Environmental Virtual Observatories (EVOs): Prospects for knowledge co-creation and resilience in the Information Age

Developments in technologies are shaping information access globally. This presents opportunities and challenges for understanding the role of new technologies in sustainability research. This article focuses on a suite of technologies termed Environmental Virtual Observatories (EVOs) developed for communicating observations and simulation of environmental processes. A strength of EVOs is that they are open and decentralised, thus democratising flow and ownership of information between multiple actors. However, EVOs are discussed rarely beyond their technical aspects. By evaluating the evolution of EVOs, we illustrate why it is timely to engage with policy and societal aspects as well. While first generation EVOs are primed for scientists, second generation EVOs can have broader implications for knowledge co-creation and resilience through their participatory design

Resilience Evidence Forum (REF) 2023 Synthesis Report

The Resilience Evidence Forum (REF) 2023 Synthesis Report serves as a comprehensive guide to resilience-building methodologies and evidence.The report underscores the pivotal role of high-quality evidence both in mobilising the large-scale financing needed and informing and catalysing the policy changes essential for building resilience.The Report summarises key discussions held at the June 2023 Resilience Evidence Forum, co-hosted by USAID and the Global Resilience Partnership, which brought together more than 1,000 global stakeholders to evaluate the state of resilience evidence

The 'last mile' for climate data supporting local adaptation

UIDB/04647/2020 UIDP/04647/2020Non-technical summary The 'last mile' is a transportation planning term that describes the movement of people and goods from a transportation hub to a final destination; a local place such as a home or a shop. This is the final step of the logistics process that unites the product with its new owner. We present and explain challenges of science-guided adaptation at the local level, and how this is an equivalent 'last mile' challenge for climate adaptation. Technical summary The 'last mile' issue, a term used in transportation planning, describes the movement of people and goods from a transportation hub to a final destination, a local place such as a home or a shop. This is the critical final step of the logistics process that unites the product with its new owner, and the point of the value chain. This analogy aptly describes the last steps between presenting scientific evidence of climate change to decision-makers for use in local adaptation and planning. Climate change data (observational and model simulation data e.g. climate change projections and predictions) remain under-utilised, especially by local institutions and actors for which adaptation is a priority. The assumptions and assertions of the classical data-information-knowledge-wisdom are challenged, and a derivative form of the information hierarchy is proposed. Elements of the classical information hierarchy are offset by four balancing elements of access (to data); usability (of information); governance (of knowledge) and politics (of wisdom). These balancing elements and their relatedness coincide with newer models of innovation relating to the interaction between different stakeholders across the different levels of governance, the inclusion of stakeholder expectations, transparency and accountability. Social media summary Climate data to wise decision-making in the 'last mile': a novel perspective on science-guided local adaptation.publishersversionpublishe

Global Water Futures (GWF) holds Its Final Annual Open Science Meeting, announces an Extension to 2025 and launches the Global Water Futures Observatories Project

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