GCAP academy

From WikiADAPT

GCAP Adaptation Academy

Global Climate Adaptation Partnership (GCAP) offers comprehensive Certified Climate Adaptation Training that is suitable to a highly diverse range of professionals. With demand for climate adaptation expertise already outstripping supply, GCAP’s Adaptation Academy plays a critical role in support of climate adaptation projects and experts throughout the world.

Climate adaptation requires a forever changing combination of knowledge and skills, bridging the natural and social sciences with technical analytical skills and ‘people skills’ to foster collaborative learning and support organisational change.

GCAP Academy takes a customized Professional Development Plan (PDP) approach that promotes individual responsibility to learn and apply knowledge by linking its core training modules with each student’s professional experience and working environment. The PDP is a “contract” between each student and the GCAP Academy that identifies specific learning objectives, plans and timeframes to achieve the objectives, and as important how to validate the learning achievements. Each student is required to build a portfolio of “evidence” that the planned learning objectives have been achieved; the portfolio review is part of the final accreditation.

The initial “Bootcamp” of core climate adaptation modules provides overall grounding in climate adaptation and a forum to develop peer group and mentoring networks for sustained learning. These Bootcamps, which will be offered at locations around the world, utilize classroom instructor led training and the use of an online learning platform imbedded within the weADAPT3 portal.

Core modules are continuously developed and enhanced by leading experts throughout the climate adaptation communities. A sampling of key climate adaptation themes and modules includes:

I. Framing the context for adaptation, from evaluation of policy frameworks and knowledge networks to entry points for awareness, strategy and adaptation planning:

1. Stakeholder engagement, social learning and organisational change
2. Mainstreaming adaptation into development priorities and practices
3. Policy analysis using methods from environmental policy integration
4. Targeting adaptation using methods from development planning

II. Monitoring risks, integrating climate change envelopes with baseline vulnerability

1. Vulnerability assessment and mapping, using local knowledge, available public datasets, spatial visualisation software and Google Earth
   • theoretical frameworks of vulnerability
   • vulnerability assessment: data needs
   • vulnerability assessment: methods and tools
   • conceptual linkages: vulnerability - adaptive capacity - resilience
2. Climate data and scenarios: dealing with climate data and scenarios available; observed data; and the Climate Change Explorer tool, drawing upon a global archive of climate data and downscaled scenarios from the University of Cape Town
3. Risk communication, connecting baseline exposure to envelopes of future climate (and future social and economic conditions?)

III. Screening decisions, using relevant approaches from simple participatory exercises to knowledge elicitation tools and robust decision making:

1. Adaptation Decision Explorer using multi-criteria, decision screening and social network approaches (as well as NAPA-Assess and other MCA and robust decision tools)
2. Economic appraisal of climate impacts and adaptation, investment and financial flows, and governance of adaptation finance
3. Adaptation metrics and evaluation of effectiveness

IV. Planning outcomes, from adaptation scenario exercises to design of effective communication strategies and actions:

1. Stakeholder, knowledge network analysis
2. Evaluation of legal instruments for adaptation, including finance
3. Disaster risk reduction and integration of management with climate adaptation
4. Building resilient livelihoods and economies
5. Natural resource management, food security, water planning (e.g., use of model such as WEAP)

For further information on GCAP please visit: [1].

The interactive training platform (in Moodle) is located at [2]. Currently you can log on as a guest to browse the content.