Innovation in climate adaptation policy: are regional partnerships catalysts or talking shops?

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We analyse whether and how six regional partnerships catalyse innovations in climate adaptation policies in Canada and England. The relatively rare and underexplored adaptation partnerships are collaborative arrangements in which governmental, business, and civil society actors strive to facilitate adaptation to climate change. Representing new political spaces, partnerships are expected to produce more innovative policies than hierarchies do. We find that the partnerships catalyse policy innovations in three distinct ways: through collaboration among the partners, through scaling up their activities beyond the partnerships, and by supporting national adaptation politics. However, the instrumental portfolio of the policy innovations is limited. It primarily comprises informational policies (e.g. guidelines), strategies, and plans (usually non-binding). Regarding innovation mechanisms, the analysis highlights the importance of collaboration and learning. Although there is a risk that partnerships will become talking shops, we conclude that, thus far, they support policymakers in tackling the challenges of an emerging policy field.