Road to WWCS 2027: what to expect at the Cape Town summit

From 13 to 16 April 2027, Cape Town will host the What Works Climate Solutions Summit. ASCEND is the proud host, bringing a growing global evidence movement to the African continent for the first time at this scale.

A community, not a conference circuit

What Works Climate Solutions is a community-driven global initiative uniting climate researchers, decision-makers, and evidence synthesis enthusiasts. Its focus is unusual: rather than presenting individual findings, participants work on the shared infrastructure that makes evidence usable, from systematic review methods to open data standards and capacity-building programmes.

What the programme will cover

Expect agenda-setting plenaries on evidence infrastructure for the seventh IPCC assessment cycle, methodological workshops on systematic reviews and data integration, and sessions where synthesis teams present outputs alongside the officials who commissioned them.

African synthesis work will feature strongly. Sessions will draw on geospatial vulnerability mapping for schools and health facilities, indoor heat and housing evidence, marine spatial planning, nature-based solutions, and frameworks for non-economic loss and damage.

Who should be in the room

The summit is designed for researchers working on synthesis and systematic review, government officials and municipal planners who commission and use evidence, practitioners in civil society and community organisations, and funders shaping the evidence agenda. Early-career researchers from Africa and the wider Global South are a priority audience.

Getting involved

Registration and the full agenda are hosted on the What Works Climate Solutions website. Our newsletter carries programme announcements, travel support news, and calls for sessions as they open, and our opportunities page lists ways to join a synthesis team ahead of the summit.

Cape Town in April is a good time to think hard about evidence. We look forward to hosting you.