AgriAdapt: Strategies for Participatory Design and Development of a Climate Risk Tool

Climate risk tools play a critical role in identifying and understanding climate change impacts on agricultural supply chains. However, many existing tools focus only on the production level and not on climate vulnerabilities in post-production nodes of the supply chain, such as processing, packaging, storage, transport, and distribution. Moreover, tools are designed for users but often not with users.

Over the course of a 19-month grant, WRI set out to co-design and co-develop a digital map-based tool to help assess agricultural supply chain climate risks, which went on to be called AgriAdapt. The team learned of the nuances and challenges involved in co-creating a climate risk tool via a participatory approach with stakeholders in three pilot agricultural value chains: rice and cotton in India and coffee in Colombia.

This paper details the approach and different steps taken to create, refine, and launch the prototype tool, for example conducting research on a crop and its geographical context, identifying and collaborating with subgrantees, setting up workshops to identify data needs and hosting feedback sessions. The paper discusses five aspects of the participatory approach that worked well and lessons learned from the process. It is meant as a resource for funders and developers of similar tools interested in participatory design and development.

To experience the tool, please head to: https://agriadapt.org/

Highlights

Climate risk tools play a critical role in identifying and understanding climate impacts on agricultural supply chains. However, many of these tools focus only on the production level and not on vulnerabilities in other nodes of the supply chain, such as processing, packaging, storage, transport, and distribution.

This paper describes the participatory approach taken to design and develop AgriAdapt, a free map-based online tool created to inform adaptation decisions for postproduction links in agricultural supply chains. It details strategies used to create the prototype tool and lessons learned from the process.

AgriAdapt (beta) was piloted for three value chains in two countries: rice and cotton in India and coffee in Colombia. The target user groups engaged in the design and development of AgriAdapt were composed of supply chain managers, public sector planners, agricultural nonprofit organizations, and researchers.

• The AgriAdapt team learned the importance of establishing a deep understanding of existing tools and in-country data landscapes and needs; an iterative learning ethos; in-country support; a stakeholder engagement strategy; and effective cross-team communication.
• Participatory approaches applied with an equity lens can help provide a more holistic picture of value chain vulnerabilities and lead to the creation of useful and accessible climate risk tools.

About this paper

In July 2021, World Resources Institute (WRI) received a grant from the Walmart Foundation to develop a climate risk assessment tool for three pilot agricultural value chains: rice and cotton in India and coffee in Colombia. A diverse team of stakeholders both within and beyond WRI was mobilized to design and deliver a prototype climate risk assessment tool that went on to be called AgriAdapt.

With set geographies, crops, and the guiding principle of equity, the first task was to understand the context: operations across a supply chain; the unique characteristics of rice, cotton, and coffee; the socioeconomic realities within which they are produced, processed, and consumed; and the climate risks and perceptions that differ across crops and their respective supply chains. The team also needed to understand the data landscape, particularly the relevance of medium- to long-term climate risks. While a stakeholder team engaged with in-country actors to understand adaptation priorities and user needs, data and product teams iteratively designed a prototype tool guided, as much as feasible, by stakeholder engagement and feedback sessions.

This paper documents the participatory design process of AgriAdapt that was guided by the Principles for Digital Development—a set of guidelines that combine the 2009 Innovation Principles of the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Greentree Principles of 2010, and the United Kingdom’s Design Principles, among others (Principles for Digital Development n.d.). Over the course of this 19-month grant, the AgriAdapt team learned of the nuances and challenges involved in cocreating a user-driven climate risk tool. These included key lessons on incorporating equity into its theory of change and tool development given the constraints of short-term, project-based funding and the difficulty of accessing the most vulnerable beneficiaries—especially with COVID-19 travel restrictions. Within these constraints, the team decided to focus on high-influence target users who had the internet access and the technical skills to navigate AgriAdapt (e.g., extension agents or public policy planners) and could amplify AgriAdapt’s information via their networks to benefit climate-vulnerable groups.

The project’s lessons are valuable within WRI because it strives to better serve climate-vulnerable groups through innovative data products. Yet they are also important in the broader “data for impact” community, where large investments in highly sophisticated and accurate climate data are rarely complemented by investments in, and evaluations of, the relevance, usefulness, usability, and positive impact of climate information tools. Therefore, audiences for this publication include funders and developers of similar tools interested in participatory design and development.

Key aspects of participatory tool development:

• A deep understanding of the context in target locations is required to understand user needs and avoid duplication of existing efforts. The AgriAdapt team established a deep understanding of existing agricultural climate risk tools as well as of the national context in Colombia and subnational context (state level) in India to understand user needs and avoid duplication with existing efforts. This helped the team to clarify current gaps, demands, and target users for the tool and to avoid duplication with existing tools.
• An iterative learning ethos throughout the project cycle. This included an open, flexible, and humble discovery process to adjust primary user groups and priority user preferences throughout the engagement process.
• Subgrants to local partners for in-country support. Project staff partnered with a local organization in India and one in Colombia that had expertise in the selected value chains. They provided fundamental on-the-ground knowledge, relationships, and outreach.
• A clearly delineated stakeholder engagement strategy. With the help of local partners, the team systematically gathered and documented user needs and feedback through a combination of interviews, surveys, and workshops.
• Effective communication and coordination across teams and groups. Different experts and staff from within and outside WRI were involved in different phases of the project, necessitating smooth coordination mechanisms and transparent communication channels, despite remote work.