Report of the Third High-Level session of the Open Consultative Platform (OCP-HL-3) - 20 June 2022

The Third High-level Session of the Open Consultative Platform (OCP-HL-3) of WMO was held on 16 June 2022 during the seventy-fifth session of the WMO Executive Council. OCP-HL-3 formally launched WMO Open Consultative Platform White Paper #2, titled “Future of National Meteorological or Hydrometeorological Services: Evolving Roles and Responsibilities”; this White Paper also set the theme for OCP-HL-3. The invited speakers and panellists shared their thoughts and views about the evolving roles and responsibilities of different players in the dynamic weather and climate service community, especially those related to National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs).

WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas opened the high-level session, thanking the Members for the decision made at the Eighteenth World Meteorological Congress to open the door for the private sector and enhance WMO’s Public-Private Engagement (PPE) activities. He emphasized that the role of Permanent Representatives (PRs) is to serve not only the interests of NMHSs but also the interests of governments, the private and academic sectors, and hydrology at the national level. PPE is an excellent opportunity to enhance the impact of the work of NMHSs and provide additional services. The private sector can play a growing role in the value chain from observations to service provision. Public safety-related issues have to remain in the hands of governments. The Secretary-General also reiterated the importance of helping countries build the legal basis for preserving NMHS mandates in public safety and enabling better engagement with the private sector.

WMO President Prof. Gerhard Adrian gave a keynote presentation launching WMO Open Consultative Platform White Paper #2, of which he was the lead author. According to Prof. Adrian, the white paper is a collective endeavour of more than 30 leading experts worldwide. It comprehensively analyses evolving societal needs and observed trends in the technological and operational ecosystems in which National Meteorological or Hydrometeorological Services (NMSs) operate. The primary objective of the white paper is to inform key decisions on the future development of NMSs by taking into consideration risks, opportunities and scenarios relating to foreseen institutional, technological and operational changes, thereby enabling better governance choices. Prof. Adrian shared the key conclusions of the white paper around the changing environment, partnership building, international cooperation, human resources and leadership, and so forth.

Twelve invited panellists shared their views and answered questions on three thematic panels: Operating models and environment; Legislative/institutional framework; and Human resources, Permanent Representative’s role and global and regional cooperation.

The panellists on the first thematic panel shared their perspectives on how they foresee that internal and external factors such as funding levels, the capability to absorb scientific and technological advances, and approaches to handling the increasingly multi-stakeholder landscape will impact on the roles and responsibilities of NMHSs.

The second thematic panel focused on a critical factor for NMHSs, indeed for all stakeholders: the legislative, policy, and institutional framework. The panellists shared their experiences and insights regarding how this framework needs to be adapted to accommodate the evolving roles of all players within the weather enterprise, especially NMHSs.

The third thematic panel looked at human resources, the evolution of the roles of PRs as representatives of all stakeholders in the weather, climate and water community in their respective countries, and how global and regional cooperation might impact the way NMHSs handle their evolving roles.

Mr. Tatsuya Kimura, Director of the Public-Private Engagement Office at the WMO Secretariat, presented the following key messages, drawn from the above three thematic panels:

  • NMHSs, the academic sector, and the private sector continue to mutually benefit from their individual strengths through partnerships, jointly enhancing the overall societal benefits offered by each.
  • Opportunities for innovative public-private partnerships around the use of technology are expanding in different parts of the value chain, for example:
    • Around the ownership/operation of core high-performing computing (HPC) infrastructure software;
    • To improve research for weather/climate/environment challenges;
    • To improve the applicability and usefulness of data for users downstream;
    • To improve access to digital skills for NMHSs;
    • In the area of automated observations, to free personnel resources for more value-added tasks in the core mission of the NMHS.
  • The rapidly changing environment has underscored the need for policies and legislation, including national regulations, to provide a clear legal basis and consistent rules for meteorological services. Legal and policy frameworks also ensure that NMHSs will be regarded as vital components of national resilience and as the authoritative source of relevant data and information.
  • Private sector entities and other partners can help to advocate for the need for sustained funding for NMHS operations.
  • The role of an NMHS Director is now even more outward-looking to help facilitate win-win partnerships with other government agencies and the private sector so that the impact and value of the NMHS can be better understood and realized. With the new WMO Unified Data Policy, NMHS Directors have the opportunity to redefine the importance of the NMHS as the hub for reliable, rapid and unrestricted foundational data distribution.

WMO Deputy Secretary-General Dr Elena Manaenkova closed the high-level session. She reiterated what was written in the WMO Convention on the vitally important mission of NMHSs in observing and understanding weather and climate and in providing meteorological, hydrological and related services in support of relevant national needs. The future roles of NMHSs should be considered in a constantly changing environment and playground with an increasing number of players. It is essential to talk with a diversity of stakeholders who are part of the enterprise and parts of the ecosystem. She reemphasized the importance of the official, authoritative voice of the NMHS in early warnings and free access to public data.

Information on OCP-HL-3, including the video recordings of all 7 presentations and panel discussions, documents, slides, and so forth are available at https://public.wmo.int/en/our-mandate/how-we-do-it/ppe/resources.

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