Climate and Development Knowledge Brokers Workshop Workshop report

This report details the second Climate and Development Knowledge Brokers workshop held in Bonn, Germany, from 18-20 May 2012. Jointly organised by GIZ and CDKN, the event brought together 36 participants from 26 initiatives to strengthen collaboration among online knowledge brokers in the climate and development sectors. The workshop focused on evolving communication landscapes, user needs analysis, and the development of a shared knowledge infrastructure to improve information access for practitioners, particularly in developing countries.

• The Climate Knowledge Brokers (CKB) Group is an informal network and 'community of practice' focused on online initiatives that perform explicit knowledge-brokerage roles across adaptation, mitigation, climate finance, and energy sectors.
• Seven CDKN-funded collaborative projects were launched in autumn 2011 to address gaps in climate knowledge brokerage. These include the 'Knowledge Navigator' to guide users to suitable portals, a user analysis project by IISD, and an automated tagging API developed by REEEP to improve information findability.
• Knowledge brokers identified several shifts in the climate agenda, including a move toward 'green growth', increased demand for practical sectoral examples and data visualisation, and a shift in user focus from action options to financing ('how do I finance this?').
• A user session revealed that many information users rely heavily on Google and personal contacts rather than direct portal access, and that trust and transparency regarding information sources are critical for credibility.
• The group discussed the challenge of communicating scientific uncertainty to policymakers, suggesting that brokers should break messages into clear parts, starting with certainties before presenting ranges of uncertainty.
• Participants identified 'portal proliferation syndrome' as a systemic issue, proposing that the solution lies in brokers sharing content, tools, and users rather than attempting to create a single 'one-stop shop', which was deemed impractical.
• The CKB Group agreed to a 'steady as she goes' trajectory for the following year, opting to develop organically rather than formalising into a branded entity with a secretariat, which was considered too ambitious given resource constraints.
• To maintain momentum, the group established a LinkedIn group for ongoing communication and identified four priority discussion themes for the coming year: online brokerage best practices, planning tools, user interfaces, and options for formalisation.

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} }