Notes #20/2023: Climate data, research valorization, and the VALORADA project
Notes are just that: Short, informal messages, or brief records of points or ideas written down. The views and opinions expressed in my notes do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of my employer or clients.
Climate data for local government
I sometimes work with local governments and regional public organizations in The Netherlands to assist in programming their sustainability efforts. A crucial element for a successful sustainability program is data. Data that facilitates the prioritization and structuring of efforts and policies, guides project targeting and resource allocation, and monitors progress (including potential spill-over into other policy domains).
Regrettably, the availability, quality, accessibility, and compatibility of (sustainability) data at local government levels are generally subpar. Data management and governance, at best, are rudimentary and often characterized by fragmentation and inconsistency. I plan to delve more extensively into the topic of data in the public sector and its significance for the energy transition in future issues of notes. However, in this edition, I simply want to promote a project that endeavors to harness the (untapped) potential of existing data in effectively addressing climate change for local governments: The VALORADA project, in which I serve as a member of the advisory board (hence the promotion of the project here).
The goal of VALORADA is to empower European regions and cities to steer the upcoming societal transformation towards sustainable and climate-resilient development. (I admit, this is not the most catchy mission statement; welcome to the world of EU research projects.) The project will achieve this by integrating both technical and governance perspectives and by co-developing tested and customizable data tools, complying with the FAIR principles (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable data). These tools aim to access available climate datasets and to enable the sharing, community-validation and use of local socioeconomic, demographic, and Earth-observation data.
I hope that the data tools developed by this project will be both available and beneficial for municipalities. I've witnessed numerous research projects yielding excellent results but falling short in reaching users effectively or at all. This should not be a concern for many research questions, as their outcomes contribute to the accumulation of knowledge. I anyway strongly oppose the idea of requiring valorization of scientific knowledge in all cases.
However, in the case of a project like VALORADA, which explicitly seeks to provide tools for policymakers, it is crucial to ensure the delivery of these tools. As a member of the advisory board, my primary focus will be on ensuring the practical implementation of the project's outcomes for the benefit of policy makers (and for strategic policy consultants like myself).