Strengthening adaptive capacity in four Canadian provinces : 2013 ADAPTool application

It produces two kinds of assessments: 1) it gauges the ability of existing policies or programs to support adaptation measures undertaken in response to the specified stressor by the policy target groups and 2) it assesses the general adaptability of the policies or programs themselves: are they likely to respond well under the influence of the anticipated as well as unanticipated changes? [...] The objective of the project was to test the ADAPTool in a broader range of contexts in order to refine and enhance the tool for wider application. [...] Scoring results tell only part of the story, and much of the benefit of the tool came from the discussion and interpretation of results by program staff in the specific context of local conditions. [...] In the case of Manitoba, a recently recruited climate change specialist in the forestry department championed the analysis and managed the process to benefit the branch and its current priorities. [...] In subsequent sections, we synthesize the conclusions from the case studies, analyze feedback from the participating analysts on the experiences of the policy assessment and describe lessons from the application of the four cases.