Written by Brenda Mwalukanga (Lusaka Embedded Researcher) The Future Resilience of African Cities and Lands (FRACTAL) is a project that aims at understanding decision making around climate change in the context of the city system. It is a project that aims at merging climate science information with decision making practice in urban development and management, focusing… Read more »
CSAG Blog
FRACTAL’s first learning lab: the moment we’ve all been waiting for…
Wednesday, 7 September 2016, and the stage was being set for FRACTAL’s first learning lab event: a large circle of participants (40 or so) filled a workshop room that was void of tables and computers. A “safe space” for knowledge co-production was being created as participants expressed their requests for freedom of speech, creativity, honesty… Read more »
The Future of Africa’s Wind Energy Sector in a Changing Climate.
“…Of all the forces of nature, I should think the wind contains the largest amount of motive power—that is, power to move things. Take any given space of the earth’s surface— for instance, Illinois; and all the power exerted by all the men, and beasts, and running-water, and steam, over and upon it, shall not… Read more »
Ramblings of a recovering positivist
I was fortunate enough to attend the Scoping dialogue for Resilience thinking and practice for development in Stellenbosch on 4 and 5 August 2016, which had four main objectives, namely: i) foster deeper understanding of resilience and resilience thinking; ii) explore and share how resilience ideas are being used in practice; iii) scope the possibilities… Read more »
Reflections from the 2nd Southern African Adaptation Colloquium
Written by Alice McClure, 11 July 2016 Wits University, South Africa The 2nd Southern African Adaptation Colloquium was held on 7 & 8 July 2016 at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. On trend with recent adaptation thinking and writing, the colloquium provided an opportunity for different communities to come together and share experiences… Read more »
Communities of Practice: When do they succeed?
Anna Steynor, Katharine Vincent (Kulima Integrated Development Solutions), Katinka Waagsaether and Tracy Cull (Kulima Integrated Development Solutions) The establishment of a “community of practice” (COP) is an idealised vision that is often expressed as a desirable outcome of research projects. The successful establishment of a COP is seen to embody the notion of extending the… Read more »
Spoke or wheel?
A couple of weeks ago, a spoke in my bicycle snapped. I took the broken one out, got to the bike shop and handed it to the shop assistant. “What wheel is that?” he asked. “26 inch road bike’s” I answered confidently. He wasn’t satisfied: “Well, what type of wheel?” “Uh… round one?” He was… Read more »
The problem with living in a Global Village
This is not climate science, in fact it is not even rocket science, it is merely the ramblings of a middle aged woman, who finds herself in a group of scientists who travel a lot. So if you are smart or very busy or both you will go and find something else to do now…. Read more »
Reflections from the STEPS Summer School 2016
Written by Anna Taylor, 27 May 2016 I have just had the fortunate opportunity to participate in a 2 week summer school run by the STEPS Centre at the University of Sussex in the UK. STEPS stands for Social, Technological and Environmental Pathways to Sustainability. It is this pathways approach that is at the heart… Read more »