FAQ for providers

FOCUS

How can information to Climate-ADAPT be submitted ?

Climate-ADAPT is a platform for sharing information on adaptation to climate change in Europe. The process for submitting information varies for the different sections of the platform. External providers can submit information to the platform as described in the Share your information webpage.

What is the target audience of Climate-ADAPT?

Climate-ADAPT is designed to assist governmental decision-makers (and organisations providing them support such as agencies, boundary organisations and research institutes) working on the development and implementation of adaptation strategies or actions at EU, transnational, national and sub-national level (e.g. cities).

What is the specific focus of the Climate-ADAPT resource catalogue?

The Climate-ADAPT resource catalogue enables users to get an overview of the available knowledge on climate change adaptation in Europe. The Climate-ADAPT resource catalogue provides access to all relevant sources of information by using tailored search criteria and allows a quick overview by screening the metadata available for each information source. The resource catalogue information is structured in 10 different types of data and is organized in 19 sectors, 7 climate impacts, 9 adaptation elements, different geographic levels and by year.

Can items with a focus outside climate change adaptation be submitted to the Climate-ADAPT resource catalogue?

No, resource catalogue items, news and events with a focus on e.g. climate change mitigation or sustainable management but with no explicit connection with climate change adaptation are outside the scope of the Climate-ADAPT and are therefore not eligible.

Are exceptions to the defined focus of the Climate-ADAPT possible?

A notable exception refers to documents on EU policies for which efforts to mainstream adaptation are undertaken. For an explanation of these policies, see the pages on EU sector policies. For instance, the Habitats Directive, even if it does not explicitly mention climate change, is very relevant for the mainstreaming of adaptation in biodiversity policies.

What level of scientific detail can be included in documents submitted to the Climate-ADAPT resource catalogue?

The information submitted should be available in a language that is understandable for the intended Climate-ADAPT target audience (see above). Very specialised and technical documents written for technical experts are excluded.

Are articles published in scientific journals eligible for the Climate-ADAPT resource catalogue?

Peer-reviewed scientific articles should not be included in Climate-ADAPT unless they are relevant for the target audience of the platform. In this case, they have to be open access and in English.

Are items in national languages eligible to the Climate-ADAPT resource catalogue?

No. Since the aim of Climate-ADAPT is to easily share information on adaptation across Europe, items should either be in English or at least include an English summary. This does not include abstracts of scientific articles.

GEOGRAPHIC SCOPE

Can items with a geographic context outside the EEA member and cooperating countries be submitted to Climate-ADAPT?

Resource catalogue items focussing on climate change impacts, vulnerability and/or adaptation beyond the scope of the EU and EEA member countries are eligible for inclusion in the Climate-ADAPT resource catalogue only when: i) they are very relevant to Europe (to be explained in the ‘description' field in the metadata sheet); or ii) the source of the information is the European Commission, its contractors or relevant international organisations (such as WHO Europe, ISDR Europe, OECD, IPCC); or iii) they cover Europe as a whole or parts of it.

What does the "global" label mean, with reference to the ‘Geographic Information' area in the template for Climate-ADAPT resource catalogue submissions?

The "global" label in the ‘Geographic Information' field of the metadata sheet for resource catalogue items refers either to items that are of a general methodological scope or that have worldwide coverage, in which Europe is included (e.g. IPCC reports).

Can information that is highly relevant for Europe, but analysed, assessed or implemented elsewhere than in EU or EEA countries, be submitted to Climate-ADAPT?

Generally not. A notable exception refers to the Climate-ADAPT resource catalogue category "adaptation options". In this case, please contact the Climate-ADAPT support team via climate.adapt@eea.europa.eu

FILLING OUT THE SUBMISSION TEMPLATE FOR RESOURCE CATALOGUE ITEMS

What should be considered before submitting a new item to the Climate-ADAPT resource catalogue?

Once it is certain that the item is eligible (geographical relevance, focus on climate change vulnerability and/or adaptation), please check if it is already present in the platform by searching the resource catalogue.

How can new Climate-ADAPT resource catalogue items be classified among the different eligible types of information?

The resource catalogue type categories are self-explanatory and intuitive. If in doubt, please contact the Climate-ADAPT support team via climate.adapt@eea.europa.eu

How long should the "description" of a new Climate-ADAPT resource catalogue item be?

To enhance the user friendliness of the metadata, the description should be limited to about 15 lines and should give only a general idea of the content of the item. Should readers wish to go into more detail, they can access the relevant web link or attachment.

Can the description or other information be directly copied and pasted from the website and/or the report into the template for the Climate-ADAPT resource catalogue submission?

Yes, but the focus of the description should be on climate change adaptation and the text must not have revisions in track changes or comments.

How to proceed if a field in the Climate-ADAPT resource catalogue submission template (e.g. "project title" or "report title") is too short?

Please use a shorter version of the text to be inserted.

Which information should be inserted in the "project partners" field of a "research and knowledge project" Climate-ADAPT resource catalogue submission template?

Please insert the full name of all institutions involved in the project.

How many sectors/impacts can be selected to characterise a Climate-ADAPT resource catalogue item?

One or more if needed. Please select only “non specific” if the item is of general (methodological) focus or for cross-cutting items.

Please find here a short description for each sector.

How should the "duration" of a project be inserted into the Climate-ADAPT resource catalogue submission template?

In the format [20XX-20YY]. 20XX and 20YY are the start and end years, respectively.

How should the "source" of an item be indicated in the Climate-ADAPT resource catalogue submission template?

Please insert the acronym of the institution, website, etc. For documents, do not list the full authorship but the institution responsible for the report.

What is the work-flow of an item from creation to publication?

You will receive an automatic e-mail once the item is created, in this phase you will still be allowed to make changes. Please click on the url provided in it and make a final check. When the submission procedure is complete you will receive another e-mail. At this stage, you are no longer allowed to change the item. Should you realize that there is a mistake, please contact the Climate-ADAPT support team via climate.adapt@eea.europa.eu.

What is the difference between the ‘save' and ‘submit for publication' buttons in the Climate-ADAPT resource catalogue submission procedure?

The submission of items can be done in two steps. Please use the icons on the top left of your screen. The first step is to use ‘Save' which means that an item can still be modified before submission for content review and final approval. The ‘State’ of the item will be ‘Private’ (shown in red). To modify the item click the ‘pen’ icon. The second step is to use ‘Submit for publication' once the item is complete: go to the left corner of the screen, where you have written ‘State: Private’, click on the arrow and choose ‘Submit for publication’. An e-mail message will then alert the Climate-ADAPT support team that a new item is ready to be processed and may be approved.

How can the progress be tracked once an item has been submitted?

If the submitted item is approved a notification will be sent to the information provider including a link to the published item. The information provider will also receive this notification once an published item has been modified.