Assessing the usability and value of a climate service in the wine sector

Abstract

Climate change can significantly affect and influence, both positively and negatively, the wine sector. In this context, the adoption of timely, cost-effective adaptation strategies may contribute to reduce such risks, maximise opportunities, and enhancing the sector’s resilience to changing climatic conditions. Climate services involve the production and use of climate information to support decision-makers adapting to climate variability and change. Assessing the value and benefits of using climate services constitutes a critical area of research and can help climate service providers identify any barriers in their development, uptake, and use. The climate service developed in this research benefitted from a co-production approach with a Portuguese Wine company − SOGRAPE. In this paper, we aim to assess the usability and value of the climate service co-developed with SOGRAPE and identify possible barriers that limited the tool’s usability and value. Engagement with SOGRAPE users was pursued based on mixed methods approach throughout the various stages of co-development and testing of the tool. The results show that the data provided in the Dashboard was perceived as reliable and legitimate. However, the saliency of the Dashboard was questioned, and some recommendations proposed to increase its saliency and overall usability. More importantly, SOGRAPE users were not able to use the climate information provided in the tool due to a number of barriers which are also reported in this study. The findings and recommendations from this study will help inform the design, development and usability of other climate services within and beyond the wine sector.