Strengthening local governance in the face of climate change: Lessons learned from a case study and a literature review
Summary of the presentation
Municipal governments are on the front lines of climate change adaptation. While capacity-building at the local level is widely recognized as a crucial aspect of climate action, evidence regarding learning needs and existing training initiatives is scarce. We will present the results of a study on a climate change training initiative developed by the Union des Municipalités du Québec for municipal decision-makers. This study gathered evidence on the structure, impact and usefulness of this initiative, and mapped the existing knowledge on training local governments on issues related to climate change adaptation. These results will be presented, along with an invitation to discuss their implications.
Learning objectives:
View a map of capacity-building practices for municipal decision-makers and the evidence on their effectiveness
Understand the specific needs and preferences of municipal decision-makers regarding capacity-building in Quebec
Discuss best practices for addressing these needs based on the available evidence
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* Presentation in french
Strengthening local governance in face of climate change: The case study of an online educational initiative developed by the Union des Municipalités du Québec
Speaker(s)
Blane Harvey is an Associate Professor and William Dawson Scholar in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education at McGill University, where he leads the Leadership and Learning for Sustainability Lab. An interdisciplinary researcher, his work spans the social and natural sciences on themes of learning, collaboration, environmental change, and education for sustainable development. Dr. Harvey’s research explores how knowledge about climate change is produced, validated, and communicated, and how knowledge sharing can advance climate justice. He is an Associate Editor for the journals Climate and Development and FACETS.
Maxime Goulet-Langlois is a researcher-practitioner with over a dozen years of professional experience developing continuing education projects within social and community service contexts. He is currently completing his doctoral thesis in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education at McGill University. At the intersection of sociology and pedagogy, his research focuses on infrastructures for experimentation and knowledge mobilization related to the fields of social innovation and socio-technical transitions (e.g., social R&D, coalitions, social innovation labs, etc.). He is particularly interested in the conditions for developing critical and political thinking skills that promote social and environmental justice. Maxime is also a lecturer at HEC Montréal, where he teaches program evaluation, and at Université Laval, where he recently began teaching in the Master’s program in Climate Action.
