Climate and Development Knowledge Brokers Workshop Eschborn, Germany 3-5 June 2011 Workshop report

The workshop brought together 35 participants from 21 global and regional web initiatives to map their niches, share challenges, and establish the Climate Knowledge Brokers Group. Key outcomes include a detailed knowledge map of existing platforms and the identification of four joint projects focusing on linked open data, a 'portal-of-portals' for signposting, shared search facilities, and metadata standards.

• The climate and development sector suffers from 'portal proliferation syndrome', where numerous fragile and under-resourced online platforms operate in isolation, leading to duplicated efforts and difficulty for users to find reliable, up-to-date information.
• A mapping exercise of 21 initiatives revealed that climate adaptation is the primary subject focus for most platforms, while fewer focus on mitigation; only the ci:grasp initiative scored highly for both.
• There is a significant gap between the intended target audiences of knowledge platforms and their actual users; while policymakers are often the mandated target, platforms frequently reach advisors, practitioners, or 'pinball' users from Google.
• Knowledge brokers face a specific challenge in engaging policymakers, who often do not prioritize 'knowledge management' as a concept; participants suggested focusing on 'evidence-based policy' or targeting intermediaries and advisors instead.
• The workshop established the 'Climate Knowledge Brokers Group' (CKB Group) to maintain momentum, with a plan to meet annually in Germany around the June UNFCCC meetings.
• Four specific joint projects were identified to improve the knowledge infrastructure: progressing linked open data, developing a 'portal-of-portals' for signposting, expanding the reegle shared search facility and glossary, and exploring shared metadata standards.
• Participants identified three priority conceptual areas for future group discussion: monitoring usage and impact, communicating uncertainty regarding climate change, and strategies for breaking down silos between adaptation and mitigation.
• The group concluded that a single 'über portal' is neither feasible nor desirable; instead, they advocate for better data standards and effective signposting to guide users to the most relevant existing platforms.

APA

Climate and Development Knowledge Network (n.d.). Climate and Development Knowledge Brokers Workshop Eschborn, Germany 3-5 June 2011 Workshop report. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/CDKN-Climate-and-Development-Knowledge-Brokers-Workshop-report.pdf

Chicago

Climate and Development Knowledge Network. Climate and Development Knowledge Brokers Workshop Eschborn, Germany 3-5 June 2011 Workshop report. n.d. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/CDKN-Climate-and-Development-Knowledge-Brokers-Workshop-report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |title=Climate and Development Knowledge Brokers Workshop Eschborn, Germany 3-5 June 2011 Workshop report |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/CDKN-Climate-and-Development-Knowledge-Brokers-Workshop-report.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climateanddevelopmentknowledgenetworkndclimate, author = {{Climate and Development Knowledge Network}}, title = {{Climate and Development Knowledge Brokers Workshop Eschborn, Germany 3-5 June 2011 Workshop report}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/CDKN-Climate-and-Development-Knowledge-Brokers-Workshop-report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }