Oscar Widerberg, core member to the CONNECT project, recently came back from a research visit at Lund University, Dept. for Political Science, made possible by a Short Term Scientific Mission fellowship grant from INOGOV. In Lund, Oscar worked closely together with Johannes Stripple on a meta-analysis of databases that collect information on new global climate governance arrangement. The researchers were interested in the surge in different repositories – for instance the NAZCA database (http://climateaction.unfccc.int/)  –  that record actions and initiatives by non-state actors including cities, regions, companies, NGOs, and philanthropists. How and what information is collected? What can we learn from these databases to evaluate questions regarding effectiveness and legitimacy? And what more information is still needed? The work resulted in a working paper which is being revised for publication in an academic journal.

Besides the scientific output, the STSM also provided a great opportunity to build new contacts and working relationships with all the researchers working at the hosting department. Lund’s large, vibrant and friendly community of scholars working on issues related to new climate governance arrangements provided a fantastic atmosphere for developing new ideas and get feed-back on ongoing research.