Step 1.3 Setting up governance structures to support adaptation

Key message

It’s important to establish a core team within your local or regional authority that is responsible for developing and implementing adaptation strategies and plans. This team should be empowered to oversee and manage adaptation efforts across the organisation, ensuring coordination among all relevant departments handling sectors or topics that are particularly susceptible to climate change impacts or key to delivering the necessary adaptation solutions. Such sectors or topics of relevance can include health, civil protection, transport, energy, water, agriculture, spatial planning, finance, forestry and local or regional development. It’s advisable to designate an ‘adaptation officer’ to lead the processes and help clarify roles within and across the core team (see Example 1.5). It's crucial to customise this information to fit your country's governance system, as local and regional authorities have different competences across different countries.

When forming this core team, you should determine the members, define objectives, clarify tasks and work programmes, agree on collaboration structures, establish schedules and milestones, and maintain transparent documentation.

Some local and regional authorities may not have the capacity to form a core team because of budget constraints and structural differences. Nonetheless, it’s essential to secure human resources for this, to ensure effective adaptation planning and long-term success (see Step 1.4).

Multi-level networks and collaborative mechanisms are vital for developing and implementing climate adaptation strategies and plans. They support you, as local or regional authorities, with capacity building and provide information, knowledge and financial support (see Examples 1.6 and 1.7). Establishing these structures requires engaging and coordinating with stakeholders at various administrative levels (vertical coordination) to ensure policy coherence. It also involves collaborating across departments within your organisation and with neighbouring authorities at the same administrative level (horizontal coordination), as well as with other local stakeholders and citizens (multi-stakeholder engagement).

Maintaining coherence across governance levels is crucial for planning and executing local adaptation actions. For regional authorities supporting adaptation efforts, meaningful coordination with local authorities is essential to incorporate their expertise and actions into regional adaptation policymaking. As part of vertical coordination, regional authorities should actively engage with national-level adaptation taskforces. Also, in border regions, collaboration among neighbouring countries is pivotal for jointly establishing effective and unified approaches to adaptation, due to shared risks across borders.

If you’re part of a local authority’s core team, it’s important to involve neighbouring areas in policy development, coordinate with adaptation teams in neighbouring authorities, and seek guidance, coordination and technical support from the regional or national authority. This will ensure policy coherence and effective adaptation efforts.

Adaptation cuts across various sectors so involving a diverse range of stakeholders in adaptation policymaking is crucial. This includes local representatives from agriculture, building or development agencies, utility companies, universities, research centres, NGOs, the private sector and citizens (see Example 1.8 and 1.9). You should engage with local stakeholders at every stage of the policy process, from gathering essential local knowledge on climate risks to selecting adaptation options and developing strategies and plans.

It's important to involve a diverse cross-section of the community, including those with differing viewpoints and from various genders and age groups. As different segments of society are not affected equally by climate change, you should address social vulnerability by identifying the vulnerable groups, understanding their needs and involving them in the planning process. To ensure meaningful engagement and participation from these groups, it's crucial to identify their needs and offer capacity-building support from the start.

Early engagement with stakeholder groups promotes effective coordination and collaboration, encouraging acceptance, understanding and commitment. However, engaging stakeholders consistently and meaningfully throughout the process can be challenging, particularly when decisions are data-driven. Explore various methods for effective stakeholder engagement in the provided resources.

Once key stakeholders are identified, it’s important to understand their interests and needs, as well as establish clear roles and responsibilities. Developing a stakeholder management strategy – outlining how your organisation will interact with these groups and determine their level of involvement – will ensure transparency. This approach should result in a flexible and measurable engagement strategy that can be reviewed continually as needed.