Resilience Planning and Project Finance Process:
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Gather and Analyze Data

Urban Resilience Roadmap
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Gather and Analyze Data
Introduction Competencies/Skills Tools Tips Supporting Entities Potential Outputs
Introduction

The third step in the process is to establish a clear evidence base and knowledge bank to establish a baseline for the current challenges of the city, and support evidence-based decision making for future plans and actions.  The evidence base may include census and geographical data, hydro-meteorological data, socio-economic data, experience of past disasters, locally-generated and traditional knowledge, and rigorous data and information pertaining to current and future trends and impacts on city systems. Much of this data may already be collected by cities as part of their annual/periodic planning processes. The data used for resilience planning should be reconciled with the planning data to ensure that there is no conflict between the two.

Establishing an evidence base requires recognizing the types of data and information that will be required for planning and subsequent processes (determined in step 2), and also determining sources and methodologies for obtaining the data and information. Municipal governments and city departments may also need capacity building to collect and analyze data effectively. In many cases assistance may be available from other government agencies or from NGOs or private sector entities. 

Competencies/Skills
  • Understanding national and subnational resilience and climate change policy and planning documents (e.g. National Adaptation Plan, Nationally Determined Contributions, RAN-API);
  • Collaborating with national/regional scientific agencies as well as interpreting the data/information provided;
  • Identifying relevant scientific information from researchers and the ability to interpret this information;
  • Review of currently available scientific information from global to local scales, as well as sources of this information;
  • Establishing partnerships with universities and research institutions to co-produce data and knowledge;
  • Establishing a monitoring system for local hydrometeorological processes;
  • Establishing a locally-accessible knowledge portal that can be accessed by all stakeholders; and
  • Incorporating of local knowledge and traditions
Tools/Resources
Tips
  • In most areas, knowledge of climate change physical processes is limited among government officials as well as among the general population;
  • Investments may be required in terms of establishing monitoring networks, hydrological models, downscaled climate models, and other relevant information;
  • The steering committee should designate an agency to manage its data and information, and establish, institutionalize, and provide resources for procedures to review and update the knowledge base; 
  • Developing an evidence base is a continuous and iterative processes; as lessons are learned and new data and information become available, it is important to incorporate these into existing strategies, policies, and project pipelines.  Moreover, it is also important to tap into the knowledge and experience of other cities by joining networks and sharing information;
  • Designating a nodal agency/department that will maintain and update the data and information as new material becomes available is a good practice.  Mandating a periodic review of existing information also helps to ensure that the evidence base remains accurate and relevant, and that it responds to the evolving needs of the city; and 
  • Resilient cities leverage data and information in decision making and planning processes.  They also make information available to the public via easy-to-access portals and formats which are relevant to the needs and experiences of city residents and stakeholders.
Supporting Entities/Processes
Potential Outputs
  • Compilation of existing data and information as well as a list of data and information needs and capacity targets;
  • Data analysis identifying and quantifying the key population, socio-economic, geographic, and climate trends;
  • Downscaled projections of Global Climate Models (GCMs);
  • Establishment of a data and monitoring center within a relevant city agency including web-portal so that stakeholders can access data and information;
  • Co-production of knowledge MOUs and research agendas with local universities and research institutions and designation of a “knowledge hub”; and
  • City membership in resilience/knowledge sharing networks (e.g. C40, APAN, etc.)