The Role of Qualitative Data in Localized Climate Adaptation
How can stories, lived experiences, and community knowledge lead to more effective, localized climate adaptation strategies? This webinar from Ooloi Labs brings together experts working at the intersection of climate adaptation, resilience, and community-driven research to explore the vital role of qualitative data in addressing climate challenges.
In this session, you’ll learn:
The gap between quantitative and qualitative data in climate adaptation
How community-led insights inform adaptation strategies
The role of indigenous knowledge and lived experiences in building climate resilience
Creative methods for capturing qualitative data, from theater and murals to soundscapes and storytelling
The difference between locally-led action and just local action
How community-owned data is shaping policies and decision-making
Key Insights from the Discussion:
Numbers vs. Narratives: While climate models highlight trends, qualitative data captures how communities actually experience and respond to change
Beyond Carbon Metrics: Successful adaptation focuses on social and economic well-being, not just carbon reduction
Indigenous Knowledge as a Solution: Communities are already adapting—their knowledge must be recognized and integrated
Innovative Data Collection Methods: From maps created by local women to community theater on tidal flooding, storytelling can be a powerful tool
Turning Data into Action: In Kerala, 21 panchayats used their own flood records to secure official recognition of tidal flooding as a disaster
In the webinar
Nupur Khanter, Research Associate, Climate Adaptation Learning Lab, Transitions Research
Nupur is an urban strategist and designer. At Transitions Research, her work focuses on strategizing interdisciplinary solutions for the built environment, with a focus on equity in climate resilience and building stewardship in communities.
Shuchi Vora, Head of Learning, Global Resilience Partnership
Shuchi has more than a decade of experience in designing and implementing community-led programmes for droughts, floods, urban and rural water resilience, approaching them from a transdisciplinary and systems change lens. Currently, she is the Head of Learning at the Global Resilience Partnership.
Vinuta Gopal, CEO & Co-founder, ASAR
Vinuta Gopal is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Asar, which she co-founded in 2016 and has grown to support a diverse group of consultants, networks, and organizations addressing climate action. She has worked on the ground with communities and developed campaign strategies at the national and international levels.