Testing of a participation portfolio for optimizing participatory processes for the further development of the German Strategy of Adaptation to Climate Change (DAS)

In 2015, the German Federal Government has developed further the German Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change (DAS) by publishing the first progress report and the Action Plan for Adaptation (APA II). The documents lay the foundation for a medium-term process in order to increase the adaptive capacity of Germany. With a second progress report in 2020, this work continues under the coordination of the Federal Ministry for the Environment.

In order to strengthen the adaptive capacity of Germany and to increase the climate resilience of ecosystems, economy, society, settlement patterns and infrastructure, various actors from administration, politics, economy, science, associations and organizations as well as citizens must play an active role. Therefore, one of the aims within the DAS is to include, interconnect and activate different groups of actors. This sort of participation serves to exchange knowledge and experience and also to jointly plan and implement adaptive measures. In doing so, individual and joint learning processes are expected to be initiated. The participation portfolio aims to optimize the participation process of the DAS on the one hand, and to test exemplary options for participation at the local level on the other hand, thereby supporting the further development and implementation of the DAS. Under the lead of IÖW, the project team will design, implement and evaluate various participation formats during the project.

In 2019 und 2020, the consultation process for the draft version of the second progress report will be designed, accompanied and assessed. Furthermore, the IÖW will conduct four small stakeholder dialogues and a large national dialogue on several topics concerning climate adaptation in the course of the project. At the local level, the project comprises two cooperation forums. Moreover, a future vision will be developed by carrying out a participation process with both organized civil society and non-organized citizens in one municipality. All participation processes carried out within the project will be evaluated by means of an impact analysis.

At the end of the project, the experiences and knowledge gained in the participation process will be synthesized in a portfolio by the project team. For this purpose, the researchers develop recommendations for a portfolio of instruments fulfilling different goals and requirements of participation within the scope of the DAS.