Economics of Climate Change Adaptation: Institutionalization Ashley Palmer UNDP

1. Economics of Climate Change Adaptation: Institutionalization Ashley Palmer UNDP

2. Introduction • “Initially targeting countries in the Asia region, the programme aims to develop technical skills within relevant national institutions and advance regional knowledge exchange on the economics of adaptation to support medium and long-term climate resilient development planning and budgeting.”

3. Economics of Climate Change Adaptation: Institutionalization • Institutionalization: what does it mean? • Embedding a capacity development (CD) program within a broader institutional system: not “one-time/one-off” • Considering the intersection/nexus of technical capacities with functional capacities and also with broader systems • Making the link to Sustainability and to Development Results (not Capacity Development for the sake of Capacity Devt)

4. Issues for Consideration • Technical and Functional Capacities • Technical capacities: includes skills such as economic analysis; cost-benefit analysis • Functional capacities: cross cutting; enable the “use” of technical skills

5. Technical and Functional Capacities Functional capacities: which cut across all sectors/orgs: • to engage stakeholders • to assess a situation and define a vision • to formulate policies and strategies • to budget, manage and implement • to monitor and evaluate Also… • to collaborate with diverse stakeholders • manage change in a complex environment (including negotiating and building alliances) Technical capacities: areas of expertise such as education, health, agriculture, economic modelling, etc.

6. Why is this distinction important? • Examples of investment in a technical competency area without also thinking through the systems that support the effective use of that technical skill • We often focus too much on technical, without thinking about functional and about broader systems • Therefore, a need to embed technical in systems context, and balance with functional

7. A Systems Approach to Capacity Development

8. What are some of the factors which impact on ‘effective CD’? The policies, practices and systems that allow for effective functioning of an organization or group. These may include ‘hard’ rules such as laws or the terms of a contract, or ‘soft’ rules like codes of conduct or generally accepted values. Leadership is the ability to influence, inspire and motivate others to achieve or even go beyond their goals. It is also the ability to anticipate and respond to change. Leadership is not necessarily synonymous with a position of authority; it can also be informal and be held at many levels. Knowledge underpins people’s capacities and hence capacity development. Seen from the perspective of the three levels, knowledge has traditionally been fostered at the individual level, mostly through education. But it can also be created and shared within an organization, such as through on-the-job training, and supported through an enabling environment of effective educational systems and policies. Accountability is about the willingness and abilities of public institutions to put in place systems and mechanisms to engage citizen groups, capture and utilize their feedback as well as the capacities of the latter to make use of such platforms.

9. Example: Local Governance and Decentralization • The problem: getting stuck in “low capacity” assumptions about local governments being unable to fulfill roles related to service delivery • The example: local government block grants • The details: local governments need more than training; need capital budget; opportunity to learn by doing (targeted CD) and demonstrate results; accountability (MC/PM; media) • The result: institutionalization/nationalization of local block grant allocations by nat’l govts

10. Change in Lives Increased resilient food security Healthy, educated, employed, empowered people / communities Why results? What results? How to achieve and sustain them? Changes in behaviors, norms Local farmers adapt their practices to reflect climate-related factors People and communities are using the services and changing their behavior or norms, etc. “Real, meaningful, and sustainable improvements in people’s lives.” Improved Performance  Local government plans/budgets more effectively reflect climate change adaptation needs; provincial agricultural extension services adapted Institution or systems are performing more effectively and efficiently, in a more consistent and resilient manner (performance, stability, adaptability) r Increased Capacity  Systems related to climate change adaptation (planning, financing, etc) are strengthened in multiple institutions in the sector Better functioning systems, structures, mechanisms, processes etc. in areas: institutional arrangements; leadership; knowledge management; and accountability The Results/ Development Story… We analyze capacity needs related to climate change adaptation; develop and implement a capacity development strategy/plan to address them (incl. tech skills development) Capacity Development Processes Stakeholder engagement, capacity assessments, capacity development strategies and change processes, change management

11. Take-away Points • Link between technical/functional, and within complex system • Link between 3 levels: indiv/org/enabling env • CD is about change (it is a process, not a one-off); change involves both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ factors • Because of this complexity, need to be careful about cause/affect assumptions

12. Looking Ahead: Questions for Consideration • Who needs to be involved in this process and at what point?: individuals, but also organizations/ stakeholder groups? What are the mandate issues? • What needs to be put in place/thought through in order to improve chances for impact of the program (attention to leadership, accountability, institutional arrangements, coordination mechanisms)? • How are these ideas relevant in the context of your country? What are the incentives/dis-incentives, bottlenecks/challenges, in the area of climate change adaptation?

13. Questions and Discussion Thank you!