Nielsen, H.Ø. & Wejs, A. 2023. Partnerskabet Coast to Coast Climate Challenge (C2C CC). Analyse af partnerskabets performance. Aarhus Universitet, DCE – Nationalt Center for Miljø og Energi, 77 s. - Videnskabelig rapport nr. 550
http://dce2.au.dk/pub/SR550.pdf
Summary
This report analyses the performance of the partnership, Coast to Coast Climate Challenge (C2C CC). C2C CC was a 6-year climate adaptation project that ran from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2022. The project was supported by the EU LIFE Programme with approx. 52 million DKK and had a total budget of approx. 90 million DKK
The project was led by Central Denmark Region as the lead partner and included 30 other partners represented by municipalities, utilities, knowledge partners and the Central Denmark Region’s EU office in Brussels. The project contained 24 sub-projects with several stakeholders and collaboration partners involved.
The overarching goal of the project was to contribute to a climate-resilient region by:
As the largest collaborative project within climate adaptation to date, the C2C CC project was a prestigious project in Denmark. At the same time, the project was a prestigious project in the EU, as it was the first integrated climate adaptation project in the EU.
The size of the project as well as the number and composition of partners creates a certain complexity, which is why it is interesting - from a project perspective and from a research perspective - to examine the mechanisms that have influenced the cooperation within the partnership as well as its achievements. It is therefore the aim of this study to extract the essence of the experiences from C2C CC as a partnership with the aim that these experiences can inform future partnerships in the region, nationally and in the EU.
The C2C CC partnership has been organized as a network, and the analysis therefore draws on network governance literature (see e.g. Sørensen & Torfing 2009). The analysis, which is based on qualitative interviews and surveys with partners in the network, shows that the partnership has produced a range of noteworthy results, including both innovative climate adaptation solutions and solutions with co-benefits, integrating climate adaptation into nature protection and cultural heritage projects (or vice versa) and city planning more widely. Moreover, the partnership has increased the general level of knowledge and capacity in the participating partners. According to the network governance literature, such outputs are expected when a partnership brings together heterogeneous partners in a quadruple helix model, but the complexity of such a project calls for network governance that reinforces collaboration, trust and a common identity as well as a sense of direction. All of these qualities have been present in the C2C CC partnership.
The report introduces network governance theory in chapter 3. This theory is used to structure the analytical design, which is reflected in the project's methodological approach (chapter 2). The findings of the study are presented according to the study's analytical framework in a format with active use of the interviewees' own statements and in an easy-to-read language (chapters 4-10). Finally, the report concludes on the primary drivers and inhibitors for the partnership's performance, and these are condensed into 11 recommendations for future partnerships (chapter 11).
