The first episode in a new podcast series entitled STARTcast, was launched on Friday. It focuses on the FRACTAL project. In the episode, Dr Mzime Ndebele-Murisa, a Program Specialist at START International and member of the FRACTAL team, discusses the co-production of robust climate information during the FRACTAL project with climate scientists, Drs Chris Jack (CSAG), Richard Jones (MET Office) and Tamara Janes (MET Office).
Their conversation centres on the climate information distillation approach that the FRACTAL team adopted and developed during the project and considers their use of Climate Risk Narratives in the cities. For all three climate scientists, FRACTAL’s transdisciplinary approach presented an opportunity to co-produce climate information that was relevant and usable for decision makers. The co-production process meant that unusually, the climate scientists had to take something of a ‘back seat’ during the initial engagements as they listened and got to grips with the context of the cities they were researching and the context specific climate knowledge that already existed.
The episode is part of a podcast series that has been created by START International. It is the second series produced by the organisation and it is aimed at early- and mid-career scientists. Season one focussed on the nitty gritty of proposal writing. Season two turns the spotlight on FRACTAL, and looks at the transdisciplinary approaches that the FRACTAL team used to support climate resilience and adaptation decision making in nine southern African cities.
Another podcast series that highlights FRACTAL’s work was produced by FCFA and launched at the end of 2020: The African Climate Breakdown. The series shares stories from across the five FCFA projects, including FRACTAL, and looks at how climate change is being tackled and climate resilience is being built across Africa. All episodes from the series are available on the FCFA website and can also be found on Apple and Spotify.
