Together with the German Institute of Urban Affairs, the Social Research Centre of the TU Dortmund University supports regions and regional actors in going through a complete climate adaptation cycle. Based on region-specific analyses, the climate adaptation dialogues will empower the actors in the regions to develop tailor-made strategies and objectives as well as measures for climate adaptation. The dialogues take regional specifications into account, are scenario-based, vision-led and pursue the goal of involving the relevant actors in the respective region in the process of climate adaptation. Interactive and activating methods ensure a high level of participation. The climate adaptation dialogues follow the methodology of Integrated Roadmapping, which guides the actors through the process on the basis of a certain sequence of process steps. At the end of the dialogue process, the respective roadmap contains a coherent planning document that takes into account all previously developed content.

Expertise of IRPUD

The main expertise of the IRPUD lies in the field of climate adaptation in the context of spatial planning. For this purpose, the IPRUD can present a large number of publications and implemented practice-oriented projects. In this context, a focus is placed on the preparation and interpretation of climate impact analyses at different spatial levels (local, local, regional) with multi-sided technical focus.

What are climate impact analyses?

Climate impact analyses examine the effect of different climate signals (e.g. heat or heavy rain) on concrete spatial conditions or sensitivities of the area (e.g. resident population or infrastructure). A central goal of climate impact analyses is thus a prioritizing identification of spatial focus areas for climate adaptation. In the analyses, the ideal approach of parallel modelling is to be chosen, in which, in addition to the current expression of the climate signals and the sensitivities, the possible future expressions are modelled with a defined temporal horizon.

Climate impact analyses within the framework of Evolving Regions

Within the framework of Evolving Regions, the IRPUD produces regional climate impact analyses for the seven participating counties in NRW. The aim is to show the (local) climate effects at different levels of sensitivity for the climate signals heat, drought, heavy rain and river floods and thus to provide the basis for decision-making on concrete action and adaptation measures. Furthermore, the analyses identify (abstract) focal points of action at the level of the circles. The premise of the climate impact analysine in the context of the project are the transferability and further development of the methodological approach, the intra- and inter-municipal comparability of the results and the concrete support of the circles within the framework of the roadmap processes.

A specific and scientific analysis of regional specificities and actors is essential for the implementation of regional dialogue processes. Document analysis, the evaluation of quantitative and qualitative regional data play an important role here, as do the identification of key actors and potential interviewees. Insights from interviews with regional experts are incorporated into the analyses. The scientists from the Social Research Centre and the German Institute for Urban Studies bring together experience and creative, innovative methodological approaches in their stakeholder and regional analyses.

In order to promote the establishment of the roadmap method as a standard procedure in NRW and to ensure minimum standards for all steps of future regional adaptation processes in NRW, the BEW is developing a training programme within the framework of Evolving Regions. In five training sessions, participants learn the necessary skills for the implementation of regional adaptation processes according to the roadmap method. The target group is mainly people from private sector institutions such as planning or engineering offices, management consultants or communication agencies. The development of an independent consultant market for regional climate adaptation thus contributes to the perpetuation and dissemination of the roadmap method.

ZDF Digital accompanies the installation of the communication infrastructure in evolving regions, introduces methods such as storytelling and technical features, in particular the “RizeCut app”, and enables the partner regions and partner institutions to communicate professionally, which will continue even after the end of the project period. The strategic provision of the website and the establishment of a Twitter channelto establish the term climate adaptation in public discourse are just as much part of ZDF Digital’s range of services as the preparation and implementation of workshops in order to professionally build up public relations work in evolving regions.

The aim of the learning workshops is to pass on the complete climate adaptation cycle of the roadmap method to interested stakeholders. The learning workshops are carried out by the German Institute for Urban Studies and build on the regional processes in evolving regions and take into account the experiences and learning processes that the project was allowed to gain during the implementation phase in the participating regions.

With the aim of sustainably promoting the development of a standardized process for adaptation to climate change in NRW, the Social Research Centre of the TU Dortmund initiates and accompanies a regular exchange of knowledge between the partner institutions and partner regions of the Evolving Region Association as well as with other actors in the field of climate adaptation. The Community of Practice brings together experts and practitioners from local authorities and other stakeholders and pools their expertise. In addition, the Community of Practice serves as a platform for cooperation with specialist institutions at the state and federal level and offers direct exchange opportunities with regional and local actors. Regular meetings exchange views on the activities within the framework of the regional processes and on their ability to connect to activities at the state and federal level.

The aim of the project is to evaluate the development of regional capacity for adaptation to climate change. As part of each project cycle, it is good practice to quantitatively examine the impact of the project and its results and to critically question the methodologies in order to identify potential for improvement for further processing. As a renowned economic research and consulting institute, Prognos AG can look back on a wealth of experience, both in the field of methodological evaluation and from the technical perspective of climate adaptation. For the monitoring in the Project Evolving Regions, bottom-up and top-down elements are linked: On the one hand, the project results are examined on the basis of the objectives and strategies of the regions and on the other hand, the concrete impact of the individual measures and their contribution to the overall strategies are examined. This structure of parallel action is central to the long-term implementation of the idea of climate adaptation at regional level. Another focus of the monitoring will be on the evaluation of the formation of local awareness and the transition of measures and principles of climate adaptation into everyday administrative action. For this purpose, the effects of the communication measures and publication activities implemented in the project are examined and evaluated.

In addition to the seven regions from NRW, the Gemeente Zwartewaterland and the Gemeente Kampen, two Dutch municipalities representing the West Overijssel region are also partner regions in the Evolving Regions project. The aim is to integrate process elements of regional climate adaptation from Dutch practices into the regional processes of Evolving Regions as well as to integrate process elements of Evolving Regions into the Dutch process steps. The Universiteit Twente puts this approach into practice and is the scientific link between climate adaptation in the Evolving Regions and the Netherlands.

The Evolving Regions project is funded by the European Union’s LIFE programme and the Ministry of environment, agriculture, nature and consumer protection of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (MULNV). Through close exchanges with the funding providers, THE ER project activities at NRW, national and EU level are placed in the context of current discussions and activities in the field of climate impact adaptation. The LIFE programme (L’Instrument Financier pour l’Environnement) is the only EU funding programme that provides financial support only to environmental protection. Since 1992, the LIFE programme has been used to promote biodiversity and environmental and climate protection measures from the European Union. The LIFE programme also supports projects to promote and establish climate impact adaptation strategies, such as evolving regions. More information on the LIFE funding programme can be found HERE. The state of North Rhine-Westphalia co-finances the Evolving Regions project and supports many local and municipal climate adaptation measures in addition to overarching projects for climate impact adaptation. Since 2015, NRW has had its own climate adaptation strategy, which is part of a comprehensive climate protection plan. More information can be found on the pages of the Ministry of the Environment.