Designing development programmes for climate change and uncertainty in Pacific Melanesia–the role for knowledge brokers

Abstract

With rapid globalization and climate change, development programmes face increasingly complex problems. New approaches to programme design and delivery are required, and knowledge brokers can contribute to this reorientation. To understand how community development initiatives in Melanesia address complexity, and their needs for knowledge brokering, we surveyed designers, managers and implementers in eight programmes from Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. Applying the ‘Cynefin’ framework to describe complexity, we mapped programmes’ problem identification and solution design to elucidate their framing of problems. Whilst respondents identified uncertainties and complexities related to climate change, natural disasters and socio-economic conditions, programmes were designed with minimal consideration of these risks. Respondents attributed this to limited capacity and support networks to access and understand future risk information; poor information-sharing due to a lack of trust between partners; and minimal engagement between communities and the government. We highlight competencies that brokers need to enable more effective responses to rapid systems change, including fostering collaborations among partners, generating knowledge co-production, systems thinking, understanding complexity and uncertainty, and the promotion of learning and reflection. By incorporating brokering capacity, programmes in Melanesia could be better designed to account for future uncertainty, and tackle increasingly complex development challenges more effectively.