WM Adapt World Cafes Tackle Climate Change

WM-Adapt is a UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funded research project led by the University of Birmingham in collaboration with the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and the Birmingham Voluntary Services Council (BVSC). It focuses on driving climate change adaptation in the West Midlands through community engagement, climate risk assessment, and the establishment of a Regional Adaptation Network.

The project also belongs to the Maximising UK Adaptation to Climate Change (MACC) programme. Funded by UKRI and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), MACC aims to enhance the nation’s preparedness for the impacts of climate change by building capacity, knowledge, and skills for practical and scalable climate adaptation solutions.

So far, five out of 16 planned Climate Adaptation World Café events have been held across the West Midlands, covering:

• Tipton Green, Sandwell
• Kingshurst, Fordbridge and Chelmsley Wood, Solihull
• Lyndon and Elmdon, Solihull
• St. Thomas, Dudley
• Smethwick, Sandwell
• Pleck and Willenhall South, Walsall

World Cafes — facilitated conversations used to stimulate group discussion in café-like setting — are being staged as part of the WM Adapt project. Funded by the UKRI (£2m), WM Adapt aims to maximise adaptation to climate change in the West Midlands and beyond. It is a transdisciplinary action research project with collaboration between researchers in the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences and School of Engineering, in partnership with the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and the Birmingham Voluntary Services Council (BVSC).

Find more information about the WM Adapt project.