Co-designing climate services to support adaptation to natural hazards

The document examines the application of the Tandem framework for co-designing climate services in Karlstad and Stockholm, Sweden. It argues that tailoring climate information to the specific institutional and decision contexts of users—such as local planners—bridges the gap between research and action. The findings suggest that climate service needs vary based on the user's prior experience and their stage in the adaptation learning cycle, and that co-design can help overcome barriers like competing policy priorities and climate uncertainty.

• The requirements for climate services are highly dependent on the specific context, including the user's previous experience and their current position within the adaptation learning cycle.
• To ensure climate services meet the specific needs and intended uses of stakeholders, providers and intermediaries must have a deep understanding of the institutional and decision-making contexts.
• There is a common tendency for stakeholders to evaluate adaptation options individually rather than comparing multiple alternatives, a pattern that co-design processes should aim to address to avoid sub-optimal investments.
• Decision-makers must balance climate adaptation with non-climate priorities, such as budgetary constraints or housing demands; co-design can help by providing actionable information tailored to these complex decision contexts.
• Co-design processes can mitigate typical barriers to using climate research, such as uncertainty in projections and competing policy priorities.
• In the Karlstad case study, a co-designed hydraulic model demonstrated that a proposed flood defence wall would effectively prevent river flooding without causing unmanageable flows during cloudbursts.
• In the Stockholm case study, analysis of planning scenarios confirmed that green spaces reduce local air temperatures, which informs the city's strategy for managing heat stress amidst rapid urban densification.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2020). Co-designing climate services to support adaptation to natural hazards. https://www.sei.org/publications/co-designing-climate-services-to-support-adaptation-to-natural-hazards/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Co-designing climate services to support adaptation to natural hazards. 2020. https://www.sei.org/publications/co-designing-climate-services-to-support-adaptation-to-natural-hazards/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Co-designing climate services to support adaptation to natural hazards |date=4 February 2020 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/co-designing-climate-services-to-support-adaptation-to-natural-hazards/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2020codesigning, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Co-designing climate services to support adaptation to natural hazards}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2020}, month = feb, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/co-designing-climate-services-to-support-adaptation-to-natural-hazards/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }