Effectiveness of climate change adaptation interventions in sub-Saharan Africa and the impact of funding modalities

The document outlines a methodological plan to evaluate the effectiveness of adaptation finance in sub-Saharan Africa, specifically focusing on projects funded by multilateral climate funds and bilateral donors from the UK and Sweden. It proposes a theory of change to link financial inputs and project design to outcomes such as reduced climate risk and vulnerability. The protocol details a multi-pronged search strategy across academic and grey literature, and a synthesis approach combining meta-analysis, framework synthesis, and qualitative comparative analysis. However, the authors note that funding for the review was discontinued in March 2021, and the review will not be completed as described.

• There is a significant gap in adaptation finance for Africa; while costs are estimated between US$7–15 billion per year by 2020 and up to US$50 billion per year by 2050, actual flows have only been US$1–2 billion per year.
• The document identifies a synthesis gap in climate action research, noting that existing reviews often focus on either adaptation activities without financial analysis, or on finance allocation without assessing on-the-ground outcomes.
• The proposed review focuses on a specific set of funders: multilateral climate funds—the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF), the Adaptation Fund (AF), and the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR)—and bilateral donors from the United Kingdom (FCDO) and Sweden (Sida).
• The review's theoretical framework defines an effective adaptation project as one providing evidence of the reduction of climate change risks, which are the result of the interaction between vulnerability, exposure, and hazard.
• The protocol establishes a mixed-methods synthesis approach to answer five research questions regarding design differences between funders, effects on climate risks, causal pathways to outcomes, and the association of financial and implementation conditions with those outcomes.
• The review was designed to include projects implemented after 2010, coinciding with the introduction of the Rio marker for adaptation, which allows donors to identify if adaptation is a principal or significant objective.
• The authors explicitly state that the review will not be completed as described because funding from the UK Centre of Excellence for Development Impact and Learning was suspended in March 2021.

APA

Macura, B., Canales, N., Bakhtaoui, I., Taylor, R., Kwamboka, E., Diaz-Chavez, R., Vanhuyse, F., Garside, R., Ndiaye, D. B. O., Sang, J., Schaar, J., Vaughan, K., & Klein, R. J. (2021). Effectiveness of climate change adaptation interventions in sub-Saharan Africa and the impact of funding modalities. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/sei-mixed-methods-systematic-review-protocol.pdf

Chicago

Macura, Biljana, Nella Canales, Inès Bakhtaoui, Richard Taylor, Elvine Kwamboka, Rocio Diaz-Chavez, Fedra Vanhuyse, et al. Effectiveness of climate change adaptation interventions in sub-Saharan Africa and the impact of funding modalities. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2021. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/sei-mixed-methods-systematic-review-protocol.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Macura |first1=Biljana |last2=Canales |first2=Nella |last3=Bakhtaoui |first3=Inès |last4=Taylor |first4=Richard |last5=Kwamboka |first5=Elvine |last6=Diaz-Chavez |first6=Rocio |last7=Vanhuyse |first7=Fedra |last8=Garside |first8=Ruth |last9=Ndiaye |first9=Daouda Ben Oumar |display-authors=etal |title=Effectiveness of climate change adaptation interventions in sub-Saharan Africa and the impact of funding modalities |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=October 2021 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/sei-mixed-methods-systematic-review-protocol.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{macura2021effectiveness, author = {Macura, Biljana and Canales, Nella and Bakhtaoui, Inès and Taylor, Richard and Kwamboka, Elvine and Diaz-Chavez, Rocio and Vanhuyse, Fedra and Garside, Ruth and Ndiaye, Daouda Ben Oumar and Sang, Joan and Schaar, Johan and Vaughan, Kit and Klein, Richard J.T.}, title = {{Effectiveness of climate change adaptation interventions in sub-Saharan Africa and the impact of funding modalities}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2021}, month = oct, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/sei-mixed-methods-systematic-review-protocol.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }