New year message from ARA Co-chairs

Dear all,

We would like to wish all our members a very Happy New Year. We look forward to continue working closely with you throughout 2023 to bring about the major changes that we want to see in the world, particularly to support the most vulnerable communities to adapt to climate change, driven by action-oriented research, evidence and innovative solutions.

As co-chairs of this Alliance since its inception, we are both humbled and gladdened to see how this mission has resonated with ever-increasing numbers of organisations around the world, from small community-based organisations to major funders, research institutes and UN agencies. We have been proud to see the dynamic and supportive community that has emerged from these 160+ organisations and are very grateful for your highly constructive engagement in the wide-ranging and growing portfolio of ARA activities. Already, we are seeing the impact of our efforts through the uptake of our Adaptation Research for Impact Principles, our grassroots micro-grants, our engagement with UNFCCC processes and through your enthusiastic engagement in the ARA:60Minutes! sessions each month.

COP27 saw the launch of the new ARA website and we will soon have access to our own online community platform
the ARA Members
Space. We hope this will help to enable further rich discussions, collaboration and support to Tracking, Learning and Sharing efforts, which are so crucial to help us learn from one another and to expedite progress with the urgency needed.

If 2021 was focused on making the case for the ARA and getting it off the ground; and last year was devoted to strengthening its foundations and initiating our efforts to strengthen research
action linkages from the local to the global scale; we believe the coming year will be critical for realizing the ARA
s value proposition and mission. To that end, we would like to see major progress on three key priorities:

1. Co-creation of new, funded action-research programmes 
   
   Given the tremendous response to the CLARE programme launched by the UK & Canada, it is clear that there is a significant unmet need and demand for action-oriented research. We would like to focus our efforts this year to secure new and additional resources for action research in developing countries by taking forward the four new thematic co-creation spaces launched at COP27
   small-holder agriculture, nature-based solutions, urban resilience and adaptation actions in LDCs. Together, these are four areas where knowledge, research and solutions are critically needed to accelerate action. Please do get involved in whichever topics interest you and help to co-create the programmes that you want to see.
   
    
2. Supporting grassroots action-research through microgrants and beyond 
   
   We have been delighted by the volume of applications received for the second round of microgrants and look forward to seeing their impact. Over the next year we want to explore how to generate even greater impact and are keen for your ideas on what the Alliance can do to support the scaling up of ideas, networks and solutions developed through the microgrants.
   
    
3. Strengthen the footing of the Adaptation Research Alliance 
   
   Thanks to your commitment and enthusiasm, the ARA has got off to a flying start. Over the next year we would like to solidify the foundations of the Alliance
   ensuring that it has the right funding and institutional arrangements to endure and succeed. This will require us to work through many questions related to the funding, governance and operation of the Alliance and the Secretariat
   and we will need your support with this. To get this process started, we would like to use the next ARA Plenary to start the conversation around the longer-term institutional arrangements for the Alliance. For instance, should we seek to establish the ARA as its own legal entity? How can the Alliance bring in more in-kind support from its member organisations, leverage their strengths and expertise and extend its geographic presence?

Even as we focus on delivering on these immediate priorities for 2023, we would also like to explore new areas where research and knowledge is critically needed to accelerate action
whether it is strengthening the evidence base for effectiveness of adaptation, or better integrating learning into processes of implementation, or developing new and innovative solutions for transformative adaptation.

We look forward to discussing these issues and more with you at the next ARA Plenary meeting on 28^th February
please do save the date!

In the meantime, we hope that your year gets off to a great start.

With all best wishes for 2023,

(Anand Patwardhan)                                                (Rosalind West)

Professor, School of Public Policy,                           Senior Climate Science Advisor

University of Maryland, USA                                    Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, UK