572 ITU‐T's Technical Reports and Specifications Table 4 – ICTs contribution to the integration of adaptation into development strategies ICT categories Integration of adaptation into development strategies (a) ICTs for enhanced disaster risk management ICTs can help to strengthen vulnerability and risk assessments in susceptible locations in the city (e.g., through the use of GIS and modeling techniques), as well as to improve indicators and data collection. (b) ICTs to improve city resilience and adaptive capacity ICTs can help to gather city‐specific evidence on adaptation practices (e.g., using satellite and mobile‐based applications) and to highlight their impact on vulnerability reduction. (c) ICT‐based adaptation informed decision making ICTs can help to strengthen institutional and capacity development (e.g., through online training, improved knowledge access) to inform the implementation of sectoral and local programmes. 4 Framework for ICTs' integration in cities climate change adaptation plans After the identification of the role that ICTs can play in the development of cities adaptation initiatives, it is important to provide a framework to foster the inclusion of ICTs into cities climate change adaptation policies and plans. As mentioned in section 2, according to the UNFCCC, the key elements for an urban adaptation process include: 1) laying the groundwork & addressing gaps; 2) preparatory elements; 3) implementation strategies and 4) reporting monitoring and review. Within this framework, the first step to integrating ICTs into urban adaptation processes entails merging the specific ICTs roles identified before (section 3) during the conceptualization of climate change adaptation plans. This framework should be built upon several components, which may include: a transectoral vision of urban adaptation planning, an assessment of climate change risks and vulnerabilities in cities, pointing out the key role of ICT and a cross‐sectoral adaptation policy process. Recognizing the benefits of ICTs for climate change adaptation in cities will facilitate the integration of ICT tools and services in support to their policies. The framework for ICTs' integration for cities adaptation planning should follow \"the one step at the time approach\". The steps have been established based on the suggested policy cycle suggested by the UNFCCC steps for climate adaptation, described as follows. In this sense, the proposed framework for integrating ICTs into cities can have the following steps.