Methodology for the evaluation of the German adaptation strategy

On 17 December 2008, the Federal Cabinet adopted the German Adaptation Strategy to Climate Change (DAS). This created a strategic framework to adapt to the effects of climate change in Germany. In the process of implementing the DAS ("DAS Process"), the Federal Government is coordinating the ongoing work on national adaptation in the various ministries. In the context of further development and continuous optimization of the adaptation process, the Interministerial Working Group on Adaptation (IMAA) stated in its 2015 progress report that the DAS process should be evaluated regularly. The evaluation aims to highlight successes from the DAS, identify weak points and develop recommendations to improve the process.

In the UFOPLAN project "Evaluation and Further Development of DAS", adelphi and CEval prepared a methodology for the evaluation of the German Adaptation Strategy, which they coordinated and tested with relevant stakeholders. The methodology was adopted by the Interministerial Working Group on Adaptation (IMAA). This report contains the developed evaluation methodology as well as a description of the survey instruments used, and explains how the methodology came about.