Accountability for whom? Designing outcome-based MEL for climate adaptation across governance scales
Measuring climate adaptation effectiveness is essential yet complex. Without robust Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL), it is difficult to assess whether investments in adaptation action genuinely reduces vulnerability and enhance resilience. Yet, tracking performance in terms of outcomes is hindered by robustness of outcome and impact pathways over long time horizons, physio-socio-cultural context dependencies, and fragmented governance scales. MEL is much more than an arbitrary selection of indicators, and accountability for adaptation is inherently political: it implicitly shapes how progress is defined, by whom, and whether the purpose is limited to compliance or oriented towards genuine learning.
28 October 2026 | 15:30 CEST to 16:00 CEST | Lille, France
Abstract
Our contribution outlines the outcome-based MEL framework in development under the UNDERPIN project (EU Horizon, 2025–2028). The framework aims to measure adaptation effectiveness and resilience across governance scales, moving beyond output-based reporting toward medium-term changes in adaptive capacity and vulnerability. The methodology integrates a thematic review of global, EU, national climate adaptation and resilience MEL frameworks as well as expert interviews, and co-production workshops across four European use cases: the Basque Country (Spain), Cluj Metropolitan Area (Romania), Normandy (France), and Košice (Slovakia).
We critically reflect on three structural tensions surfaced during the process: (1) prescription vs. flexibility in indicator selection; (2) learning-oriented vs. compliance-oriented evaluation logic; and (3) serving multiple user (supranational, national, regional, local) needs without compromising methodological rigor. We find that these tensions are not implementation failures but inherent features of multi-level climate governance. Making these frictions explicit is a vital contribution to designing systems that empower under-resourced regional authorities while meeting high-level of policy demands. By questioning who MEL systems are designed for and how accountability can support democratic learning, we offer a critical pathway toward more equitable and effective climate adaptation governance.
Rationale and Objectives
This paper submission addresses the "Systemic Learning" and "New Methods" sub-themes by presenting an outcome-based Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) framework being developed under the UNDERPIN project. While technical robustness is vital, this rationale posits that MEL is an inherently political tool that shapes democratic accountability. The objective is to move beyond output-based reporting toward a methodology that captures medium-term changes in adaptive capacity across four diverse European use cases.
Objectives:
Demonstrate an innovative MEL framework that integrates thematic reviews with co-production workshops to measure resilience across fragmented governance scales.
Analyze the systemic tensions between compliance-oriented reporting and genuine local learning.
Provide evaluative evidence on how making "governance frictions" explicit can empower under-resourced regional authorities and support more equitable climate adaptation.
Lille Grand Palais
Room 16
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