The European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change (ESABCC) should serve as a central and authoritative source of independent, science-based advice for EU climate policymaking. Apart from being simply a knowledge broker, the Board has also worked to establish its external reputation through outreach and stakeholder engagement. The Board's perception among stakeholders is a critical enabler of its mission and ability to impact EU climate policy. In short: trust and confidence in the Board are foundational to the credibility of its recommendations and its voice in EU climate policy discourse.

Project Objective: Internal Qualitative Reputation Assessment at the End of the First Term

The objective of this project, funded by the European Environment Agency (EEA), is to conduct an internal qualitative reputation analysis of the Advisory Board as its first term comes to an end to investigate how relevant stakeholder groups perceive the Board's overall reputation and stakeholder outreach efforts across five benchmarks: relevance, credibility, consensus, balance, and timeliness.

Implementation: Expert Interviews and Analytical Evaluation

Experts at the Ecologic Institute draw on extensive experience in designing, conducting, and evaluating expert stakeholder interviews to deliver a methodologically sound reputation analysis of the Advisory Board's first term. This analysis will extract actionable insights and key narratives from interviews with individuals across a diverse range of public and private institutions and organisations. Findings will be synthesised into an internal report for the Secretariat and the Board, supporting strategic decisions on public-facing outreach for the remainder of the first term and beyond in line with the Board's Stakeholder Engagement Policy.

Contribution to Mandate Delivery and Alignment with the European Climate Law

The results of this analysis will help to ensure that the Advisory Board's external interactions remain aligned with its mandate and the requirements of the European Climate Law and that they are perceived as relevant, professional, and meaningful by external actors.