What is CLARE?

CLARE is a UK-Canada framework research programme on Climate Adaptation and Resilience, aiming to enable socially inclusive and sustainable action to build resilience to climate change and natural hazards in Africa and Asia-Pacific.

CLimate Adaptation & REsilience (CLARE)

CLARE is jointly designed and run by the United Kingdom's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC). Through long-term commitments and partnerships worldwide, and needs-driven, action-focused research, the UK and Canada are bridging critical gaps between science and action: developing new tools and supporting partner governments, communities, and the private sector to use evidence and innovation to drive effective solutions to the climate challenge, whilst building the capacity of both those carrying out the research and those using the resulting evidence.

The first cohort of research projects were launched in June 2023.

We are proud to see these projects taking shape, enabled by the long-standing, successful partnership between IDRC and FCDO and by exciting partnerships with researchers and practitioners around the world. We are looking forward to seeing these partners co-producing needs-driven, action-oriented research that will use science and innovation to address short-term climate shocks whilst enabling long-term, sustainable and equitable development. As CLARE’s largest donor, this is as a great example of the UK fulfilling its COP26 commitments to the initiative and to endorsing the ARA’s Adaptation Research for Impact Principles.

Professor Charlotte Watts, UK FCDO Chief Scientific Adviser

IDRC’s longstanding partnership with the UK has been of great value for the advancement of sustainable development. Together, the CLARE projects announced today represent the focus of our partnership – supporting Southern-led climate-adaptation research to identify innovative solutions and help build long-term resilience while promoting gender equality and inclusion. The teams leading this first group of CLARE projects will now embark on their action-oriented research, with the aim of enabling a more climate-resilient future for people in the multiple countries across Africa and Asia where they will be implemented.

Julie Shouldice, Acting President of IDRC

As the main donor of the CLARE initiative, the UK is proud to launch these projects together with our partners in Canada. We look forward to working closely with the International Development Research Centre, as well as researchers, decision makers and civil society organisations in partner countries, to support science and innovation for climate-resilient and inclusive development.

The Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP, Minister of State in the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

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CLARE has three core pillars

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Research

Commissioning new substantive action-oriented research, and providing cross-programme infrastructure to support it

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Services

Providing timely weather and climate services to inform investments and actions, mostly in partnership with the UK Met Office and others

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Partnerships

Supporting strategic alliances on climate science and adaptation such as the Adaptation Research Alliance (ARA) and Climate Risks Early Warning Systems (CREWS)

Research themes

CLARE-supported research links up short-and long-term issues by working across three interlinked themes:

  • Understanding climate risk
    Improving our understanding of the risks associated with climate and natural hazards that addresses gaps in the underpinning science.

  • Risk-informed early action
    Supporting early action to reduce impacts of climate variability, reducing humanitarian impacts on lives and livelihoods

  • Developing in a changing climate
    Enabling long-term, sustainable, and equitable economic and social development in a changing climate

Where CLARE-supported research is taking place

Information on individual research projects will be available later this year

CLARE is a £110m / CAD180m initiative, funded by UK aid from the UK government along with the International Development Research Centre, Canada. UK is providing 85% of the ‘CLARE Research’ funding and is funding CLARE Services and Partnerships. Canada provides 15% match-funding towards CLARE Research and is its main delivery partner. Both organisations work closely to set the strategic and technical directions of the initiative.