Programme Manager for the CLARE R41 Opportunities Fund at SouthSouthNorth, Grace O’Donovan, says JoyNews' new climate-focused project aims to bring journalists and researchers into closer collaboration to improve evidence-based reporting on climate change and resilience across Ghana.

According to her, the initiative is designed to close the gap between research, policy needs and media storytelling, particularly in communities most vulnerable to climate risks.

Speaking about the objectives of the project, Ms O’Donovan said the collaboration between journalists and researchers is “extremely unique” and central to achieving long-term impact.

“In terms of this project specifically, our main goals are to bring journalists and researchers into conversation, which is extremely unique,” she said.

She explained that the project connects existing research evidence with policy priorities and channels this information through journalists across the country, with a strong focus on vulnerable regions.

“As we’ll hear a little bit more, this project links existing evidence from researchers with policy needs and brings this to media channels from journalists across the country, especially in the most vulnerable regions,” she noted.

Ms O’Donovan said the approach is intended to ensure climate reporting goes beyond headlines to support resilience-building efforts nationwide.

Thinking long term, she explained, the initiative enables climate change reporting to reflect the lived experiences of people affected by climate risks, while providing context-specific, evidence-based narratives that resonate with audiences.

“This makes it possible for climate change reporting to lead to resilience building across the country, to communicate the lived experiences of those impacted by climate risk and provide context-specific evidence-based narratives that resonate with readers,” she said.

She added that the stories emerging from the project are expected to highlight practical actions communities are taking to adapt, empower local populations and inspire collective action.

Beyond storytelling, Ms O’Donovan said the project also seeks to raise awareness about critical climate challenges and adaptation solutions, while supporting national and international climate policy frameworks.

“This really supports policies like the National Adaptation Plans and the Nationally Determined Contributions, which are important because they outline a strategic roadmap and commitments to building resilience against climate impacts,” she explained.

From CLARE’s perspective, she said investing in such initiatives helps elevate local African knowledge and adaptation strategies into global climate conversations.

“By amplifying the voices, perspectives and strategies that local communities are using to adapt, projects like ours can bring local African knowledge into global conversations about adaptation and resilience,” Ms O’Donovan said.

She added that this approach helps inform long-term, sustainable and context-driven outcomes in addressing climate change impacts across the continent.