About ASCEND
Turning Scattered Data, Evidence, and Knowledge into Real-World Climate Action
We empower teams of researchers, policymakers, and communities across Africa with the support, infrastructure and data needed to drive actionable climate solutions.
ASCEND is a dynamic, action-oriented hub. We don't just study climate change, we bridge the gap between academic research and direct action, helping protect vulnerable people and places from the accelerating impacts of environmental change. ASCEND is based at the African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI) at the University of Cape Town (UCT).
Our purpose
Why we exist
Historically, climate research has been unequal, often led by institutions outside the regions most affected. We believe that those on the frontlines of climate change must drive the solutions. By keeping equity and justice at the center of our work, we help ensure that African and Global South researchers, decision-makers, and practitioners are leading the way to a more sustainable future.
Our approach
What we do
The complex risks facing people and nature from climate change cannot be solved by any single academic discipline. The good news is that a wealth of diverse data, evidence, and knowledge on climate risks and response options already exists. However, this valuable information often remains scattered, isolated, and poorly integrated, especially for low and middle income countries.
Because of this, potentially life-saving insights remain hidden from researchers, policymakers, and practitioners. ASCEND exists to solve this problem. We don't spend time collecting new data. Instead, our synthesis teams connect the dots between existing datasets, evidence, and knowledge to find actionable insights, accelerating discoveries that can drive more rapid, equitable, and sustained action.
Our model
How we work
Transdisciplinary Synthesis Teams
We bring together diverse, ambitious teams of researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to tackle complex problems from every angle. When a team lands at our hub, we absorb the administrative and logistical burden, allowing team participants to focus all of their energy on collaboration and problem-solving.
Cutting-Edge Infrastructure and AI
Our teams are backed by specialised, world-class infrastructure. We provide access to expert team facilitation and meeting planning, high-performance computing, and custom-built AI tools designed specifically for data and evidence synthesis, making it faster and easier to extract hidden insights from massive amounts of historical research effort.
Actionable Evidence for Policy and Practice
We don't produce research for its own sake. We combine researchers and decision-makers into teams that co-develop accessible datasets and evidence repositories, highly practical toolkits, and actionable policy guidance that African and global policymakers and practitioners can implement.
Capacity Strengthening
We empower the next generation of African and Global South climate leaders. We offer hands-on training and mentorship to early-career researchers, policymakers, and practitioners, enabling them to generate world-leading and actionable evidence and insights, and integrate these directly into real-world policy and implementation from local to global scales.
Meet the people behind ASCEND
Our network spans climate scientists, health researchers, policy experts, and postdoctoral fellows across Africa and the Global South.