START global change SysTem for

Analysis, Research & Training

UNFCCC Expert Workshop on Monitoring and Evaluating Capacity Building in Developing

CountriesSt John’s, Antigua

5-6 November 2007

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START mission

• Promote & enable research in developing countries on regional aspects of global environmental change

• Enhance capacity for advancing, communicating and applying scientific knowledge to reduce risks

• Link science & practitioner communities• Mobilize resources for all the above

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START Capacity Building

• Collaborative regional networks– START regional committees, centers, sec’s– Work with other organizations & networks

• Collaborative projects (learning by doing)– AIACC, ACCCA, MAIRS, CLIMAG

• Training, advanced study & education– Training workshops; Advanced Study Institutes;

Graduate education programs

• Fellowships and Visiting Scientists• Small Grants programs• Young Scientist Awards & Conferences

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Assessments of Impacts & Adaptation to Climate Change (AIACC)• Objectives

– Advance scientific capacity– Advance scientific knowledge– Improve links between science & policy

communities

• Management: START, TWAS, UNEP• Collaboration with IPCC• Donors: GEF, CIDA, USAID, USEPA,

Rockefeller Foundation, + co-funding

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AIACC Project Activities• 24 assessments• Learning by doing• Technical assistance• Training

– Large workshops– South-South workshops– Self-designed

• Networking– Learning from each other

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AIACC capacity building indicators 1. Successful completion of science

assessments2. Scientific productivity & quality3. Participation & leadership in

international science4. Engagement in policy & practice5. Recognition of scientific excellence6. Partnerships among institutions

established & sustained

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(1) Successful completion of science assessments

• Analyses completed and synthesized?• Technical report completed?• Technical report meets quality standards?

• AIACC outcomes:– 24 assessments completed & reports submitted– Reports reviewed by technical committee &

accepted

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(2) Scientific productivity & quality• Number of scientific publications?• Number of peer-reviewed publications?• Citations in other publications?

• AIACC outcomes:– > 200 papers, chapters, books, reports– > 100 peer-reviewed– > 100 citations in IPCC AR4

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(3) Participation & leadership in international science• Participants engaged in int’l assessments?• Participants invited to present at int’l

meetings?• Participants take leadership roles in int’l

science activities?

• AIACC outcomes:– > 30 participants invited to be authors of IPCC AR4,

MEA, IAAST– Many invited to present at int’l conferences– Many taking leadership roles in IPCC, CCAA, ACCCA,

AFRICANESS

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(4) Engagement in policy & practice

• Stakeholder participation?• Contributions to national communications?• Participation in nat’l & int’l policy

activities?

• AIACC outcomes:– All projects had substantive involvement of

stakeholders– All provided input to nat’l comms; Most

substantively engaged in nat’l comms;– Many involved in nat’l & int’l policy activities

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(5) Recognition of scientific excellence• Successful in competing for new grants?• Active as a regional center of research,

education and training?• Providing technical support and training to

others?

• AIACC outcomes:– Many have received new grants from IDRC, ACCCA, GEF– Several have emerged as regional centers for research

& training– Several have organized training workshops for others in

their region– Several are providing technical assistance in ACCCA and

other programs

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(6) Partnerships among institutions established & sustained• Number & types of institutions actively

engaged?• Institutions partnering in new initiatives?

• AIACC outcomes:– All 24 assessments engaged multiple scientific and

stakeholder institutions– Many are continuing to work with their AIACC partners

to promote and plan climate change adaptation– Verdict still out: time will tell if partnerships are

sustained.

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“The record and outputs of the AIACC are impressive . . . The quality of the assessments is demonstrated by the more than 100 peer-reviewed publications produced, which benefited substantially the IPCC’s 4th Assessment Report.”

R.K. Pachauri, IPCC Chair

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African Climate Change Fellowships• New project funded by IDRC

– In conjunction w/ Climate Change Adaptation in Africa Program (CCAA)

• Partners: START, U of Dar es Salaam, African Academy of Sciences

• Program will support:– 20 Policy Fellows– 20 Doctoral Research Fellows– 10 Post-doctoral Fellows– 8 Teaching Fellows

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Fellowship program indicators

• Output & quality of reports, published papers, dissertations

• New courses implemented– Numbers of institutions, courses, students– Replication of courses

• Quality, impact & value of fellowships– For Fellows & their institutions– Evaluations by Fellows, home & host

institutions– Annual surveys for 2 yrs after completion