Climate and Development Knowledge Brokers Workshop Workshop report

The 2012 Climate and Development Knowledge Brokers workshop brought together 36 participants from 26 initiatives to improve the sharing of climate information, particularly for developing countries. Key outcomes included the update of a 'knowledge map' to identify niche roles, the launch of seven CDKN-funded collaborative projects, and the agreement to maintain an informal 'steady as she goes' growth trajectory via a LinkedIn group. Discussions highlighted a shift in the climate agenda toward 'green growth', the challenges of communicating scientific uncertainty, and the critical need for user-centric design to overcome 'portal proliferation syndrome'.

• The Climate Knowledge Brokers (CKB) Group aims to improve access to reliable information, tools, and methods for climate and development practitioners, with a specific focus on those in developing countries.
• Participants identified several shifts in the climate and communication landscape, including a move toward 'green growth', increased demand for information visualisation, and the impact of the Fukushima disaster on nuclear and renewable energy policy.
• Knowledge brokers face significant challenges in communicating scientific uncertainty to policymakers and practitioners, often struggling to balance accuracy with clear messaging to avoid being hampered by climate sceptics.
• User analysis revealed that many information seekers rely heavily on Google and personal contacts rather than direct portal access, and they place high trust in UN websites.
• The group identified 'portal proliferation syndrome' as a systemic issue, suggesting that the treatment is for brokers to share content, tools, and users rather than creating a single 'one-stop shop', which was deemed impractical.
• Seven CDKN-funded collaborative projects were highlighted, including the 'Knowledge Navigator' to guide users between portals, an 'Automated Tagging API' by Reegle.info to standardise climate terms, and 'InfoAmazonia' to train Brazilian journalists in using open-source data.
• The CKB Group decided to follow a 'steady as she goes' trajectory for the coming year, opting for organic growth and an informal LinkedIn group over a formalised secretariat to preserve creativity and innovation.

APA

Climate and Development Knowledge Network (2012). Climate and Development Knowledge Brokers Workshop Workshop report. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/2012_Climate_Knowledge_Brokers_Workshop_Report3.pdf

Chicago

Climate and Development Knowledge Network. Climate and Development Knowledge Brokers Workshop Workshop report. 2012. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/2012_Climate_Knowledge_Brokers_Workshop_Report3.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |title=Climate and Development Knowledge Brokers Workshop Workshop report |date=2012 |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/2012_Climate_Knowledge_Brokers_Workshop_Report3.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climateanddevelopmentknowledgenetwork2012climate, author = {{Climate and Development Knowledge Network}}, title = {{Climate and Development Knowledge Brokers Workshop Workshop report}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2012}, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/2012_Climate_Knowledge_Brokers_Workshop_Report3.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }