Social learning and climate change adaptation: evidence for international development practice

This research paper examines international practice regarding social learning interventions for climate change adaptation, identifying key principles, tools, and evaluation methods to support the design of such interventions in international development.

• Social learning is characterized by cycles of knowledge sharing and joint action intended to co-create knowledge, relationships, and practices among diverse stakeholders, leading to change that extends beyond individuals to communities, networks, or systems.
• The authors identify three cross-cutting themes for social learning interventions: the necessity of a shared understanding of how change occurs and how social learning fits into that process (which should inform the tools used), the critical role of skilled facilitation where practitioners may become participants in the learning process, and the importance of addressing social differences to prevent less powerful actors from being co-opted during shared decision-making.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2015). Social learning and climate change adaptation: evidence for international development practice. https://www.sei.org/publications/social-learning-and-climate-change-adaptation-evidence-for-international-development-practice/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Social learning and climate change adaptation: evidence for international development practice. 2015. https://www.sei.org/publications/social-learning-and-climate-change-adaptation-evidence-for-international-development-practice/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Social learning and climate change adaptation: evidence for international development practice |date=24 June 2015 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/social-learning-and-climate-change-adaptation-evidence-for-international-development-practice/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2015social, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Social learning and climate change adaptation: evidence for international development practice}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2015}, month = jun, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/social-learning-and-climate-change-adaptation-evidence-for-international-development-practice/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }