The Climate Knowledge Brokers MANIFESTO

The Climate Knowledge Brokers Manifesto argues that a significant gap exists between the production of climate science and its practical application in decision-making. It proposes that 'knowledge brokers' act as critical filters and translators who synthesize, contextualize, and deliver tailored information to users across various sectors and localities. The document outlines six primary user needs—ranging from basic availability and trust to local enrichment and access to raw data—and describes the broker's role as a multi-disciplinary interface. To improve effectiveness, the CKB Group advocates for a community of practice based on collaboration, open knowledge principles, and the adoption of interoperable digital standards to break down information silos.

• Users of climate knowledge often face a paradox where they are either 'deluged by datasets, reports, scenarios, toolkits and other publications' or, particularly in developing countries, suffer from a 'lack of relevant information'.
• Effective climate knowledge must be tailored to specific user circumstances, requiring a synthesis of information that is contextualized by both the user's professional sector and their specific locality.
• The document identifies six overlapping user needs: increased availability and access from trusted sources, tailoring to specific needs, synthesized information, sectoral contextualization, enrichment with local information, and access to raw data and sources.
• Climate knowledge brokers function as 'filters, interfaces and translators' who facilitate the transfer of knowledge from producers to users, ensuring information is presented in a language and format the user can understand.
• Knowledge is more readily accepted and absorbed by users when the process of gathering and producing that knowledge is 'transparent and participatory', allowing users to be 'co-creators' rather than passive recipients.
• The CKB Group promotes a 'community of practice' to reduce the duplication of effort and the creation of 'information silos', encouraging brokers to find their own niche and collaborate rather than compete.
• To achieve interoperability of climate data, the document argues for the adoption of common standards regarding language (standardized vocabularies), rights (open licenses), and technical formats (such as RDF).
• There is a noted gap in the availability of sub-national and local scale climate models, particularly in mountain regions and areas affected by monsoons in developing countries.

APA

Climate and Development Knowledge Network (2015). The Climate Knowledge Brokers MANIFESTO. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/CKB-Manifesto.pdf

Chicago

Climate and Development Knowledge Network. The Climate Knowledge Brokers MANIFESTO. 2015. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/CKB-Manifesto.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |title=The Climate Knowledge Brokers MANIFESTO |date=2015 |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/CKB-Manifesto.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climateanddevelopmentknowledgenetwork2015climate, author = {{Climate and Development Knowledge Network}}, title = {{The Climate Knowledge Brokers MANIFESTO}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2015}, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/CKB-Manifesto.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }