The Problem of Fit: Scenario Planning and Climate Change Adaptation in the Public Sector

Lauren Rickards, John Wiseman, Taegen Edwards and Che Biggs
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Che Biggs: Victorian Eco-Innovation Lab (VEIL), The University of Melbourne, Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, Old Commerce Building, University of Melbourne Victoria, Australia 3010

Environment and Planning C, 2014, vol. 32, issue 4, 641-662

Abstract: Adapting to climate change is a new responsibility for state and local government. Yet there is little clarity about what is involved, beyond an expectation of acting in a rational, informed manner. This paper presents a study from Victoria, Australia into public servants' perceptions and experiences of using scenario techniques for adaptation. It suggests that while scenario development is often positive for those involved, utilising scenarios to directly ‘inform’ adaptation decision making is more difficult. It seems that scenarios are a valuable but awkward form of evidence in the contemporary environment of evidence-based adaptation, introducing new substantive knowledge in an unfamiliar form, easily dismissed on credibility, legitimacy, and salience grounds. While scenario thinking is a good fit with climate change adaptation, it clashes with the predictive paradigm underlying the evidence-based decision-making model. This suggests that, for adaptation to better fit the institutional environment, alterations to the latter are needed.

Keywords: climate change adaptation; scenario planning; public sector; institutional fit (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:envirc:v:32:y:2014:i:4:p:641-662

DOI: 10.1068/c12106

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