The Risk-Tandem Framework: Supporting Risk Governance through Transdisciplinary Knowledge Co-production for Integrated Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation

The risk landscape is becoming increasingly complex and uncertain as climate change increases the frequency and intensity of climate-related hazards, including compound hazards. At the same time, socio-economic development adds to the complexity of risk constellations and systemic risks. To address these complex risk challenges, fit-for purpose climate services are required that support both response-driven disaster preparedness and long-term climate change adaptation planning. This contribution presents the Risk-Tandem Framework, co-developed in real-world contexts as part of the Horizon Europe project DIRECTED. The contribution demonstrates how stakeholder-driven co-creation processes strengthen the integration of Disaster Risk Management (DRM) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA), resulting in innovative governance mechanisms.

The Risk-Tandem Framework is a novel, iterative approach that supports local stakeholders to co-produce knowledge, deepening their understanding of risk governance mechanisms, and exploring opportunities for synergies and the integration of knowledge, policies, and practices among both DRM and CCA stakeholders. The framework is being tested and refined in four Real Word Labs (RWLs), namely the Capital Region of Denmark, Emilia-Romagna (Italy), the Danube Region (Austria and Hungary), and the Rhine-Erft Region (Germany), in a multi-phase approach following four iterative phases - Foundation, Growth, Learn, and Sustain. At the heart of this approach is a refined set of indicators, co-developed with local stakeholders, enabling systematic assessment of governance capacities, interoperability challenges, and gaps in collaboration and stakeholder engagement. The framework draws on transdisciplinary foundations, combining institutional analysis, risk governance, and knowledge co-production approaches, and is implemented through qualitative and mixed methods including workshops, interviews, and collaborative design processes.

Findings highlight how the Risk-Tandem Framework through a RWL setting supports locally-led identification of governance bottlenecks (e.g., inter-institutional coordination, stakeholder communication, and access to actionable data and models) and facilitates tailored technical and governance solutions, including interoperable data infrastructures and co-designed communication tools. Across RWLs, the iterative use of the framework fostered reflection, mutual learning, and capacity development of practitioners, contributing to more knowledge integration and inclusive decision-making. 

While the implementation of the Risk-Tandem Framework is a resource intensive task, requiring transdisciplinary collaboration, it demonstrates strong potential to address persistent gaps in risk governance. By moving from a conceptual model to an operational, modular, and context-sensitive process, the Risk-Tandem Framework offers a solution for thinking about shared risk challenges and applying existing tools in new ways, led by priorities of local stakeholders. The findings underscore the value and benefits of co-creating and co-implementing approaches tailored to stakeholders’ needs, in order to strengthen the relevance, legitimacy, and uptake of these climate services and thereby advancing transformative, place-based risk governance.