Highland Adapts is a partnership committed to a climate-resilient future for the Highland region. We are looking for people who want to help make that happen.
The Highland Adapts Advisory Panel is recruiting for the first time. If you have relevant expertise and care about the future of the Highland region, we would love to hear from you.
What is the Advisory Panel?
The Advisory Panel provides technical advice and practical input to support the delivery of Highland Adapts. It contributes expertise, reviews outputs, and helps ensure that our work is evidence-based, place-based, and collaborative.
The Advisory Panel does not hold decision-making authority over strategy, finances, or governance. That remains the responsibility of the Board.
What are we working on this year?
This year, Highland Adapts is focused on developing the Highland Resilience Fund, supporting organisations to integrate climate risk into their policies and plans, and facilitating information sharing around climate change risks and opportunities. Read the Highland Adapts Partnership Strategy (April 2026 to March 2027) to learn more.
What is the time commitment?
Joining the Advisory Panel is a 12 month commitment. Meetings take place at least quarterly during normal business hours (9:00 to 17:00). Meetings will primarily take place online, with at least one in-person gathering during the year. The minimum commitment is 3 hours per quarter (12 hours across the year).
You may also join an Advisory Panel working group. This is encouraged but not required. Working groups are additional time commitments, agreed on an ad hoc basis. Working groups for 2026 to 2027 may include:
- Highland Resilience Fund development and fundraising
- Policy, strategy, and plan integration of the Highland Climate Change Risk & Opportunity Assessment (HCCROA)
- Highland Vulnerability Map scoping and delivery
Who are we looking for?
The Advisory Panel should represent the diversity of experiences and perspectives in the Highland region. You can join in a personal or professional capacity.
Professional capacity means your participation is supported by your employer as part of your paid role. Personal capacity means you are joining as an individual, in your own time, even if your expertise comes from your professional background.
Stipends will be provided to those joining in a personal capacity:
- £320 for 12-month participation in the Advisory Panel
- £180 for 12-month participation in a working group
[*Updated 18 June to confirm stipend availability].
This year, we are especially, but not exclusively, interested in people with expertise in:
- Communicating climate change risks and opportunities
- Spatial data and GIS mapping
- Capital fund delivery
- Policy, strategy, and planning
- Fundraising
- Lived experience of climate change impacts in Highland
We particularly encourage interest from individuals from underrepresented groups, including ethnic minorities and disabled communities.
Why get involved?
- The ability to directly influence climate change resilience in the Highland region
- Connection to a community of people motivated to support Highland’s future
- Recognition on Highland Adapts website and in publications
Express your interest
Complete the form below by 17:00 on Friday 19 June to express your interest. Expressions of interest will be reviewed against three criteria: relevant expertise, capacity to participate, and diversity of perspectives. Prospective members may be invited for a brief conversation with Highland Adapts prior to a decision being made. If you have any questions, contact us at hello@highlandadapts.scot.
We are committed to making this process accessible. Please let us know if you would benefit from any adjustments or additional support.
Climate Resilience Review for Strategic Documents
To achieve regional climate resilience, we need to embed resilience in strategies across all organisations, businesses, and groups in Highland. This can be daunting and challenging when you are already managing significant competing pressures on your time and resources. This year, Highland Adapts is piloting a peer support model to help strengthen climate change resilience in strategic documents (policies, plans, or strategies).
Highland Climate Change Risk & Opportunity Assessment (HCCROA)
Climate change risks in Highland are already significant and are expected to intensify over the coming decades. The HCCROA provides Highland’s first regional assessment of climate change risks and opportunities from the present day to the 2080s. It covers 50 risks and opportunities across five themes: land, nature, and food; health and wellbeing; community and economy; built environment; and infrastructure. The executive summary is available in English and Gaelic.
Highland Climate Change Economic Impact Assessment
Climate change will have potentially significant negative impacts on the Highland region equivalent to around -1.5% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) a year by the 2050s, rising to up to -3.3% a year by the 2080s. Our economic assessment provides the first Highland-specific regional economic analysis for climate change impacts. It also includes three sector reports: forestry and timber, energy, and food and drink.
Circular Economy Practices for Climate-Resilient Supply Chains
The Highland food and drink sector is on the frontline of climate change, facing increasing risks from extreme weather, biodiversity loss, and shifting market dynamics. This report focuses on the role circular economy practices (like retaining resource value and shortening supply chains) can play in strengthening climate resilience across the sector. The report identifies key barriers, local case studies, and opportunities for systemic change.
Highland Weather & Climate Story Map
Across the region, we are already feeling the effects of the changing climate on our weather, our landscapes, and our communities. The Highland Weather & Climate Story Map collects your first-hand experiences of weather and climate impacts on the Highland region. These stories will sit alongside other data and evidence, helping to paint a fuller picture of climate impacts and changes in Highland.
Highland Charter for Climate, Nature, and Health
The Highland Charter for Climate, Nature, and Health is a pledge to put climate, nature, and the benefits of green and blue health at the centre of decision-making and action, so that the natural environment and people have improved health, wellbeing, and resilience. The aim of the charter is to raise awareness of climate change, to build momentum across the region, and to celebrate the work that individuals, communities, organisations, and businesses are doing in Highland.