Increasing wildfire risk requires governance approaches capable of connecting policy objectives, territorial realities and local knowledge. Within the European FIRE-RES project, the Policy Clinics methodology (Innovation Action 4.5) was implemented and replicated in the Portuguese Living Lab across two contrasting socio-ecological contexts: the rural–urban interface of Lousã and the community land–protected area interface of the Peneda-Gerês region. The aim was to evaluate how participatory policy analysis can support the co-creation of locally relevant solutions for more fire-resilient territories.

The methodology combined Policy Coherence Analysis (PolCA) with the participatory OPERA approach. Semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders were used to identify synergies, overlaps and conflicts among policy instruments, legal frameworks and territorial management functions related to wildfire resilience. These inputs informed the development and validation of Policy Coherence Matrices (PCM), later consolidated into collective matrices that supported the identification of priority governance challenges. These challenges were subsequently discussed in multi-actor workshops involving public authorities, land managers, community representatives and technical experts. Through the OPERA co-creation approach, participants collectively analysed root causes, prioritised actions and co-created solutions.

Although the two case studies addressed different territorial realities, common governance barriers emerged. In Lousã, discussions focused on socio-economic constraints affecting compliance with fuel management legislation and on perceived tensions between wildfire prevention and Natura 2000 conservation objectives. In Gerês, the debate centred on grazing regulations, the adequacy of forest regime legislation to current wildfire risk conditions and the management of community lands within protected areas. Across both territories, participants highlighted weak institutional coordination, limited policy coherence, demographic decline, insufficient technical support and unstable funding mechanisms as key barriers to implementation.

A major outcome was the convergence of solutions into three complementary domains: (i) technical resources, knowledge transfer and capacity building; (ii) governance, communication and policy adaptation; and (iii) financial mechanisms, including incentives and compensation schemes supporting sustainable land management. Similar priorities emerged in both territories, demonstrating the capacity of the methodology to identify shared governance needs while respecting local specificities.

Results demonstrate that Policy Clinics provide a robust and transferable framework for moving from policy diagnosis to stakeholder-driven action. Beyond identifying governance barriers, the approach enabled local actors to become active co-creators of solutions.

The findings highlight the value of comparative and participatory governance approaches for addressing complex territorial challenges across different forest and land-use contexts, empowering communities and stakeholders to become active co-creators of more coherent, inclusive and fire-resilient landscapes.