Quality assurance in Climate-ADAPT

This section describes the steps of the QA/QC (Quality Assurance/Quality Control) process for the content of CLIMATE-ADAPT. For the various types of contributions, users will be required to fill-in a template that describes the information submitted (metadata[1]). The general principle of CLIMATE-ADAPT is that the proposed content (information) must be subject to quality assurance procedures before being submitting to the platform. This is the responsibility of the provider of the information and a metadata form (template), available on CLIMATE-ADAPT, must be filled out for all information provided. The INSPIRE Directive requirements for metadata need to be followed, specifically for submission of spatial data .

After submitting the proposed content to the Climate-ADAPT administrator (EEA) it is subject to a quality control process that verifies whether the submitted information is relevant and satisfies CLIMATE-ADAPT requirements. These checks will be performed by the EEA (various experts) and additionally, depending on the type of proposed information, by experts of the European Topic Centre on Climate Change Adaptation and LULUCF (ETC CA). EEA and ETC CA can also involve additional reviewers if needed, for example from other ETCs, various DGs of the European Commission, including JRC-IES, European agencies (such as ECDC), and from international organisations (such as WHO).

For most types of contribution (e.g. publications and reports; information portals; guidance documents; tools; research and knowledge projects), it is key that the information is peer reviewed before submission. The metadata should explain how and by whom this review has taken place. For example, the information should have been published in an internationally recognsed scientific journal or have been approved by responsible organisations, national governments or agencies. It should preferably be available on a publicly accessible website.

For other elements of Climate-ADAPT (case studies and adaptation options) the requirements are different. Climate-ADAPT so far contains case studies from the EU project OURCOAST and from EU funded Life+ projects. These projects used their own quality assurance approaches. Further case studies and adaptation options could be included from EU projects and from governmental organisations, provided that they have been reviewed and approved. EEA (supported by ETC CA and other experts if needed) will check whether the submitted information is relevant and satisfies Climate-ADAPT requirements.

In all cases, if the submission of proposed content is not in line with the specific requirements for the type of proposed information, the administrator can ask for additional information to be submitted by the provider. It is the responsibility of the administrator to decide whether the proposed content will be included in Climate-ADAPT. If it is not included the administrator let the provider know the reasons.