This case study from the University of Manchester, United Kingdom (UK)‘s “Climate Change, Innovation and ICTs” research project, funded by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and managed by the University’s Centre for Development Informatics (CDI), describes a multi-stakeholder initiative that sought to build city-wide climate change information in Mexico. The main driver for the Virtual Centre on Climate Change (CVCCCM) in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) has been the urgent need to act on the already present environmental impacts provoked by climate change in Mexico City. The rationale for the Centre was that it would provide not just evidence and advice to policymakers, but also help inform the broader society – always enabled by information and communication technology (ICT)-based networks and other digital tools.
Among the Centre’s initial knowledge production tasks related to climate change are the following: assessment of air and water quality impact; vulnerability of conservation areas; the economics and politics of climate change; poverty as a risk factor in implementation of public policies; and efforts to popularise climate change science via social networks. Based on the results of this work, the Centre has been able to make very detailed scientific proposals around: climate change and water, air, and ground resources; the health sector; public services; and land use planning.
Read the rest of the summary: http://www.comminit.com/ict-4-development/content/building-evidence-base...