Our white paper, Finding Common Ground: Integrated Climate Action for Open Smart Communities in Canada, was prepared by lead authors Matthew Claudel, Sophie Nitoslawski and Merlin Chatwin, with contributions from the Open North team.
This white paper is a starting point toward applying our experience in open smart cities, data governance, and civic technology to assist governments in their climate adaptation and mitigation initiatives. We recognize the ongoing efforts of organizations that have long advocated for climate action and environmental justice. As we enter the climate action space, we will do so by amplifying the thinking and experience of others, engaging in meaningful inter-organizational cooperation, and advocating for the use of contextually relevant data and technology to facilitate the collaboration required to confront such a difficult challenge, all in line with our organizational values.
Key takeaways
This paper is a preliminary exploration of contemporary climate action, and it is, above all, a statement of Open North’s intent to contribute. Rather than delivering answers, this paper concludes with a number of important questions:
- What are the existing strengths and gaps in the stakeholder ecosystem (intermediaries, firms, and higher orders of government) working on climate action in Canada?
- How can Open North complement the work that others are doing? What specific resources do municipalities and their partners need?
- Which of those resources are already available, and might Open North be capable of offering?
- How can Open North be held accountable in its climate action work?
The first step in answering these questions will be to engage with the existing landscape of actors. We hope that this paper is an open invitation to begin generative conversations. By listening, we believe that we can find collaborative pathways toward strengthening the foundations that others have built and complementing the growing climate action movement with the specific expertise we can offer.
Read the Full Report
Finding Common Ground: Integrated Climate Action for Open Smart Communities in Canada