In British Columbia, the Climate Action Secretariat (CAS) and Emergency Management and Climate Resilience (EMCR) partnered on resilience research, with OXD guiding the analysis of data usage across sectors.
BC's climate strategy for 2022-2025
BC's Climate Preparedness and Adaptation Strategy (CPAS) outlines actions to address climate impacts and build resilience throughout the province.
Supporting the Province’s vision
CAS identifies government sectors proactively addressing climate adaptation. While EMCR focuses on natural hazard risk reduction, the distinct data applications by both entities highlighted the necessity for collaboration. Their united aim? Developing an effective future data strategy.
OXD’s expertise and team
Before rolling out a formal data strategy, CAS and EMCR turned to OXD. Their objective was to comprehend the diverse facets of climate adaptation data—its context, sources, and users.
Using a service design approach, we supported the initial discovery research to understand the needs and uses for this data to make risk-based decisions from the perspectives of the Ministries, their partners in local government, climate organizations, and the private sector. As part of our analysis, we also identified challenges in accessing data and opportunities that could be addressed through a data strategy. This work is foundational to designing a future cross-government data strategy.
The project team included staff from CAS Climate Risk Management, service designers from the Service Transformation Branch, and OXD.
A three-phased approach
The project unfolded in three stages:
- Alignment and planning: Define the problem, set goals, and pinpoint key data users.
- Discovery research: Conduct user research, synthesize findings, and understand user data needs.
- Exploration and documentation: Map the research findings, create personas, and draft recommendations.
Boosting data quality through collaboration
The united endeavor promises enhancements in data quality and accessibility. It aims to bridge any data gaps and empower users across British Columbia with enhanced capacities and skills.
Strategy defined by user needs
Our research and service design approach made sure the strategy was firmly rooted in actual user needs. This ensured the people working with the data, using the data to make decisions, and asking for the data, are successful.