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Welcome to the CLIM-CAP (Competences for sustainable city development: Qualification scheme for Climate Adaptation in Construction, Architecture and Planning) project website.

The CLIM-CAP project has been established to develop an innovative European Union (EU) accredited training qualification offering professionals who work in the built environment sector the practical skills and knowledge required to plan and deliver adaptation into the built environment of urban areas.

 A partnership of six organisations from five EU countries have come together to develop the training curriculum and to create a multi-platform learning environment through which improve the capacity of those involved in building resilience to climate change in the places where people live and work. This is essential in order to respond to climate change by integrating effective climate change adaptation measures into planning and construction practices.

The CLIM-CAP partners include the  Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) and Akademie der Ruhr-Universität gGmbH (AKA) from Germany, the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) from the UK, the Wageningen Academy (WBS) in the Netherlands, the Energiaklub Climate Policy Institute and Applied Communications (EK) in Hungary, and the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) in Spain.

Working together, the experienced CLIM-CAP partners will share resources and expertise on known climate change adaptation impacts and existing training materials and modules, to devise a new qualification scheme. Click on the 'About CLIM-CAP' tab for more details about the project and on ‘Project partners’ tab for more details about the partners.

The CLIM-CAP project was initiated in December 2013 and will run until December 2015. CLIM-CAP is co-financed by the European Union's Lifelong Learning Programme, which is managed by the Education, Audiovisual and Cultural Executive Agency.

This website will keep you up to date with all project activities and outcomes, including press coverage, reports, publications and training materials.

The CLIM-CAP project, funded by the European Lifelong Learning Programme, is developing an innovative EU accredited training qualification offering professionals who work in the built environment sector the practical skills and knowledge required to plan and deliver adaptation into the built environment of urban areas. Integrating climate change adaptation with planning, architecture and construction at the local level is integral to building resilience to climate change in the places where people live and work.

Working together, experienced partners from five EU countries will share resources and expertise on known climate change adaptation impacts and existing training materials and modules, to devise a new qualification scheme. Research has identified that there is a gap in knowledge transfer and communication between those responsible for spatial design and planning in urban areas, and the leading-edge research and solutions available across Europe.

The ultimate aim of CLIM-CAP is to develop a training programme that supports more informed and proactive development of climate change adaptation measures in towns, cities and villages through up-skilling the built environment professionals working on the planning, design and implementation of adaptation schemes.

To fulfill this aim, CLIM-CAP has five key objectives:

• To develop a curriculum that fulfills trainee needs based on a market and demand analyses by filling the existing gaps climate change adaptation training currently provided by partner countries.
• To develop a training programme that facilitates the transfer of integrated knowledge on climate change adaptation within the built environment and the processes of urban planning.
• For each project partner to pilot the training course within their partner country and to monitor the experience of trainees and trainers in order to provide to feedback that will improve the final CLIM-CAP training programme.
• To enable the development of new skills among built environment professionals that foster an integrated approach to the implementation of climate change adaptation within the built environment through the CLIM-CAP curriculum and learning environment.
• To continually monitor, assess, and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the CLIM-CAP curriculum development and training course during the lifetime of the project.

The CLIM-CAP project is divided into 8 Work Packages (WP); each Work Package is lead by a CLIM-CAP partner and all partners take part in all WPs.

The evaluation activities will monitor and improve the project measures and assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the products (curriculum development and training course).

The changing global climate resulting in an increase in extreme weather impacts has an effect on the social, economic and environmental qualities of towns and cities all over Europe. Warmer, wetter, winters and hotter, drier summers create a social, environmental and economic impact on all urban dwellers and dwellings and it is often the most vulnerable in society who are affected adversely.

Even under the most optimistic greenhouse gas reduction scenario the on-going process of climate change cannot be stopped. These impacts create new hazards and vulnerabilities putting the citizens´ quality of life and health at risk, particularly for the growing number of the elderly. Applicable knowledge from science and practice is necessary for decision making, even though uncertainties remain. However, the integration of scientific findings into urban development and planning practice has not yet taken place and fixed planning procedures lack both innovative approaches and adequate knowledge to integrate effective climate change adaptation measures into planning and construction practice.

The CLIM-CAP target group comprises professionals in the field of construction, architecture and planning and other built environment professions. This target audience will significantly profit from the project results since deficits in planning related aspects with regard to climate change, conflict moderation and knowledge management will be addressed by the final CLIM-CAP training course. These issues are of utmost relevance since planning processes are complex and the interests of planners, investors, politicians and others differ significantly.

CLIM-CAP will be able to foster job creation in two ways: on the one hand the actors in the regional to local planning sector will be qualified which creates new job opportunities for young academics that still lack such specific training. On the other hand CLIM-CAP fosters the climate adaptation sector as a whole by enhancing the sector´s growth through carrying out high-quality consultancy services. These two relevant aspects clearly address the Europe 2020 “Agenda for new skills and jobs”.

The CLIM-CAP consortium covers the range of skills and expertise needed to develop, promote and execute vocational training, including the application of new learning techniques. Partners with expert knowledge in climate change and adaptation are complemented by partners experienced in communication and dissemination. Consequently, the different tasks are divided between the partners according to their individual expertise. Several partners, such as TCPA and UPC, have extensive experience in European projects whereas others, such as EK, are also working on other Leonardo da Vinci projects. The coordinating partner, RUB, will be the main content provider for the training programme and partners WBS and AKA bring practical experience in setting up and managing vocational training courses.

The experience of the partners enables the consortium to build upon practical experience concerning

1. the conditions and demands of planning policies and processes for climate change,
2. the technical issues in climate adaptation implementation,
3. the competence in market analysis and training needs of the target groups, and
4. the demands of the key actors in this field.

All partners have a proven record in setting up new and innovative training courses (WBS, AKA) or in urban climatic research and practice (RUB, TCPA, EK, UPC). In addition to the content related experience, some partners (WBS, AKA) will be able to infuse their experience into the CLIM-CAP project regarding quality assessment and standardisation.

ClimCap Availability Check of Contents

ClimCap Content Collection

ClimCap Report Pilot Test Results

ClimCap Exploitation Plan

ClimCap Calendar 2016

ClimCap Logo

ClimCap Banner

ClimCap Deliverable: Availibility Check of Contents

ClimCap Roll-Up 1

ClimCap Roll-Up 2

Located in the midst of the dynamic, hospitable metropolitan area of the Ruhr, in the heart of Europe, the Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) is home to 5,600 employees and over 41,000 students from 130 countries.

The RUB is on its way to becoming one of the leading European universities of the 21st Century, and is celebrated for its internationally renowned degree programmes.

The climatology team of the Ruhr-University Bochum (RUB) has a considerable level of expertise on the field of the urban climatology.

Integrated in an interdisciplinary organisation of Hydrogeography, Soil Science, Vegetational Geography and Urban and Economical Geography and networked with regional planning organisations like the Regional Association Ruhr (RVR) the climatological work group is able to offer a holistic viewpoint on the structural climatic problems of the cities and the chances they possess to meet the challenges of climate change.

Link to a brief description of ClimCAP in german.

The Akademie der Ruhr-Universität gGmbH is a non-profit limited liability company offering lifelong-learning programs courses for professionals in management and soft-skills, engineering, geo sciences and finance and insurance. The Akademie der Ruhr-Universität gGmbH includes trainers and teachers partly from the Ruhr-Universität, as well as a number of experts from companies or external research organisations.

The Akademie der Ruhr-University gGmbH is owned by the Ruhr-Universität Bochum and the Gesellschaft der Freunde der Ruhr-Universität e.V. (Association of the friends of the Ruhr-Universität)

Energiaklub Climate Policy Institute and Applied Communications (EK) is a leading “think and do” NGO in the field of sustainable energy in Hungary. The organization works with 14 professionals on researches and studies for policymakers, and also manages pilot projects, trainings and communications. Energiaklub undertakes its work independently from political parties and business interests with credibility and professionalism. The Institute takes a broad perspective and maintains an extensive network of experts and partner organisations. The guiding organizational principles are clarity and transparency, as well as the search for solutions and constructive criticism.

The Centre of Land Policy and Valuations (CPSV) is a formally recognised research centre within the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) (http://www.upc.edu). It was founded in 1986 by its current director Dr. Josep Roca Cladera, to undertake research and offer postgraduate training in the field of the built and natural environment. It is located within the Faculty of Architecture (ETSAB) (http://www.etsab.upc.edu) and forms part of the Department of Architectural Technology I. The CPSV has a multidisciplinary staff of some 45 persons, comprising academics and researchers, and research and administrative support staff, as well as forming part of a wider Consolidated Research Group on the Quality of Urban Life and Sustainability of the Regional Government of Catalonia (SGR 1233-2009). The UPC has over 2,800 teaching and research staff members and almost 1,500 administrative and support personnel. It has almost 30,000 undergraduate students and 2,500 Master Degree students, with some 3,000 students enrolled on Doctoral Programmes.

Founded in 1899, the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) is Britain’s oldest charity concerned with planning, housing and the environment. The TCPA's recent activities have concentrated on the impact of climate change on existing and future communities including the processes needed to institutionalise adaptation measures and energy provision within the planning process to provide sustainable solutions which will ensure environmental and social benefits for future generations. The TCPA promotes sustainable development, social justice, environmental sustainability, and economic competitiveness by campaigning to reform the UK’s planning system. Its supporters are drawn from the public, private and voluntary sectors and it is an influential voice with all three sectors. The TCPA has extensive experience of pan-European working, including leading on the Regiostars award winning INTERREGIVC GRaBS project completed in August 2011 (www.grabs-eu.org), the IEE LEAP project completed in November 2013 (www.leap-eu.org), and the ongoing IEE SPECIAL project (www.special-eu.org) due to be completed in March 2016.

Wageningen Academy (WBS) is an international research and knowledge centre whose mission is to explore the potential of nature and improve the quality of life. Wageningen Academy implements this mission by focusing on three core areas, among which Living Environments. Within this area Wageningen Academy has a leading position in conducting research and providing education on various aspects of climate change including climate change adaptation. Wageningen Academy works internationally with a staff of 6,500 and 10,000 students from over 100 countries.