Measuring impact of community-led EWS in Uganda

In Kampala's flood-prone settlement of Bwaise, the DARAJA project has demonstrated how community-led EWS can meaningfully strengthen climate resilience when impact measurement is prioritised from the outset. Launched in April 2023, the initiative brought together residents, the Uganda National Meteorological Authority), ACTogether, and other city stakeholders to co-design weather and climate information tailored to local needs. 

From the initial design stage, monitoring and evaluation (and learning and accountability) was embedded in the project which developed a participatory action research framework to track access to, comprehension of, and actions taken in response to received forecasts and warnings by 35 community members. This deliberate method revealed notable improvements as a result of project interventions: access to climate information rose from 59% to 100%, understanding of forecasts increased from 44% to 63%, and implementation of early actions based on warnings reached full coverage. These metrics, collected through real-time feedback loops, interviews, and visual documentation, validated the effectiveness of DARAJA's model and ensured it remained adaptive to community realities. By emphasising impact measurement not just as a reporting tool but as a mechanism for learning and accountability, DARAJA offers model for scaling EWS that are trusted and transformative.