groups
CLIMAAX CoP activities and resources#
To support regions in citizen and stakeholder engagement, two thematic webinars brought together EU-funded projects, regional practitioners, and engagement and communication experts to share concrete approaches, lessons, and open-access resources on stakeholder engagement and risk communication. Moreover, a third webinar was organized to guide participants with the implementation of the key risk assessment step of the CLIMAAX framework aimed at the social evaluation and prioritization of risks in participatory settings.
This webinar explored strategies, tools, and real-world experiences for engaging diverse stakeholders and citizens in CRA and adaptation.
It presented the EU Mission on Adaptation framework for engagement, highlighting a suite of practical resources and support offers available to regional and local authorities and examples from Mission regions, such as: workshops in Gran Canaria (Spain) to validate and prioritise adaptation measures; the design of a Community of Practice in Valongo (Portugal) for the municipal adaptation plan, and a Citizen Assembly on extreme heat in Vila Franca de Xira (Portugal) (presentation here).
It featured practitioner case studies from EU projects, including the AGORA project’s co-creation processes in the cities of Dresden and Malmö using workshops and focus group protocols (see guidelines) tailored to different community profiles to enable nuanced discussion of climate risks and priorities, and the TRANSCEND project’s Scenathon approach in Emilia-Romagna region (Italy) to integrate complex scientific models into water management deliberation and decision-making.
Presented lessons learned from EU-funded projects and a policy brief on stakeholder engagement in climate adaptation and resilience including real-life examples of successful stakeholder engagement, tools and recommendations for involving communities, NGOs, and businesses.
This session focused on translating complex climate risk data into actionable knowledge for informing decision-making and raising public awareness.
It introduced key principles and strategies for science communication, with tips for tailoring messages to different audiences and contexts (presentation here) supported by the Toolkit for Science Communicators and Trainers from the QUEST project.
Case studies included in the Myriad-EU and REACHOUT project showcased practical examples and good practices for climate risk communication including: climate storylines for unpacking the complexities of multi-risk events and inform deliberation and decision-making (see also an example of a storyline on the North Sea 1983 flood), and Milan’s experience with climate stories and risk maps for communicating risk and raise public awareness on risks and adaptation options (cf. also the REACHOUT Climate Stories)
This webinar explored the operationalisation and practical use of the Key Risk Assessment (KRA) approach within the CLIMAAX Framework.
The session introduced the Risk Evaluation Dashboard — a tool to support the social evaluation and prioritisation of risks based on severity, urgency, and adaptive capacity.
Participants were guided through its logic and application (see risk evaluation protocol) and tested the dashboard in an interactive breakout exercise with a test case.
Practical insights were also shared from its application to coastal flood risk in Riga (Latvia), showing how KRA results can complement quantitative risk analysis by capturing local perspectives on urgency and adaptive capacity.
Additional support from MIP4Adapt#
In addition to the DIY Manual, MIP4Adapt offers several complementary support services to help regions and local authorities strengthen stakeholder and citizen engagement in practice.
The Stakeholder and Citizen Engagement Training Programme (material and recordings available).
Open Call for Support to Citizen Events — five days of expert support to co-design and deliver impactful events
Technical Assistance to Charter Signatories, supporting regions in delivering community-level events (CLEs), directly engaging with stakeholders and citizens to develop and implement their adaptation plans guided by MIP4Adapt and Member State facilitators:
Improve climate risk communication.
Design sustained engagement strategies.
Provide opportunities for inclusive dialogue.
Mobilise communities for action.
Learn more via the Helpdesk and join the Mission on Adaptation CoP via Futurium.