Regional : Promoting Urban Climate Change Resilience in Selected Asian Cities - Knowledge Management and Resilience Measurement for Urban Climate Change Resilience (Subproject 2)

Subproject 2 (SP2) will support a range of activities that generate and disseminate evidence and experience-based knowledge related to UCCR based primarily on UCCRTF supported interventions. SP2 will support knowledge inputs to enhance the quality of existing and proposed UCCRTF interventions, but will also use a learning-based approach to monitoring & evaluation (M&E) that will enable supported projects to become generators of knowledge in the new and emerging field of urban resilience.

SP2 will primarily cover the countries that are eligible for UCCRTF support and will focus activities related to knowledge capture and resilience measurement in the cities where UCCRTF is also supporting urban planning processes or investment grants. The knowledge that emerges from ongoing work in UCCRTF supported countries and cities will be shared internally within ADB and externally beyond UCCRTF supported cities with targeted audiences in order to scale up best practices for building urban resilience.

SP2 will support innovative approaches and pilot activities related to knowledge capture and dissemination including, but not limited to: podcasts; explainer videos; shared-learning dialogues; local and national urban resilience communities of practice; as well as other regional, national and global events.

The Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund (UCCRTF) aims to scale up urban climate change resilience (UCCR) especially for the urban poor across 25 secondary cities in Asia, prioritizing seven of ADB's developing member countries (DMCs), namely Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines and Viet Nam. The UCCRTF takes an urban systems-centered approach that supports climate change integration into city planning, project development and implementation, and knowledge sharing and capacity building, to reduce the risks of increasing urbanization and climate change on urban populations, particularly the poor.

UCCRTF was designed to have three complementary areas of support, with different funding allocations, offered to cities in DMCs through ADB Operational Departments and SDCC. The three areas are (i) investments (70% of UCCRTF funds); (ii) urban resilience planning (20%); and, (iii) knowledge management (KM) and resilience measurement (10%). To support these three areas, the C-R-CDTA Promoting Urban Climate Change Resilience in Selected Asian Cities was approved on 8 April 2015 and the first Subproject for urban resilience planning was approved on 22 June 2015.

To date, subproject 1 has supported the preparation of climate resilient integrated urban plans and project preparation in 7 towns in Bangladesh. Two knowledge products documenting the approach is currently under preparation. A proposal to support a similar activity for 3 towns in Pakistan was also just approved. As opposed to the conventional approach of identifying infrastructure investments on the basis of growth center development, the Urban Climate Change Resilience (UCCR) approach involves the (i) preparation of climate risks and vulnerabilities assessment (CRVA) at regional and city level; (ii) identification of vulnerable areas and communities; and (iii) climate screening of infrastructure towards the investment in climate resilient infrastructure. It enables municipalities to develop a phased infrastructure investment process that takes into consideration climate resilience vis a vis urban development. The CDTA has resulted in integrated urban plans that mainstream climate change mitigation and adaptation, which support the identification and preparation of subprojects integrating UCCR principles.

In order to scale up the UCCR approach, there is a need to capture the experiences emerging from this and other UCCRTF activities, develop the methodology, and establish the business case for investing in resiliency which includes measuring enhanced resiliency of communities as well as reduced losses. Hence the proposal for subproject 2 focusing on knowledge and monitoring and evaluation.

To help define the scope of the Subproject 2 on knowledge and resilience measurement, a Regional Knowledge Landscape Analysis and Research Paper on Measuring Urban Climate Change Resilience were completed in October 2015. The preparatory work concluded that capacity development at the city level for urban resilience planning, knowledge management that captures new and emerging lessons as they emerge from the field, peer to peer learning to facilitate horizontal learning and disseminate resilience approaches, and resilience measurement are inherently interrelated.

Cities in selected DMCs, specially the poor and vulnerable residents, are more resilient to the direct and indirect impacts of climate change

UCCR Knowledge is created, assessed and utilized

The active engagement of stakeholders in the resilience measurement and capacity development activities at the city level indicates an enhanced understanding of urban climate change resilience.

The online statistics for the newsletters, also show that these are being read, with an average open rate: 22 (+2%) (as of June 2022). The number of subscribers also increased to 1,211 (up from 1,074 in May 2021).

System for monitoring and reporting on UCCRTF activities developed and operationalized

Technical backstopping, Capacity development, and knowledge sharing activities for targeted cities, communities and individuals on UCCR completed

Knowledge products on experiences emerging from UCCRTF supported projects captured, synthesized and shared

Output 1 (M&E): The team finalized the methodology for the endline survey in March 2022 and completed roll out in 17 cities across 4 DMCs in August. As part of the work on Indicator 2 (measuring reduced loss), the team has completed drafting the three (3) economic case studies in Bangladesh, Vietnam and Nature Based Solutions (New Clark City and Makassar), gathering data at both country level and city level to refine the model further with a view to the completion of modelling for the final report.

Output 2 (Capacity Development): The second thematic package on Nature-based Solutions is in its final stages, while work on the last thematic package on Geospatial tools for climate resilience will commence. Conduct of awareness-raising activities with the city stakeholders, particularly the dissemination of the City Resilience Profiles (CRPs) in workshop format in 17 cities was completed in July, while the production of knowledge capture products including Event Snapshot and City Snapshots will continue until November.

Output 3 (Knowledge Management): Since 2019, this output has delivered 61 event snapshots, 7 COVID/City Snapshots and 13 newsletters. The CRPs produced under this output have also been disseminated in all 17 cities.

All consultants under SP2 will be engaged by ADB in accordance with its Guidelines on the Use of Consultants (2013, as amended from time to time). SP2 will require the services of individual consultants and an international firm. Overall, the input of 109 person-months of international consultants and 347 person-months of national consultants will be required.

Different methods of consultant selection will apply, depending on the size and nature of the contracts. The consultants will be engaged using procurement modalities as quality-and-cost-based selection with a technical financial ratio of 90:10. Output based (lump sum) contracts will be considered for consulting services.