Work Package 3

Scientific Questions

How do data from climate services get embedded in the structures, decision-making and implementation processes of user organizations?

How do decision-making and implementation processes as well as outputs of end-user organizations change due to utilizing climate services like those provided by AQUACLEW?

Objective

The overall aim is to understand and evaluate how co-developed climate services facilitate and possibly accelerate decision-making and operation of end-user organizations by investigating real-world case studies.

Methods

We mainly use social science methods, including a questionnaire based assessment of online climate portals and a series of semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders in the case studies. Within the framework of a co-development process with case study organizations in Spain, France, Austria, Germany, Denmark and Sweden, we will:

• Describe and assess current climate and water related decision-making processes in the case study organisations, i.e. before the support by AQUACLEW services;
• Analyse the changes of decision-making processes in the case study organisations due to utilizing AQUACLEW service;
• Assess the usability of the AQUACLEW climate services for conducting climate change impact studies;
• Determine the costs and the benefits that the case study organisations derive from using AQUACLEW services;
• Provide feedback to WP 2 for improving AQUACLEW data provision.

Figure 1: WP3 conceptual framework

Other information

Providing data through user-friendly technology is only one aspect of making climate services successful. For users the ‘soft’ aspects of integrating the hard data and services into their own organization and work is often even more important for taking up, sustaining and effectively using such services. Thus embedding climate services’ outputs into the structures, decision-making and implementation processes of an organization is crucial.

List of Case studies

WP Leads: Johannes Lückenkötter and Stefan Greiving (TUDO)