Evaluation of the International Training Program (ITP) 309 Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation (CCMA) implemented by SMHI, Swedish Metereological and Hydrological Institute (2015 – 2023)
The International Training Program, ITP 309 Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation (CCMA), is a capacity development programme implemented by the Swedish Meteorology, Hydrology and Institute (SMHI) and funded by Sida’s CAPDEV unit, under the strategy for capacity development, partnerships and methods that support the Agenda 2030 for sustainable development (KAPAME strategi).
In the countries included in ITP 309, climate change mitigation and adapatation considerations are often not adequately mainstreamed into policy, planning and decision-making. Changing weather patterns and extreme weather events due to climate change therefore require review of existing policies, plans and work processes based on the latest scientific climate data in order to achieve sustainable development in the most cost efficient manner. In addition, people at all levels need to be made aware of issues related to climate change in order to be able to adapt. The objective of ITP 309 on Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation is thus to capacitate people in key organisations, so that they can address climate change more effectively in order to limit any climate induced negative effects and to protect people and their livelihoods, while also meeting the country’s international climate obligations and commitments.
Many changes have taken place during the 8 years of implementation and the pandemic situation created a very different operational context to when the program started in 2015. The world has changed significantly on the environmental and Climate Change front and in the way we can travel. It is therefore important to assess if the objectives are still relevant, if the program’s methods are effective in reaching the desired results, and if the program is relevant for the participants and their institutions.
The intended use of this evaluation was to help Sida and SMHI to assess progress of on-going capacity development programs to learn what works well and what doesn’t work well. The evaluation will be used to inform decisions on how any future programs should be designed in order to further enhance sustainable, anticipated results in the area of Climate change and environmental policy. The evaluation identified results, collected lessons learned and provided SMHI and Sida with recommendations for future programme design and implementation.