Multi-level participation in integrative, systemic planning: The case of climate adaptation in Ghana

• Published in: European journal of operational research 2023-09, Vol.309 (3), p.1201-1217
• Main Authors: Helfgott, Ariella, Midgley, Gerald, Chaudhury, Abrar, Vervoort, Joost, Sova, Chase, Ryan, Alex
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Climate adaptation; Climate change; Community operational research; Developing countries; Food supply; Implementation process; Informatik; Information Systems; Integrated planning; Multilevels; Operational research; OR in developing countries; OR in developing country; OR in devoping countries; OR in government; Planning process; Problem structuring methods; Zoning
• ISSN: 0377-2217; 1872-6860; 1872-6860
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejor.2023.01.045

•Climate adaptation can be impeded by disconnects between different stakeholders group.•This is especially problematic when working across local-to-national policy levels.•A multi-level integrated planning and implementation (MIPI) process is presented.•Enhanced trust and mutual understanding enable integrative systemic analysis.•A trial of the MIPI process in Ghana successfully overcame problematic disconnects. Adaptation to climate change is impacted by a range of interrelated processes operating from local to global levels. There are often significant disconnects between different people's perceptions of responsibilities, capabilities and motivations, and divergent understandings of how the system works across actors, sectors and levels of governance. This results in misalignments of policies and practices, plus ineffective flows of resources and knowledge across the network of climate adaptation actors. As these disconnects are rooted in deep misunderstandings of the grounded realities of different actors, an experiential process of mutual discovery is required to build shared understanding and mutual respect. While it is common in the literature for people to talk about multi-level governance, most existing planning processes involve the production of separate plans at each individual level, based on the often-mistaken assumption that they will aggregate into an effective multi-level approach. This paper presents a new, multi-level integrated planning and implementation (MIPI) process, bringing together diverse actors from community, district, regional and national levels in the same workshop. The MIPI process creates a safe space that allows participants to interact directly in conducting systemic, cross-level analyses, as well as the multi-level integration of policies, plans and programs. The paper describes how the MIPI process was designed and facilitated in Ghana to address climate change, agricultural development and food security. This methodology has potential for much broader applicability to complex, multi-level planning and implementation processes.