Through our role as the Lead Technical Advisor in the Community Solutions Network, Open North identified a gap in support and capacity for data governance and the integration of digital technology into day-to-day operations in small- and medium-sized municipalities and communities. This informed the direction of our work, focusing on small- and medium-sized municipalities and communities for this research. In conducting 40 virtual interviews with local government staff leading climate action within their organization and 11 calls with experts working in the climate and local government space, we sought to identify some of the gaps in climate adaptation efforts in communities in Canada. This brief is a product of those calls, highlighting the challenges that were most typically cited and the potential steps that could be taken to mitigate them.
First, this brief is primarily for small- and medium-sized municipalities and communities. While much of what is highlighted here will not be new to staff in these organizations, particularly climate-focused staff, the purpose of this brief is to demonstrate that these are shared challenges. Understanding that you are facing many of the same challenges as your neighbours is the first step in facilitating greater collaboration, the central solution proposed here. This brief is also for funders, conveners, and higher orders of government. One of the roles these organizations play is to support the work of climate staff in local government, and understanding the unique challenges that many of the smaller municipalities and communities face is integral to designing funding and support that accomplishes this. This research identifies the funding and support that has worked and the types that have not.