The Valorada Project: Improving access and usability of climate data

GERICS developed a novel methodology to shed light on the climate-adaptation value of municipal and regional data. Cristóbal Reveco tells us more.

Data-driven approaches increasingly underpin evidence-informed adaptation planning and policy. VALORADA– Validated Local Risk Actionable Data for Adaptation – begins from a simple but often overlooked premise: regions and municipalities routinely generate extensive volumes of non-climate data – such as socio-economic, demographic, land use and satellite data, environmental and infrastructure datasets – that can meaningfully characterise climate risk and vulnerability at local scales. These datasets, therefore, hold potential climate value. Realising this potential, however, is frequently hindered by practical and institutional barriers. VALORADA identifies three recurrent challenges: useful datasets exist, but their relevance for adaptation goes unrecognised; inexpensive but valuable data are not collected because their benefits remain invisible; and existing datasets could provide important risk insights but are undermined by outdated information or persistent gaps.

In addition, local administrations often manage data in sectoral silos, with limited cross-stakeholder cooperation, inconsistent data management practices, and constrained administrative capacity. As a result, it is often unclear which datasets truly matter for adaptation.

VALORADA’s approach

VALORADA’s central tenet is that data do not drive effective adaptation by their mere existence. Data are not context-independent entities that become meaningful simply through tools or models; rather, their usefulness depends on the complementary information and interpretive work that situates them within local realities (Leonelli & Tempini, 2020). Climate information becomes actionable only when contextualised with datasets that capture local characteristics and reveal the specific sources and distributions of vulnerability.

With this in mind, VALORADA seeks to increase the use of available data and information for adaptation purposes in regional and local administrations by co-designing climate data services that reveal the climate value of locally sourced datasets. Recognising the value embedded in non-climate data – and enabling its connection with climate information through dedicated data- manipulation services – is presented as a promising route to developing climate services that are genuinely responsive to users’ needs.

GERICS’ role

GERICS, as coordinator of VALORADA, plays a central role in shaping the project’s distinctive approach to using local data for climate adaptation. Drawing on its long-standing expertise in co-developing usable climate services, GERICS helps address a persistent challenge: many climate services, though scientifically sound, fail to enter decision-making because they are too complex or poorly aligned with local needs. GERICS bridges this gap by focusing on how decision-makers actually work and what information they can meaningfully use (Reveco et al., 2025). In VALORADA, this translates into elevating the relevance of locally collected datasets for adaptation planning. By linking climate information to data that municipalities already understand and manage, GERICS supports a step change in the uptake of climate services – turning them into practical, context-embedded tools that can guide real adaptation action.

What defines the climate adaptation value of data?

Because adaptation spans multiple domains and relies on diverse data sources, clarifying what constitutes the climate adaptation value of data is itself an essential step. VALORADA approaches this concept as a means of understanding why certain datasets are prioritised, how judgements of importance are formed and negotiated, and how data are ultimately transformed into actionable knowledge.

These ideas are developed empirically through work in ten European demonstrators representing diverse hazards and governance contexts (in France, Italy, Greece, the Czech Republic, and Bulgaria). Methodologically, the project moves deliberately from revealing local understandings of risk to developing practical tools.

VALORADA follows a four-step process.

First, Climate Impact Chains (CICs) were co-developed to identify priority climate-related risks by tracing how hazards evolve into risk across exposure, impacts, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. The participatory risk identification process acknowledged the diversity of on-the-ground adaptation challenges – ranging from urban heat and health impacts to drought, flooding of rural infrastructure and compound events such as wildfire and extreme precipitation. This co-development process positioned demonstrators as sites where the meaning and value of data are jointly established.

Second, indicators aligned with each CIC were selected to operationalise the identified risk factors. Local stakeholders collaboratively proposed candidate indicators spanning exposure, impact and vulnerability, which were then validated using the SMART framework, ensuring they were Specific, Measurable, Achievable/ available, Relevant and Timely (Leagnavar et al., 2015).

Third, once indicators were shortlisted and data needs clarified, VALORADA conducted a value chain analysis to examine how the relevant data needed to populate these indicators are collected and managed. Local Climate Information Profiles (LCIPs) mapped each demonstrator’s data governance landscape, including stakeholders, management practices and existing infrastructure.

Finally, visualisation and dashboards were created, demonstrating how existing local data can already provide clear risk maps and inform decision- making processes.

A series of products is produced in VALORADA to support the use of local datasets: the Resilience Data Catalogue, the Resilience Indicator Catalogue, the Data-Valuation Framework, the risk- Management Storylines, and a series of visualisations and dashboards to inform local risk assessments.

In sum, the resulting narrative stemming from the VALORADA Project is that a data-driven adaptation approach is not simply about acquiring ‘more data’ or designing ‘better models,’ but about making data value explicit and actionable in real decision contexts. By offering a structured way to identify, discuss and prioritise datasets according to their contribution to adaptation decisions, VALORADA seeks to render the climate value of local non-climate data visible – helping administrations move from ‘we have data somewhere’ to ‘we understand what our data can do for adaptation, and we can justify adaptation choices collectively.’ In this way, VALORADA supports the generation of climate services that do not merely provide technical information but turn everyday municipal data into meaningful climate intelligence to inform planning and resilience.