Good practice for knowledge co-development through climate related case studies

Abstract

Case studies have been an extensively used methodology in various research fields. Despite receiving some criticism due to their lack of generalization, case studies are particularly suitable for capturing the complexity of the contexts in which climate services operate, contributing to make climate information actionable. However, little attention has been placed on the key elements that case studies should consider and the value that these cases acquire from bringing together different actors and stimulating interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaborations. In this study, we describe the coproduction process undergone for the co-development of case studies in the context of an Arctic research project. In the project, case studies are understood as a way to co-examine with stakeholders past weather and climate events of interest, and describe, analyze and explain these events in collaboration with climate scientists to identify adaptation opportunities. Based on the experience gained, we identified eight principal elements that case studies should cover for successfully channeling scientific results to non-expert audiences. These elements are: (i) the selection of the event by stakeholders, (ii) description of physical processes and underlying causes of the event, (iii) understanding of the event’s socio-economic impacts, (iv) exploration of the possibility to predict such events, (v) added value of scientific knowledge, (vi) role that climate change has in the occurrence of the event, (vii) identification of research gaps, and (viii) exploration of storylines or pictures of the future. Addressing each of these elements required various levels of involvement of the different actors in the transdisciplinary team. Our experience can provide useful guidance to other climate services initiatives aiming to co-produce knowledge with stakeholders as well as make scientific results more accessible to different audiences while benefiting from the value that emerges from well-designed case studies.

Keywords

• Climate services
• Coproduction
• Arctic
• Transdisciplinarity
• Climate change adaptation
• Case studies