Key considerations to carry out collaborative research: the project’s team perspective of three climate adaptation projects

Around the world, adapting human activities to mitigate and reverse climate change is of utmost priority. However, climate adaptation requires multi-dimensional efforts, i.e., cultural, ecological, economic, social, institutional, and technological aspects. To develop useful knowledge and better address this complexity with practitioners and decision-makers, collaborative research integrates knowledge across disciplines and with societal actors. As more projects adopt such a collaborative research, the project team needs more clarity on the intended aims, ways of working and expected results. This master thesis builds on the experiences of three climate adaptation projects collected via available interview results to reflect on the considerations and the successes and challenges so far perceived. The case studies entail collaboration for sustainable agricultural management, developing more adaptive river interventions to deal with extreme climate events and project coordination for future energy citizenship leaders. This research identifies the similarities, differences and considerations that are involved across the three projects by reviewing the existing literature, talking with experts in this type of research, and discussing with project participants.

For more information, please contact: j.l.groot@student.tudelft.nl