1. Climate change & development
Research & policy in Ghana
IDRC-RIPS
African Adaptation Research Centres
June 2011
Sean DOOLAN, DFID
S-Doolan@dfid.gov.uk

2. Climate-development
challenges & opportunities
How communicate, translate, engage, inform, convince?
Challenges
 Risks reversing development gains
 Weakens future options
 Fit for future purpose, not past or current purpose
 Going beyond projects & “environment”
Opportunities
 New CC focus on development priorities
 More integrated development
 Longer-term perspective
 New opportunities, scaling up

3. Big picture 1?
Sub-national
National
Sub-regional
Regional
Global
Community
Household
UNFCCC
Negotiations
Sectors

4. Food &
agriculture
Big picture 2?
HealthWater
Public
Private
Civil society

5. Attitudes matter
• Find time
• Find contacts
Geoff Barnard (CDKN) The Knowledge Pond
www.researchtoaction.org
www.dfid.gov.uk/r4d/
I’m a researcher, not a
journalist
Communication often an afterthought
At worst a distraction from ‘real work’

6. Language matters
• Translate
• Go behind perceptions
• Understand interests
• Relationships matter
• Find the right words & image
www.researchtoaction.org
www.dfid.gov.uk/r4d/

7. Concepts & words matter
The green house effect?
“Green gases”?
… or trotro effect?
Remote deforestation?
… or trees you can touch?

8. Climate change & uncertainty – past guide?
“CC models are uncertain, so is the science, let’s wait”
• Economic projections are also uncertain
• Oil & fuel prices?
“I can confidently predict that you will not see oil prices
rising above $30 a barrel in your lifetimes”
BP Chief Economist 2001
• Oil prices: $30-120 per barrel? GHC for a litre?
• Times & contexts change
• “Secure sources” are temporary
• They change as politics & markets change
• So do prices

9. Climate change & uncertainty – past guide?
Source: www.wtrg.com/oil_graphs
BP prediction• Politics & markets change
• So do windows of opportunity

10. Climate change & uncertainty – past guide?
Gold prices: $25-600/oz?
Source: http://goldnews.bullionvault.com
Gold prices: $260-1560/oz?
Noisy information – clarify for audience

11. Sub-basin
Wet
Scenario
Dry
Scenario
Black Volta
Oti Basin
SW Ghana
Volta Lake& SE
White & Red
Volta
-10
+3
+17
+51
+8
-30
-29
+2
-16
-30
• Large transboundary effects
• Uncertainty is substantial
• Need risk management
Uncertainty – rainfall & run-off
Projected % runoff changes for major sub-basins in 2050
Source: EACC (WB)

12. Floods
Transport modalities
Corridors
Shifting vulnerabilities
Hotspots
Livelihoods
Health & education
Facilities & services
Logistics
Market access
Private sector
Exports, balance of trade
Competitiveness
Roads maintenance budget

13. 2020
Temperature Change 0C
High
Low
20502040
High increase in north
“2 oC = Dangerous CC”
Implications?
• growth, agriculture
• N/S divide
• health services, energy?
The past is not a guide
Ghana dry scenario - oC change from base
Source: EACC (WB)
2030

14. Climate & development now – tell the story
“The rains are all late and finish early”
• Repeated climate shocks & stresses affect lives & families
• Children underweight in North, longer hunger season
• Migration evident & increasing across Ghana
• Buruli ulcers - water gathering where aquatic insects live
• Impacts on crops, e.g. cocoa livelihoods & exports

15. Policy-research & influence/1
• Map networks & decision makers
• Map influences & opinion formers
• Communicate & network
• Make research accessible
• Translate, meet or create needs
• Keep information flowing
• Report & keep in touch
Fast-moving & crowded agenda
Weaving Global Networks

16. Policy-research & influence/2
• Develop & service relationships
• Cultivate & use intermediaries
• Advisors, officials, NGOs, media, Parliament, DPs
• Know your audience - who/what/when?
• Votes, budgets, funds, profile
• Livelihoods, lives
• Write press releases & briefs - hooks
• Monitor, reflect, evaluate, report
Fast-moving & crowded agenda

17. Climate change toolkit
 Background information
 science, impacts, tackling CC, priorities
 Role of Parliamentarians
 Representation
 Constituency, backbench work
 Committees
 Scrutiny
 Legislation
 Parliamentarians can’t act alone
 International negotiations
 International partnerships
 Partners on the ground
www.cpaBranchUK.org

18. Translate, engage, inform, convince
“Human beings …
underestimate the
importance of situation
and context.”
Malcolm Gladwell
The Tipping Point
Theory of change – focus, what/who/when?
www.researchtoaction.org/theory-of-change-useful-resources/

19. Translate, engage, inform
 Legislators make decisions quickly
 Inundated with information
 Often generalists dealing with specialist work
 Meet an expressed need
 Explain complexity in easy language
 Present credible, non-partisan research
 Present complex information – legible & readable
in length & simplicity
 Respond to alarmingly short deadlines

20. Briefs are brief – 90 second pitch
Delhi Parliament - PRS Legislative Research
 Briefs no longer than six pages
 Soundbites for speeches
 Include graphs with written explanations
 some look at graphs, others read words
 Use ‘friends’ as guinea pigs to ensure can be
understood by intelligent reader
 Cite sources
 Have a brief summary (1-2 paras on front page)

21.  It’s a muddy pond
 Research not the only missing ingredient in
better policy making
 Many reasons why research may be
dismissed, ignored or misunderstood
 Researchers & communicators need to ‘get
their feet wet’ to understand these realities
 Learn how to be most effective
Understand the demand side

22. Climate SMART - disablers
• Denial: someone else’s problem, too busy, too
complex, I’m too small to make a difference
• Lack of demand
• Lack of learning from others
• Political inconsistency or apathy
• Competing & inconsistent demands & needs
• Uncertainty

23. Climate SMART – tackling disablers
• Apply 80 - 20 rule – what will give most value?
• Clarity – what impact = focus
• Messaging – change the narrative, tell stories of
success, learn from failures
• Benchmarking – for improvement, for peer to peer
pressure & review
• Reframe - in terms of the outcome you want, not the
problem you have
• Use trusted outsiders to kick-start, mentor, encourage
• Alliances – network of like-minded organisations,
community of practice & peers

24. The future starts now
• International political momentum & negotiations
• Widening debate on climate change
• How ensure development objectives?
• How widen & inform constituency?
• How position?
• How ACT?
• Now
• Differently
• Together