Mobiliser les connaissances pour l'adaptation au changement climatique en Afrique: une réflexion sur la gestion adaptative des réseaux de connaissances

Resumen

This paper considers the first phase of the AfricaAdapt Network, a knowledge sharing network focused on adaptation to climate change in Africa. It focuses on the design and implementation processes of a knowledge sharing network in a distributed partnership from the perspective of the network?s lead institution at the time, namely the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), University of Sussex, UK, where the authors were based at time of writing. The focuses on the way in which the core group of partners developed the relationships, and ways of working that underpinned the network. Building on past research which identified components critical to the successful management of communities of practice (CoPs), these reflections focus on the people and roles played within the core group of partners; the structures and processes which facilitate or complicate the delivery of network functions; and the contribution of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to these processes. Evidence from AfricaAdapt points to the importance of exposing the role of power, encouraging the input of divergent perspectives, and embedding learning and reflection into practice.