Looking Back at the Third Make-athon: Connections and Cross-Pollination for a Climate-Resilient Netherlands

On 17 October, experts, policymakers, and scientists gathered for the third and final session in the first Make-athon series within the National Climate Adaptation Strategy (NAS). After months of intensive work (starting with Make-athon 1 + 2 and continuing over the summer by the core team), this was an important meeting. The various adaptation pathways developed in previous sessions were refined, and the interconnections between challenges were mapped. It was a day full of interaction, new insights, and above all, collaboration.

What are Make-athons again?

Make-athons are sessions where a diverse group of participants come together to develop adaptation pathways for a climate-resilient Netherlands. This is done by combining the hackathon concept with a ‘maker’ mentality: working intensively together on concrete solutions for complex issues. The goal? To create robust strategies that help the Netherlands prepare for the impacts of climate change.

Feedback from the Summer and New Steps

The core team consists of experts Bas Kolen, Eelco Koks, Marjolijn Haasnoot, Tom van der Voorn, and Robbert Biesbroek. Over the past months, these experts have worked hard on developing the first five challenges: water management, health (heat & pollen), cultural heritage, people/goods infrastructure, and energy/ICT/vital infrastructure. The starting point was the input collected in the second session in June. These efforts have led to important insights and refined adaptation pathways, which were shared with the broader group of participants during the third Make-athon.

The Third Make-athon: Linking and Looking Beyond

The third Make-athon focused on connecting the different challenges. Participants were challenged in three different ‘sprints’ to see where adaptation pathways could strengthen each other and where bottlenecks or contradictions might arise. This was led by the core team, facilitators, and challenge leaders, with the aim of exploring the relationships between the different challenges and possible adaptation measures. The challenge leaders for this first round of Make-athons were Anne-Marie Hitipeuw for water management, Jasper Luijten and Stijn Verwoest for energy, ICT, and vital infrastructure, Christien Dijcks for cultural heritage, Laurens Hondema for health (heat & pollen), and Anouk de Jonge and Basam Barakat for people/goods infrastructure.

One of the highlights of this session was the collaboration between a diverse range of experts from science, policy, and practice. This session provided an opportunity to involve a broad group of around 60 experts in the process.

The sprints were intensive and aimed at identifying cross-pollination between the different challenges. Participants were encouraged not only to focus on their own challenges but also to consider the broader interconnections between the adaptation pathways. This added a deeper layer to the discussion and provided valuable insights into how different challenges can support or hinder each other.

What’s Next?

Although the third Make-athon marks the end of this first series, the work is far from over. The next steps involve further refining the adaptation pathways and engaging new experts to validate the results. The core team will work closely with various stakeholders in the coming period to ensure that the adaptation pathways are widely supported and align with the needs of policy, science, and practice.

As Marjolijn Haasnoot states: “This Make-athon was just the first step. We have developed adaptation pathways with various groups, but the real work now lies in further validating and embedding these pathways within the National Climate Adaptation Strategy. This process has only just begun, and there is still much work to be done.”

Proud and Looking Ahead

The adaptation pathways are not yet finalised, but the foundation is there. As Stijn Verwoest aptly put it: “The real work starts now. We have made a good beginning, but in the coming months, we need to continue building these pathways and translating them into concrete outcomes.” In the coming months, the pathways will be further tested and refined within ministries and through participatory meetings.

And there are still more themes within the NAS. Next year, we will continue with a second round to develop adaptation pathways for the following themes: water quality, nature, Seveso facilities, new construction, existing buildings, work landscapes, and agriculture.

Stay updated on the progress and publication of the adaptation pathways via our newsletter. Would you like to actively contribute? Contact the KIN team at contact@hetkin.nl.