Design-driven policy lab for enhanced climate adaptation of transport systems (PolKaT)

Climate adaptation of transport systems is crucial for society's ability to adapt in both the short and long term. In this research project, we will address critical challenges for climate change adaptation of transport infrastructure, where differences in mandates planning conditions, legislation and management of uncertainty shape governance complexity.

A policy lab is an incubator, a site where a group of actors with specialized expertise on an issue can come together and work rapidly and focused on policy development. It is an approach well suited to issues such as climate change adaptation where sustainable change needs to evolve beyond 'silo thinking' - here we have the opportunity to bring together multiple stakeholders and enable co-creation between them.

Aim

The project aims to address conflicting objectives and, through the policy lab, contribute knowledge and concrete policy proposals to bridge these and find positive synergies. Particular emphasis will be placed on managing long time horizons, large uncertainties and cooperation needs based on site-specific conditions.

To analyze the site-specific conditions, the policy lab is conducted together with five case organizations. These are the municipalities of Ystad, Halmstad, Lerum and Skellefteå, as well as the municipal association of the Gothenburg Region.

Policy lab

The policy lab starts with prioritization and reformulation of issues, followed by an expansion phase to seek new perspectives and develop concrete solutions. It brings together actors associated with the project in a generative process but also actors identified during the project. The policy lab is carried out in three phases: (1) mapping, (2) prototyping and (3) evaluation.

We then collect and concretize proposals that emerge during the policy lab and share recommendations on, for example, which laws and policies need to be developed / changed to enable and support the transport system's climate adaptation.

Expected outcomes

The project is expected to result in a process tool to be used in urban planning processes to enhance cooperation between different actors based on site-specific conditions, and in concrete policy proposals in the form of development and change needs of existing frameworks for climate adaptation work. Expected effects include improved intra-municipal and inter-organizational cooperation and conditions for initiating processes for developed and adapted legislation and regulations.