Final report of the Place-Based Climate Action Network (PCAN)

The Place-Based Climate Action Network (PCAN) was a network funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) that brought together the research community and decision-makers in the public, private and third sectors over the five-year period 2019 to 2024. The main aim of PCAN was to translate climate policy into action ‘on the ground’ in communities within the United Kingdom.

PCAN consisted of five interlinked innovative platforms to facilitate two-way, multi-level engagement between researchers and stakeholders, including:

• Three city-based Climate Commissions, in Leeds, Belfast and Edinburgh. The three initial commissions were complemented by a wider network of similar commissions that PCAN supported, called the PCAN Plus Network.
• Two theme-based platforms, on finance and climate change adaptation.
• A flexible fund, called the PCAN Fund, which provided small grants and fellowships to researchers and research users and was the anchor for a wider set of engagement activities.

The three PCAN-supported city Climate Commissions continue to be recognised platforms for climate-related analysis and debate in their locations. They also serve as institutional role models for other local authorities. Our experience with the Commissions continues to be the basis for a rich vein of co-produced research and to inform the design and development of local climate governance in the UK. The two theme-based platforms are working closely with the three Commissions but also pursue broader activities with a wider set of stakeholders.

PCAN was led by an experienced team of researchers with strong track records of engaging with public, private and third-sector decision-makers. They were supported by a network of PCAN Analysts, Fellows and Associates who met every two months to share progress on the PCAN Commissions and platforms and provided wider updates on ongoing work.

PCAN built on the policy connections, networking capacity and research strengths of its host institutions:

• The Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
• The School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds
• The Centre for Sustainability and Environmental Governance (SECA) at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB)
• The Edinburgh Climate Change Institute (ECCI) at the University of Edinburgh
• The University of Oxford

This Final Report covers the ESRC-funded activities of PCAN between 2019 and 2024.