Both research for adaptation and research on adaptation are needed to inform society's response to climate change impacts

This briefing, based on the Adaptation Futures 2016 conference, argues that improving climate adaptation requires both 'research for adaptation' (providing data) and 'research on adaptation' (understanding how decisions are made). It identifies a failure in the current 'supplier– customer model' of climate services and suggests that medical research could serve as a model for translating knowledge into practice.

• The current approach to adaptation research and climate services is hindered by a 'supplier– customer model' that does not account for the complexities of how adaptation decisions are actually made. Additionally, bottlenecks exist due to mismatches between the spatial and temporal scales of provided data and the scales used by decision-makers.
• To improve the effectiveness of research for adaptation, there is a need for increased funding and conduct of 'research on adaptation'. This specific type of research should focus on explaining the reasons why adaptation decisions are or are not made, and identifying what works and why.
• The briefing suggests that adaptation research could adopt the model used in medical research to better understand how information is translated and used, and how different academic, public, and private actors can work in a complementary and synergetic manner.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2017). Both research for adaptation and research on adaptation are needed to inform society's response to climate change impacts. https://www.sei.org/publications/both-research-for-adaptation-and-research-on-adaptation-are-needed-to-inform-societys-response-to-climate-change-impacts/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Both research for adaptation and research on adaptation are needed to inform society's response to climate change impacts. 2017. https://www.sei.org/publications/both-research-for-adaptation-and-research-on-adaptation-are-needed-to-inform-societys-response-to-climate-change-impacts/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Both research for adaptation and research on adaptation are needed to inform society's response to climate change impacts |date=1 February 2017 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/both-research-for-adaptation-and-research-on-adaptation-are-needed-to-inform-societys-response-to-climate-change-impacts/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2017both, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Both research for adaptation and research on adaptation are needed to inform society's response to climate change impacts}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2017}, month = feb, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/both-research-for-adaptation-and-research-on-adaptation-are-needed-to-inform-societys-response-to-climate-change-impacts/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }