AgriAdapt: Strategies for Participatory Design and Development of a Climate Risk Tool

This research paper documents the participatory design and development of AgriAdapt, a free map-based climate risk assessment tool created by the World Resources Institute (WRI) to identify vulnerabilities in agricultural supply chains, specifically focusing on post-production nodes such as processing, packaging, storage, transport, and distribution.

• AgriAdapt was developed over a 19-month grant funded by the Walmart Foundation, starting in July 2021, to address a gap in climate risk tools that typically focus on production rather than post-production supply chain nodes. The tool was piloted for three specific value chains: coffee in Colombia, and rice and cotton in India.
• The project utilized a participatory approach guided by the Principles for Digital Development, engaging target users including researchers, agricultural nonprofit organizations, public sector planners, and supply chain managers. Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions and funding constraints, the team focused on 'high-influence target users'—such as public policy planners or extension agents—who possessed the technical skills and internet access to use the tool and share information with more vulnerable groups.
• The development process identified five critical elements for successful participatory tool design: establishing a deep understanding of the local context and existing tools to avoid duplication; maintaining an iterative learning ethos to adjust user preferences; utilizing subgrants for local partners in India and Colombia to provide on-the-ground knowledge; implementing a structured stakeholder engagement strategy via surveys, interviews, and workshops; and ensuring effective cross-team communication.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). AgriAdapt: Strategies for Participatory Design and Development of a Climate Risk Tool. https://www.wri.org/research/agriadapt-strategies-participatory-design-and-development-climate-risk-tool

Chicago

World Resources Institute. AgriAdapt: Strategies for Participatory Design and Development of a Climate Risk Tool. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/agriadapt-strategies-participatory-design-and-development-climate-risk-tool.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=AgriAdapt: Strategies for Participatory Design and Development of a Climate Risk Tool |url=https://www.wri.org/research/agriadapt-strategies-participatory-design-and-development-climate-risk-tool |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendagriadapt, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{AgriAdapt: Strategies for Participatory Design and Development of a Climate Risk Tool}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/agriadapt-strategies-participatory-design-and-development-climate-risk-tool}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }