Growing the Resilience Evidence Coalition and Convening the Flagship Resilience Evidence Forum

Growing the Resilience Evidence Coalition and convening the flagship Resilience Evidence Forum

From 2020 to 2023, GRP facilitated the development of the Resilience Evidence Coalition, co-led with our Partners, ICCCAD and CDKN, which grew to over 1770 members.
The Resilience Platform expanded into a comprehensive repository with over 450 resources in the form of stories, solutions, initiatives, evidence and measurement tools from various global initiatives serving as a central hub for resilience knowledge.
The 2023 Resilience Evidence Forum (REF), co-hosted with USAID, was a landmark achievement, bringing together over 200 in-person and 1,000 virtual participants to take stock of the latest resilience evidence and measurement.

The Resilience Evidence Coalition (the Coalition) started in 2020 to build a community of practice around resilience evidence and measurement emphasising the importance of Global South expertise and demand. Over the years, the Coalition continued to act as a “network of networks” facilitating a two-way flow of information between grassroots practice and broader research, policy, and investment frameworks. By the end of 2023, the Coalition comprised over 1700 members, actively engaging in resilience-building activities and contributing to global platforms such as COP and the Race to Resilience campaign. Over the years, the Coalition has focused on translating knowledge into action through capacity development activities, through the development and promotion of the Resilience Platform to track innovative tools and solutions, and through strategic knowledge brokering and facilitation.

Significance

The strength of the Resilience Evidence Coalition lies in its deliberate efforts to amplify voices and expertise from the Global South, addressing critical gaps to democratise resilience knowledge, thus fostering a more inclusive understanding of resilience globally. Through initiatives like the Global South Talent Pool the Coalition provides opportunities for young people to engage in GRP’s work and actively participate in the running of programmes, such as designing and implementing the Knowledge into Use awards, various youth contests and amplifying the voice of the young people through social media at the COP26 and COP27 Resilience Hubs. The Coalition became a recognised space for mobilising knowledge into use and was selected as a Transformation Partner to the Race to Resilience, as well as the co-host of the Resilience Evidence Forum (REF) alongside USAID.

As a trusted thought leader and knowledge broker in the resilience space, the Coalition successfully engaged a wide range of relevant stakeholders in collective stock-taking of the latest resilience evidence available and its implications for policy, investment, and decision-making through the REF. The largest gathering on resilience evidence and measurement to date, the three-day interactive gathering brought together representatives of over 140 organisations, sparking further collaborations and capacity exchange across geographic contexts, sectors, and actors. By synthesising key messages into Synthesis Report, which underscored the importance of evidence in securing funding and driving policy changes for resilience enhancement, thus consolidating its influence in global resilience practice. Events such as REF have been instrumental in ensuring that resilience knowledge translates into actionable insights for policy and programming, solidifying the Coalition’s position as an influential entity in advancing global resilience knowledge and practice.

Contribution

The Coalition’s success has been underscored by its ability to engage a diverse range of stakeholders and foster meaningful collaborations. Through various activities such as capacity exchange, the development of an online platform, and knowledge brokering efforts, the Coalition has created a vibrant community of practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and investors. Its impact lies in the active facilitation and dissemination of learnings at key global events, as well as through webinars and online learning sessions. These amplify the reach of Coalition activities and its significance to a broader audience.

The Coalition’s approach, characterised by a “learning by doing” ethos and a strong focus on Southern expertise, has garnered widespread recognition and support. The unique structure of nurturing a network of individual members rather than organisations, has enabled flexible engagement and facilitated wider Southern involvement in global resilience conversations. This complements GRP’s Partnership offer, which only registered entities can apply to join.