Disclaimer:
Please be aware that the content herein has not been peer reviewed. It consists of personal reflections, insights, and learnings of the contributor(s). It may not be exhaustive, nor does it aim to be authoritative knowledge.
Title
Please provide a name for your action learning plan.
Building Collective Intelligence for Climate Resilience in Togo
Challenge statement
Challenge type: If you are working on multiple challenges, please indicate if this is your "big bet" or "exploratory" challenge.
Please note: we ask you to only submit a maximum of 3 challenges - 1x Big Bet, 2x Exploratory. Each challenge must be submitted individually.
EXPLORATORY
Challenge statement: What is your challenge? (Please answer in specific terms: "Our challenge is that...”.)
Our challenge is to leverage collective intelligence to build climate resilience in Togo by connecting diverse stakeholders, generating and analyzing relevant data, and using insights to inform decision-making.
Background: What is the history of your challenge? What is causing or driving it? Who is involved? How does the current situation look like? What undesired effects does it produce?
Climate change is a significant threat to Togo's development, exacerbating existing challenges such as food insecurity, poverty, and conflict. The country is highly vulnerable to climate risks such as droughts, floods, and violent winds, and faces complex social, economic, and environmental challenges related to agriculture -the main contribution to the country’s GDP-, land use, and natural resource management. These challenges are further compounded by a lack of reliable data and information on climate impacts, as well as limited stakeholder engagement and collaboration.
Quantitative evidence: What (official) data sources do you have on this challenge that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge? You can add text, a link, or a picture.
According to the Global Climate Risk Index, Togo is ranked 8th among the countries most affected by climate change in the last 20 years. In 2018, floods affected over 9,000 people and caused significant damage to infrastructure, while a drought in 2019 caused food insecurity for over 630,000 people.
https://www.republicoftogo.com/toutes-les-rubriques/societe/des-inondations-ne-sont-pas-a-exclure
https://www.republiquetogolaise.com/gestion-publique/0705-6867-risques-d-inondation-le-gouvernement-invite-a-la-vigilance https://reliefweb.int/report/togo/les-inondations-continuent-de-faire-des-victimes-au-togo
Qualitative evidence: What weak signals have you recently spotted that characterizes its urgency? Please provide qualitative information that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge. You can add text, a link, or a picture.
Recent reports indicate that farmers in Togo are struggling to adapt to changing weather patterns, and are experiencing declining crop yields, reduced soil fertility, and increased pest and disease pressure. Stakeholders across different sectors also report challenges related to water scarcity, energy access, and infrastructure resilience. These issues have significant social, economic, and environmental implications, and require coordinated and innovative solutions.
https://www.togofirst.com/fr/agro/1909-10641-togo-la-fao-va-lancer-un-projet-de-resilience-climatique-adresse-aux-communautes-cotieres
Value proposition: What added value or unique value proposition is your Accelerator Lab bringing to solving this challenge? Why is it your Lab that needs to work on this challenge and not other actors within UNDP, other stakeholders in the country respectively? Why is it worth investing resources to this challenge?
As an Accelerator Lab, we bring a unique set of skills, expertise, and networks to addressing this challenge. We can leverage our connections with diverse stakeholders across sectors, our innovation methods and tools, and our experience in co-creation and collective intelligence to build a data-driven, participatory, and adaptive approach to climate resilience. Our Lab is well-positioned to facilitate partnerships, generate and analyze relevant data, and co-create actionable insights that inform policy and practice.
Short “tweet” summary: We would like to tweet what you are working on, can you summarize your challenge in a maximum of 280 characters?
Building climate resilience in Togo through collective intelligence: connecting stakeholders, generating & analyzing data, and using insights to inform decision-making. Let's co-create a more sustainable future together. #CI4Climate #AcceleratorLab #Togo
Partners
Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.
Please state the name of the Parter:
Ministère de l'Environnement et des Ressources Forestières
What sector does our partner belong to?
Government (&related)
Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.
Co-creating and implementing policy solutions for climate resilience in Togo
Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?
No
Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.
Please state the name of the Parter:
Direction Générale de la Météorologie Nationale du Togo
What sector does our partner belong to?
Government (&related)
Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.
Collaboration on developing agrometeorological data collection systems and using data to inform decision-making for climate-resilient infrastructure.
Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?
No
Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.
Please state the name of the Parter:
Myditek
What sector does our partner belong to?
Private Sector
Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.
Provide IOT sensors and data analysis capabilities
Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?
Yes
Learning questions
Learning question: What is your learning question for this challenge? What do you need to know or understand to work on your challenge statement?
What types of data and information are most relevant and useful for building climate resilience in Togo, and how can we generate and analyze them effectively? How can we use collective intelligence methods and tools to effectively communicate and act on climate resilience insights?
To what stage(s) in the learning cycle does your learning question relate?
Explore, Test
Usage of methods: Relating to your choice above, how will you use your methods & tools for this learning question? What value do these add in answering your learning question?
Human-centered co-creation workshops will be used to involve stakeholders in the process of designing, testing, and finetuning solution prototypes. Systems thinking will be used to analyze the complexity of the challenge and identify potential leverage points for intervention. Of course, collective intelligence methods are at the heart of the exercise itself to ensure community participation and involvement.
Existing data gaps: Relating to your choice above, what existing gaps in data or information do these new sources of data addressing? What value do these add in answering your learning question?
The existing data gaps may include the lack of detailed local climate data, incomplete understanding of the impact of climate change on local ecosystems and agriculture, and limited knowledge of the endemic practices and perspectives of local communities related to climate change. The new data sources could help fill these gaps by providing additional localized geodata points and perspectives that can inform decision-making.
Closing
Early leads to grow: Think about the possible grow phase for this challenge - who might benefit from your work on this challenge or who might be the champions in your country that you should inform or collaborate with early on to help you grow this challenge?
Potential early leads to grow could include local NGOs working on climate change or improved agriculture, community leaders or organizations, and government agencies or ministries that are responsible for agriculture or environmental policy. Collaboration with these stakeholders could help to build support for the initiative and increase its impact.
END OF ACTION LEARNING PLAN: Thank you! The form saves automatically and your submission has been recorded. You may now exit this window.
2Zero hunger
13Climate action
15Life on land
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