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The document argues that land is a strategic public resource central to South Africa's just transition, rather than merely a financial asset. It outlines how municipalities can use spatial planning, inclusive governance, and tenure protection to balance the land-intensive needs of renewable energy and climate adaptation with the need to redress historical spatial inequalities. The guide identifies significant municipal constraints, including dire finances, lack of consolidated land information, and complex overlaps with traditional authorities, while offering a roadmap for advancing distributive, restorative, and procedural justice through land administration.

The document identifies structural and operational failures in South Africa's Integrated Development Planning (IDP) process, noting that community participation is often treated as a 'tick-box' exercise. Based on action research across 12 municipalities, it highlights issues such as poor meeting organization, declining youth attendance, and a lack of transparency. The brief recommends reframing the IDP as a developmental tool, improving institutional coordination, and implementing a Community Participation Index to move toward a more people-centered, bottom-up planning approach.

The document identifies systemic failures in South Africa's ward committee system, including poor resourcing, political interference, and a lack of institutional memory. It argues that while trust in these structures has declined, they remain essential for participatory democracy if transformed through better training, standardized reporting, and improved financial support.

The report details a two-day conference in Johannesburg that examined the 'Reimagining Developmental Local Government' theme. It highlights the COMPACT project's efforts to move public participation from 'tick-box exercises' to meaningful collaboration through a specialized 'Toolbox' and Citizen-Based Monitoring (CBM) pilots. Key discussions centered on the exclusion of youth and women, the need for interoperable digital infrastructure, and the role of 'invented' community spaces when formal 'invited' spaces fail. The event advocated for the institutionalization of these tools within municipal systems to ensure long-term sustainability beyond the project's January 2026 conclusion.

The report identifies systemic failures in South African municipal public participation, where the IDP process is often viewed as a 'compliance exercise' rather than meaningful engagement. Key findings highlight the dysfunction of ward committees due to political interference and poor resourcing, a 'crisis of communication' between municipalities and residents, and a lack of accountability in performance management. It recommends moving beyond tokenistic participation toward a culture of transparency, improved civic education, and the professionalisation of the political-administrative interface to restore community trust and improve service delivery.

This research project investigates how to bridge the gap in local-scale biodiversity conservation by identifying governance modalities that can incorporate traditional and local knowledge while navigating divergent interests. Using a transdisciplinary approach with a mixed-methods study across four countries, the project aims to identify barriers and enablers to inclusive governance and produce actionable science outputs and practice guidelines for decision-makers.

The GLOW programme identifies four primary routes for simultaneous women's empowerment and climate action: improving existing activities, enabling entry into male-dominated sectors, consolidating low-carbon business models, and accessing new green technologies. Key findings emphasize that climate action must be rights-based and locally appropriate, as social norms significantly shape women's ability to adopt new practices. The report argues that women's leadership in decision-making and access to productive assets are essential for the effectiveness and sustainability of just transitions. It recommends integrating gender-responsive budgeting, strengthening the gender capacity of local government personnel, and promoting technologies that reduce the drudgery of unpaid care work.

The COMPACT stakeholder engagement session focused on enhancing local government accountability and responsiveness through innovative public participation. Key findings emphasize the value of hybrid engagement systems—combining traditional and digital methods—and the role of civil society in amplifying community contributions. The event led to the establishment of a COMPACT Reference Committee and the gathering of inputs for a public participation toolbox, with attendance from eight partner municipalities, various sector departments, and research institutes.

The document details the historical and ongoing marginalisation of Indigenous Tharu communities in Nepal, focusing on the Bardiya National Park. It argues that conservation policies have deprived these communities of land and resources, leading to forced evictions and economic exploitation. Despite legal frameworks like ILO Convention No 169 and UNDRIP, the Tharu face significant barriers to reclaiming land or receiving compensation, as the government requires formal land ownership certificates that many Indigenous people lack due to historical systemic abuses.

The report examines the use of community protocols in four countries to address the impacts of extractive industries. It finds that while the processes are time-consuming and context-dependent, they can empower communities through legal training, the formation of advocacy groups, and the creation of frameworks for free, prior and informed consent (FPIC). The report highlights that early engagement is generally more effective, though protocols can still yield results during active mining operations, as seen in Zimbabwe. Key challenges include internal community conflicts, power imbalances with corporations, and the need for strong local partnerships to ensure community ownership.

The document investigates whether health-based messaging can drive the adoption of clean cookstoves in Cambodia and Kenya. Findings from both studies indicate that health messaging has a minimal effect on actual purchases, with price and the efficacy of sales agents being more significant drivers. While the campaign in Cambodia increased awareness of health risks, awareness in Kenya was already high at the baseline. The research suggests that for health messaging to be effective, it must be combined with innovative financing to overcome affordability barriers and be better aligned with end-user needs.

The 'Hållbara Hökarängen' project (2012-2015) demonstrated that sustainable urban development is most effective when it leverages local socio-demographic contexts and focuses on activities where residents have direct influence, such as urban gardening and communal cooking, rather than technical energy issues. The project utilized action research, a diverse communication strategy, and the creation of 'Local Sustainability Ambassadors' to foster long-term behavioral change and social cohesion. While a parallel investment program by Stockholmshem reduced heat energy consumption by over 30% per square meter compared to 2007, the behavioral project found that engagement was highest for 'lustful' activities and resource efficiency rather than residential energy use, where tenants had limited control.

The 'Sustainable Hökarängen' project utilized an action-research approach to promote resource-efficient lifestyles in a residential district of Stockholm. Key findings emphasize that engagement is most effective when activities are social and enjoyable—such as communal gardening and climate-smart cooking—rather than focused on areas where residents have limited control, such as apartment energy use. The project successfully established a network of 'Sustainability Ambassadors' and local movements like HOPP! to ensure continuity. While a parallel investment programme by Stockholmshem reduced heating energy use by over 30% per square metre, the community-level project found that social cohesion and peer interaction were primary drivers of behavioral change. The brief concludes that evaluating such initiatives requires a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods and long-term follow-up to determine if behavioral changes are sustained.

The action research conducted in Kampong Chhnang province found that health messaging alone was not a primary driver for ACE-1 cookstove sales. While positive health campaigns were more effective at shifting attitudes and increasing awareness of household air pollution, actual sales were predominantly driven by the individual traits, persuasiveness, and commitment of sales agents. The most successful agent combined health storytelling with functional benefits, such as fuel reduction and cooking speed. Significant barriers to adoption included the high price of the stove ($100-$115) relative to low household incomes and a lack of disposable cash during the planting season. The study concludes that while health campaigns can change perceptions, sales are more dependent on agent quality, product affordability, and the communication of functional advantages.

The project, led by Stockholmshem and Sustainable Innovation with research by the Stockholm Environment Institute, focused on behavioral changes and technical energy efficiency. While technical investments reduced heat consumption by 14% across the district (and 32% in specific upgraded buildings), behavioral goals for household electricity reduction were not fully met. The project found that residents were more engaged by 'lustful' activities they could control, such as urban gardening and climate-smart cooking, than by technical energy-saving measures. Key successes included the establishment of the HOPP! transition initiative, a local sustainability ambassador network, and a 'carrot mob' that successfully pressured local grocers to expand their organic product ranges.

The document advocates for a rights-based approach to participatory urban planning to link climate change adaptation with local development. Drawing on a pilot project in Maputo, Mozambique, it examines how such planning can address structural inequalities and facilitate negotiation with local actors, while noting challenges in maintaining local government support and the integration of climate information.

The document examines the disconnect between India's national and state-level disaster and climate policies, which often operate in silos. Through research in Barmer and Leh, it highlights how climate change is increasing the frequency of flash floods and 'invisible disasters'—small-scale events that go unreported. The briefing argues that local multi-stakeholder platforms, community-led knowledge sharing (such as 'weather schools' and radio programmes), and the use of post-disaster 'windows of opportunity' can help harmonise DRR and adaptation efforts and influence national policy.

The Good Life Initiative in New Earswick, York, sought to build community resilience and reduce carbon emissions through a holistic approach to sustainability. The project found that attempts to create groups solely around energy saving were unsuccessful; instead, success was achieved by identifying 'hooks'—local interests such as green spaces and school partnerships—to engage residents. While measurable reductions in household emissions could not be demonstrated, the project successfully raised awareness of low-carbon lifestyles, improved social connections, and enhanced community cohesion.

The report details the 'Good Life' initiative in New Earswick, York, which aimed to increase community resilience and reduce carbon emissions in a low-income area. Initial efforts focusing strictly on carbon footprints failed to engage residents, leading the project to pivot toward 'hooks' like nature and green spaces. This adaptive approach, including a partnership with a local secondary school for the 'Jo-Rio Mini Earth Summit', successfully increased participation and strengthened social networks. While the project could not quantitatively prove a reduction in household emissions, it demonstrated that improving social capital and leveraging trusted community voices are critical for fostering long-term pro-environmental behaviour and resilience in disadvantaged areas.

The report outlines a methodology for creating biocultural community protocols—documents that record a community's customary laws, governance, and visions—to help them negotiate with extractive industries. It provides action research questions, guidance for facilitators, and tools for community mobilisation and external engagement, while highlighting the legal and structural challenges faced by communities in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.