Open African Secondary data research for climate-resilient Service delivery

African infrastructure and service delivery are particularly vulnerable to climate change risks given the region’s lower adaptive capacity and growing exposure to flooding and high heat. Greater availability of climate, critical infrastructure, and routine health system data resources alongside novel geospatial techniques provide an opportunity for targeted action. However, barriers inhibit open research uptake in Africa and among secondary data analysts, compromising generation of robust, replicable evidence. Furthermore, gaps remain in secondary data systems and secondary data analyses risk being divorced from the lived experiences of service providers and users. This project aims to develop African and European capacity in open secondary data analyses to generate evidence that informs climate adaptation action. It mobilises academic and non-academic researchers in geospatial science, public health, solid waste, natural resources management, and spatial planning in Europe, Kenya, Ghana, and Sierra Leone. Via secondments, the consortium will undertake case study secondary data analyses to assess the climate resilience of health and water / solid waste / sanitation service delivery. Training and networking will enable sharing of open research practices across case studies, particularly protocol pre-registration; open code development and sharing; and management of derived data products. Photovoice narratives by service providers and users will further inform secondary data analyses, highlighting their experiences of climate stresses on services. The case studies will underpin dissemination of open research practices in secondary data analysis, promoting such practices in partner institutions. By studying disparate services (e.g. health, water, solid waste) within a single programme, the project aims to identify shared barriers and solutions addressing multiple Sustainable Development Goals, disseminating findings to policy-makers and service commissioners.