Atelier 2 - Measuring adaptation progress in critical infrastructure sectors

Measuring adaptation progress in critical infrastructure sectors

Alexandra Lesnikowski, Concordia University, Assistant Professor

Présenté en anglais

Résumé : Canada’s National Adaptation Strategy identifies infrastructure systems as key entry points for building climate resilience. Monitoring, evaluation, and assessment of adaptation progress in these sectors will be essential to track the implementation status of adaptation initiatives, ensure accountability for meeting goals and targets, assess changes in risk and vulnerability over time, and learn from both successes and failures. The objective of this session is to foster conversation, share knowledge, and explore opportunities for advancing work on adaptation monitoring, evaluation, and assessment in critical infrastructure sectors such as electricity, transportation, and communications, including social infrastructure sectors like health care and housing. It expands on the 2024 Ouranos-funded study “Monitoring and Evaluation for a Resilient Electricity Sector” to examine how measuring adaptation progress contributes to improved adaptation governance and results across critical infrastructure sectors more broadly. The session will follow a World Café format, in which participants will be invited to discuss question prompts in small groups over three 20-minute rounds. Discussion rounds will address the following overarching topics: 1) What is motivating interest in adaptation monitoring, evaluation, and assessment within different critical infrastructure sectors? 2) How are organizations in these sectors incorporating monitoring, evaluation, and assessment into adaptation planning and decision-making? 3) How can we maximize the usefulness of adaptation monitoring, evaluation, and assessment to improve adaptation learning, decision-making, and results? Participants will be provided with paper and pens to document their conversations, and the session will conclude with a general debrief and discussion among participants.