The ADVANCE Approach

The ADVANCE Approach is a partnership between the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Columbia University Center for Climate Systems Research (CCSR) designed to move away from short-term consultant-based climate science engagement. It employs a seven-step co-generation process—analyzing context, developing learning questions, gathering data, obtaining feedback, revising information, providing integration guidance, and evaluating outcomes—to ensure climate risk data is fit-for-purpose and usable for local decision-makers. The approach focuses on identifying specific climate thresholds and variables relevant to stakeholders, such as maximum temperature in tropical regions or upland precipitation for mangrove conservation, and builds local capacity to interpret and apply this information to build resilience.

• The ADVANCE Approach utilizes a seven-step co-generation process to produce climate risk information: 1) Analyze context; 2) Develop learning questions; 3) Gather climate data and initiate projections; 4) Get feedback on initial climate risk information; 5) Produce revised climate risk information; 6) Provide guidance on integration into planning and decision-making; and 7) Evaluate outcomes and follow up.
• ADVANCE defines climate risk information as data and knowledge regarding the likelihood and potential negative impacts of weather and climate trends on ecosystems, the built environment, and communities, specifically defining risk as the probability of an event occurring combined with its harmful consequences.
• The approach departs from traditional client/consultant models by engaging climate scientists and specialists directly with stakeholders to ensure information is tailored to local decision-making needs and communicated in an accessible manner.
• Initial climate projections are developed using CMIP5 or NASA NEX GDDP data at resolutions of 0.25 or 0.50 degree grid boxes, focusing on variables such as temperature, precipitation, and sea level across decadal or multi-decadal timescales.
• The framework emphasizes the identification of specific climate thresholds—such as consecutive hot days or precipitation levels—to make projections more useful for practical application in conservation and development.
• Evaluation of the approach is conducted through surveys administered at the beginning and end of projects to measure changes in stakeholder capacity, the usefulness of the co-generated information, and the reduction of barriers to using climate science.

APA

Horton, R., Martin, S., De Mel, M., Bartlett, R., Solecki, W., & Rosenzweig, C. (2016). The ADVANCE Approach. WWF International. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/752/43pjyv6o8z_Advance_Approach_web.pdf

Chicago

Horton, Radley, Shaun Martin, Manishka De Mel, Ryan Bartlett, William Solecki, and Cynthia Rosenzweig. The ADVANCE Approach. WWF International, 2016. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/752/43pjyv6o8z_Advance_Approach_web.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{horton2016advance, author = {Horton, Radley and Martin, Shaun and De Mel, Manishka and Bartlett, Ryan and Solecki, William and Rosenzweig, Cynthia}, title = {{The ADVANCE Approach}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2016}, month = may, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/752/43pjyv6o8z_Advance_Approach_web.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }