"Summary report and questionnaire results of "FY2021 Climate Change Adaptation Training (New Staff Course)

In view of the fact that many local governments change their staff members every fiscal year, we held a lecture-based training course mainly for new staff members of local governments and local climate change adaptation centers, so that they can acquire the basic knowledge necessary for promoting climate change adaptation in their regions and learn how to use the Climate Change Adaptation Information Platform (A-PLAT).
In addition, in order to prevent the spread of the recent new coronavirus infection, the training was conducted online using Zoom.

On Tuesday, May 11, 2021, about 130 people from prefectures, municipalities, and Local climate change adaptation centers participated in the workshop, and more than half of the participants (80) responded to the post-event questionnaire.
The following is a summary of the day's training and some of the results of the questionnaire.

In Lecture 1, Keiko Yoshikawa, Deputy Director of the Center for Climate Change Adaptation, National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES/CCCA), gave a lecture on "Basic Knowledge on Climate Change and Adaptation", covering basic knowledge on the status and future projections of climate change, the latest trends in Japan on climate change impacts, the concept of adaptation measures and the efforts of ministries and agencies, introduction of NIES/CCCA's efforts, the relationship and concept of national climate change adaptation laws and national and local adaptation plans, and advanced case studies.

In response to the request for consultation on the establishment of an integrated system to promote adaptation-related efforts within the local governments, the Center for Regional Climate Change Adaptation shared information at its regular meetings, proactively provided opportunities and materials to introduce case studies, and acted as an intermediary with related advanced local governments.

The lecture level of Lecture 1 was rated as "appropriate" by more than 80% of the survey respondents.

In the questionnaire comments on Lecture 1, there were many favorable comments on the clarity of the lecture content and the lecture level.
Some of the respondents commented on the amount of information, lack of time to understand the lecture content, and desire for explanations of technical terms, while others requested more in-depth and detailed explanations of the lecture content.
In the future, we would like to respond to these needs by ensuring time for advance study for first-time learners by sharing handouts as early as possible, guiding participants who seek more detailed information and knowledge to participate in training programs at an appropriate level, and providing information on explanatory materials that can be used as reference.

In [Lecture 2], Dr. Tomohiro Fujita, a researcher at the Climate Change Adaptation Strategy Laboratory, CCCA, NIES, gave a lecture on "How to use the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) Information Platform for Local Governments and Climate Change Adaptation (A-PLAT)" with demonstrations of actual contents on A-PLAT and how to use WebGIS. In particular, he explained how to use WebGIS and the contents of A-PLAT. In particular, we introduced contents that are useful for newly appointed staff in charge of climate change adaptation to deepen their understanding of the work.

In response to this request, NIES and CCCA will provide information on individual projects that they are aware of, and will also consider providing such information centrally through A-PLAT.
There were also suggestions for improving the contents of A-PLAT and requests for cooperation in disseminating information on adaptation in the region, leading to a lively exchange of opinions on how to deepen the cooperative relationship between the region and NIES/CCCA.

The lecture level in Lecture 2 was also rated as "appropriate" by more than 80% of the survey respondents.

In the questionnaire comments on Lecture 2, there were many favorable comments on the clarity of the lecture content and the lecture level. In particular, the operating demonstrations of A-PLAT and WebGIS were well received, and there was a growing interest in more detailed information about the actual contents on A-PLAT and how to use WebGIS.
The online format of this training, the timing of the training, and the half-day time frame were all highly rated in the survey.
In the questionnaire, we asked the participants to rate their satisfaction with the training as a whole. 78% of the respondents answered "very satisfied" and "somewhat satisfied," and 0% answered "very dissatisfied" and "somewhat dissatisfied.

In general, in the post-training questionnaire, many people gave a favorable evaluation of the training content, but we also received various requests and suggestions for additional items to be added to the training content, suggestions for enhancing the information posted on A-PLAT, and ideas for managing the training. Thank you very much for your cooperation.
We hope that this training will be a good first step for newly appointed officials in local governments to promote adaptation in their communities and to consider and plan local climate change adaptation plans.
The NIES/CCCA will continue to plan training programs based on requests from local governments and other organizations.