WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION____________________

EC WORKING GROUP ON WMO STRATEGIC AND OPERATIONAL PLANNING (WG/SOP)

First session

GENEVA, 16-19 February 2016

EC WG/SOP-I(2016)/Doc.3.1(1)(09.II.2016)

Item: 3.1

ENGLISH ONLY

WMO STRATEGIC AND BUDGET PLANNING

WMO Strategic Planning 2020-2023

Strategic Planning Models

(Submitted by the Secretariat)

Summary and Purpose of DocumentThe document presents strategic planning models, and the evolution of models used to present WMO Strategic Plans since 2008.

ACTION PROPOSED

The working group is invited to consider the strategic planning models and, the impacts of changes made on the models of presenting WMO Strategic Plans since 2008 with the view of improving the structures and outlines of WMO Strategic and Operating Plans 2020-2023.

References:

1. Abridged final report with resolutions of the Sixty-first session of the Executive Council (WMO-No. 1042), Part 1, Geneva, 3-12 June 1999

2. Abridged final report with resolutions of the Fifteenth World Meteorological Congress (WMO-No. 1026), Geneva, 7-25 May 2007

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DISCUSSION

STRATEGIC PLANNING MODELS

Introduction

1. Strategic planning is a process of using systematic criteria and rigorous investigation to formulate, implement, and control strategy, and formally document organizational expectations and provide a feedback on performance. It brings the future into the present so that something can be done on it. It dates back to ancient Greek civilization, with the word "strategy" derived from the Greek word "strategos" which means the art of "General" or army leader. Its application in the military is “to plan the destruction of one’s enemies through effective use of resources”.

2. The use of strategy in the business industry was motivated by increased competition due to rapid changes in the market, and advances in science and technology together with their application after the Second World War.

3. Strategic Plans provide a foundation to Results-based Management Framework adopted by the United Nation System in the late 1990s to improve effectiveness and accountability of UN agencies. The first WMO Strategic Plan was for the period 2008-2011, which was realised by transforming the Long-term Plan into a strategic plan.

4. There is no one best way to plan and factors such as culture, leadership, the complexity of the environment and organizational structure play a role in how a strategic plan is actually put together and implemented.

5. Strategic planning process has three broad phases namely diagnosis, design and implementation. Some authors divide the implantation phase into action planning and monitoring and evaluation phases.

Diagnosis Phase

6. The diagnosis phase involves examining the current and past state of an Organization from various perspectives to understand the current definition of its business, the trends, and factors that may influence its future. In this phase factors that influence performance are identified and documented. It is important to have a common understanding on the values and mission of an Organization to enhance convergence on what matters for Organization and its strategic direction. It provides the information required to design a strategic plan. The models that can be used in this phase include SWOT, 3C’s, Porter’s five forces, 7S’s and PESTLE.

The 3C’s Model

7. The 3C’s strategic model considers a strategy as a triangle with three sides namely company, customer and competition. This model is focused on enhancing the achievement of competitive advantage. It considers the most important strategic issue to be competiveness and that competitive advantage can be sustained by only integrating the three elements. A change in any of the three elements is expected to affect the market and require a change in the strategy, which is always rather difficult.

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8. It requires a company to identify what it would like to address as the first step in developing a strategy to compete in the market, and to focus on its present and potential customers to be successful in the long run. Examples of strategies using this model include Company-based strategies (Are company centric and are driven by the fact that the company knows what is right for the market), customer-based strategies (Focus on the identified subset or segment of customers instead of trying to satisfy the entire market) and competitive-based strategies (Focus on identified areas to develop competitive advantage).

PESTLE Analysis

9. The PESTLE (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental) analysis is more suitable for identifying external factors related to Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental situation that may have an impact on the operations of an Organization to limit its ability to realize its vision. The model puts the business at the center and is influenced by the forces related to the six factors.

10. Some typical questions in PESTLE analysis include:

a) What are the major political factors that may impact us?b) What are the high priority economic factors that may impact us?c) What are the most essential cultural issues to consider?d) What are the technological innovations that may affect us?e) What are the current and future legislations that may affect us? andf) What are the environmental factors essential to us?

11. The emphasis should be on identifying the issues rather than whether the classification category is correct.

12. The rapid advances in information and technology have made significant changes on the processes to gather and share meteorological and hydrological information and products. Information can easily flow across the boarders through the use of internet. The needs of users are also rapidly changing and through internet, many access weather and climate information to address their immediate needs.

13. The political drive for the need to address climate change has elevated the stakes of climate issues. These changes, among others, will require a paradigm shift in the delivery of meteorological and hydrological services for NMHSs to sustain their status as national authoritative voices on weather and climate.

Porter’s Five Forces Model

14. Porter’s five forces model is based on the relationships between following five competitive forces that shape a strategy:

a) Threat of new entrants; b) Bargaining power of buyers; c) Threat of substitute products or services; d) Bargaining power of suppliers; and e) Rivalry among existing competitors.

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15. This model promotes developing strategies to cope with the competition based on a good understanding of the industry. Competition should be defined broadly to include established rivals in an industry, customers, suppliers, potential entrants and substitute products. The rivalry that results from the five forces shapes structure and nature of competition in an industry. The strengths of these forces are not uniform among industries.

16. The private meteorological services providers are new entrants into the provision of meteorological services. They are offering substitute products readily available on the internet. They will form part of the first competition to be faced by NMHSs. If they decide to organize themselves in a global setting, they would form the first competition to be faced by WMO.

17. A number of institutions are trying as much as possible to show that they can contribute to efforts to address climate change. This will lead to high competition in accessing additional resources to implement activities.

McKinsey 7S’s Model

18. The basic assumption in McKinsey 7S’s Model is that an organization has seven internal aspects that need to be aligned for it to be successful. The model can be used in various situations where an alignment in an organization is needed. Some examples include to:

a) Improve the performance;b) Examine the effects of intended changes; andc) Identify the best way to implement a strategic plan.

19. The seven variables are structure, strategy, systems, skills, style, staff and shared values/superordinate goals. The Shared Values are put in the middle to emphasize their centrality to the development of all the other critical elements. Any changes in the shared values would lead to changes in the other variables. The code of ethics for WMO identifies acceptable behavior and conduct in our multicultural Organization.

20. Table 1 defines the seven variables used in McKinsey 7S’s Model. Achieving a fit among the seven variables is essential for good performance and for achieving expectations. The seven variables are grouped into two categories namely the Hard S’s (strategy, structure and systems), which are feasible and easy to identify, and the soft S’s (shared values, skills, staff, and style), which are hardly feasible. The Soft S’s have a very significant influence on the successful implementation of a strategic plan. Most of the failures experienced by many institutions in the 1980’s were associated with the weaknesses in shared values, skills, staff, and style.

SWOT Analysis

21. SWOT( Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) is a tool used by an Organizations to create and analyze data to identify its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that would influence the realization of its vision. To analyze the external factors, you need to have adequate information on economic, social, cultural, demographic, environmental, political, governmental, legal, and technological trends. The information related to these factors can help an Organization identify its opportunities and threats.

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22. Strengths are internal factors of an Organization and represent its positive attributes. They describe the positive factors of an Organization, which are fully under its control, including deciding how to use them for its benefit. They can be classified based on the area of expertise, skills and training of staff, and infrastructure to deliver mandate among others. Anything that has the potential to give you an edge over other Organizations engaged in the same business is your strength. Table 2 presents some of the questions that can be used to analyse strengths.

23. The weaknesses represent areas in which an Organization does not have adequate capability compared to other Organizations engaged in a similar business. They may be related to finances, human resources, market conditions, technology, or other factors relevant to the business. Table 3 presents some of the questions to analyse weaknesses.

24. A set of questions to analyse opportunities and threats are presented in Tables 4 and 5.

Design Phase

25. The design phase involves deciding on the structure of the strategic plan. It is in this phase that the Organization develops or revises its vision and identifies the best strategies or approaches that can be translated into action to realize it. It is also in this phase that the various elements of a strategic plan are developed and aligned. The outcomes of this phase include a strategic plan which may lead to a new structure for the Organization, and new operating procedures.

26. The elements of a strategic plan should be inter-related to provide a logical flow of the strategic direction. The frequently used terms in strategic planning are presented in Table xxx. The models frequently used by non-for-profit organizations to craft strategic plans include the Basic, Issue-Based, Alignment, Scenario and Organic (or Self-Organizing). Only a brief description of each model is provided in this document.

Basic Strategic Planning

27. This model is often used by Organizations that are small, busy and have limited experience in strategic planning. It can be used at the initial stages of adopting strategic planning to enable an Organization gain experience in strategic planning processes. This approach requires top management to provide leadership. The strategic planning process in this model includes:

a) Defining or updating your mission (the statement describing why an Organization was established and exists).

b) Defining or updating your vision.c) Defining or updating your values.d) Assessing the external and internal factors to identify the Strengths,

Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) of the Organization together with other factors that may influence performance.

e) Selecting the goals (statements defining what an Organization intends to achieve) to accomplish the mission.

f) Identifying specific approaches, tactics or strategies to be implemented to achieve the goals or expected results. The strategies

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are the most frequently changed elements of a strategic plan since they are influenced by changes in the internal and external environments.

g) Documenting the mission, vision, goals or expected results, and strategies into a Strategic Plan

h) Developing an operating plan or action plan to translate the strategies into specific actions to be implemented to achieve the goals or expected results. The strategies should be clear and talking to the goals to make it easy to identify relevant activities; and

i) Developing a monitoring, evaluation and reporting system.

Issue-Based (or Goal-Based) Planning

28. It is often for Organizations that start with the basic strategic planning model described above to evolve to using this model which is considered to be more comprehensive and more effective. The steps presented below represent the relevant activities associated with this model.

a) Defining or updating the mission. b) Defining or updating the vision.c) Defining or updating the values.d) Assessing the external and internal factors to identify the Strengths,

Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) of the Organization.e) Conducting a strategic analysis to identify and prioritize major issues

to be addressed.f) Defining your goals or expected results to be achieved in addressing

the issues to realize the vision within your mission.g) Selecting appropriate strategies to address the issues to achieve the

goals or expected results.h) Documenting the mission, vision, issues, goals or expected results,

and strategies into a Strategic Plan.i) Developing Operating or action plans to translate strategies into

specific actions, indicating specific timelines and assigning responsibilities.

j) Developing a budget.k) Developing a monitoring, evaluation and reporting system.

Alignment Model

29. The motivation of this model is to align the resources with the mission to ensure effective operations. It is relevant for fine tuning the strategies if they are not working. It can also be appropriate for an Organization experiencing extensive internal inefficiencies. The steps involving this model include to:

a) Define or update your mission. b) Define or update your vision.c) Define or update your values.

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d) Assess the external and internal factors to identify the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) of the Organization;

e) Identify what’s working well and what needs adjustment.f) Identify how these adjustments should be made.g) Include the adjustments as strategies in the strategic plan. h) Develop Operating Plans or Action Plans translating strategies into

specific actions, indicate specific timelines and assign responsibilities. i) Develop a budget andj) Developing a monitoring, evaluation and reporting system.

Scenario Planning Model

30. The scenario approach provides a process for thinking clearly about the complex factors that influence decision-making. It provides the management with a common language to talk about the future by answering several ‘’What if ‘’ questions. For example:

a) What if the worst budget cuts were effected globally, would NMHSs still meet their national and international obligations?

b) What if the global centers had the ability to provide skillful weather forecasts for your countries, would the NMHSs still be relevant?

c) What if resources were not given to NMHSs over years to train and absorb new staff, what would they do to sustain operations?

d) What if the private sector grows and establishes a global presence and has a robust data collection and sharing mechanism, would you survive the competition?

e) What if the use of internet revolutionizes the access to weather and climate forecasts, would you have the ability to adapt to the change?

f) What if the UN Sustainable Development Goals become the key principles to guide investment and development worldwide, would WMO and its Members’ NMHSs be considered as major contributors to the achievement of the goals?

g) What if governments worldwide commit to achieving the expectations of Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, would the NMHSs be considered as major contributors to actions to reduce disaster risks?

h) What if governments worldwide commit to mitigate climate change and enhance the resilience of society to adapt to climate extremes, would the NMHSs be considered as major contributors to actions to mitigate and adapt to climate change?

31. As people answer and discuss the ‘’what if’’ questions, they develop stories, or scenarios of the future that they need to address.

32. This model can be used together with other models to support strategic thinking. It can be used to identify strategic issues and goals. The steps associated with this model include to:

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a) Define or update the mission. b) Define or update the vision.c) Define or update the values ,d) Select several external forces and imagine related changes which

might influence the organization, e.g. change in regulations, demographic changes, etc. Scanning the newspaper for key headlines often suggests potential changes that might affect the organization.

e) Select the most likely external changes to affect the Organization.f) Discuss three different future Organizational scenarios (including best

case, worst case, and ok/reasonable case) associated with each change. It is advisable to review the worst-case scenario to provoke strong motivation to change to the Organization.

g) Suggest what the organization might do or potential strategies to respond the three categories of scenarios.

h) Consider strategies that should be implemented to respond to possible external changes.

i) Identify the most reasonable strategies the organization should implement to respond to the changes.

j) Develop Operating Plans or Action Plans translating strategies into specific actions, indicate specific timelines and assign responsibilities.

k) Develop a budget andl) Monitor, evaluate and report performance progress.

Organic (Self-Organizing) Planning

33. This is a non-linear strategic planning model that uses values as the center for dialoguing and comparable to a process of developing an organism. The Organization reflects on its operating systems and processes to identify what needs to be aligned with the strategic direction. The steps include:

a) Defining or updating the mission. b) Defining or updating the vision.c) Defining or updating the valuesd) Dialoging regularly to identify the systems or processes needed to

realize the vision and what needs to be done about those processes.e) Keeping in mind that this approach is a continuous process, without

an end, and that each group has to learn to conduct its own values clarification, dialogue/reflection, and process updates.

f) One has to be patient, and to focus more on learning than on the method. Each group should reflect on how the strategic plan will be communicated to the stakeholders, develop Operating Plans or action plans that translate strategies into specific actions, indicate specific timelines and assign responsibilities.

g) Develop a budget; andh) Developing a monitoring, evaluation and reporting system.

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Implementation Phase

34. The implementation phase is focused on executing a strategic plan. It includes communicating the plan, developing action plans, and monitoring and evaluating performance progress. Proper communication ensures that the stakeholder, internal and external, understand and share the strategic direction, and actions to realize the vision.

35. The failure of many planning initiatives has been related to weaknesses in the implementation process, particularly as relates to inadequate internal communication and buy-in during the diagnosis, design and implementation phases. The planning terminology should be simple and clear to make it easy to communicate the strategic direction in a way that it means the same thing to all stakeholders.

36. A Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is a tool often used in implementing strategies due to its ability to fill the gap between developing a strategic plan and realizing the expected achievements by making it possible to clarify and translate the vision and strategy; to communicate and link strategic objectives and measures; to plan, set and align strategic initiatives; and to enhance strategic feedback and learning. It was designed to measure the performance of an organization in four perspectives namely financial, customer, internal business process and learning and growth that formed a BSC framework. For each perspective, the objectives, measures, targets and initiatives are defined as relates to the vision, mission and strategy to enable performance monitoring.

37. It is used extensively in business and industry, government, and nonprofit organizations worldwide to align business activities with the vision and strategy of the organization; to improve internal and external communications; and to monitor organization performance against strategic goals.

38. Every institution develops a fit-for-purpose monitoring, evaluation and reporting process.

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Evolution of Models Used to Present WMO Strategic Plans

39. Figure 1 presents the evolution of the models to present WMO Strategic Plans since 2008.The Fifteenth World Meteorological Congress (Cg-XV, 7-25 May 2007) agreed with the fifty-eighth session of the Executive Council that the Seventh Long-term Plan should be changed and be referred to as the WMO Strategic Plan, which would be a statement of strategic intent for the Organization for the period 2008–2011, corresponding with the fifteenth financial period. It further agreed that the vision and concepts included should be permitted to extend beyond the next financial period as appropriate, but that the end results referred to objectives of the fifteenth financial period (Paragraphs 6.2.1-6.2.8).

40. The WMO Strategic Plan 2008-2011 was presented in a Basic Model. The Expected results were directly related to the Top-level Objectives (TLO) and Strategic Thrusts (STs) (Annex Tables 1a and 1b). The focus was on TLO (Table 1a) related to the desire to improve the capabilities of WMO and its Members’ NMHSs to improve the quality and delivery of services. The Expected Results represented the desired improvements for WMO and NMHSs. This was about addressing our problems.

41. The Sixty-first session of WMO Executive Council (EC-61, June 2009, Paragraph 7.2.7(b))) endorsed the recommendation of its Working on Strategic and Operational Planning to base the strategic direction of the Organization on a set of Global Societal Needs (GSNs. This was a shift to addressing their problems (the society) by using our abilities. This decision made the WMO Strategic Plan 2012-2015 to be presented in an Issue-based Model. However, the strategic thrusts and Expected Results were retained with some adjustments and strategic priorities were introduced as areas of focus in a Strategic Thrust.

42. The challenge this period was how the actions associated with the STs and Priorities focusing on GSNs would achieve the same expected results related to TLO.

Figure 1: The evolution of the models to present WMO Strategic Plan since 2008.

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43. The WMO Strategic Plan 2016-2019 was presented in an Issue-based Model. The Strategic Thrusts were dropped and only priorities retained as processes for addressing the GSNs to achieve expected results. The expected results were retained as was in the SP 2012-2015.

Review of WMO Strategic Planning Process, and Capacity Building on Strategic Planning

44. A consultant has been engaged to review WMO strategic planning process with the view of developing a guide for integrated strategic planning process and a template for developing a strategic plan for use by NMHSs in developing and least developed countries. The Consultant will also train staff on strategic planning with a focus on monitoring and evaluation. The Consultant is expected to conclude the tasks in March 2016.

45. Two training workshops on strategic planning were conducted in November 2015 for the Heads of NMHSs in Regional Association-I to enhance their capacities to develop national strategic plans through the support of African Ministerial Conference on Meteorology (AMCOMET) and WMO. The participants were trained on the various models. They indicated the need to have follow-up training workshop in November 2016 to review national strategic plans, enhance management skills and identify processes to implement the national plans.

Issues to consider

46. The working group is invited to consider:a) The impact of the changes on the elements of the strategic plan on

their logical linkage;b) Whether the expected results are true representation of what can be

achieved by the actions of WMO and its Members’ NMHSs on the GSNs;

c) Whether priorities adequately represent a strategic direction of WMO to address the GSNs;

d) Why the results to be achieved remain the same despite changes in focus (from TLO to GSNs) and processes (from STs to priorities). Results;

e) Model or a set of models to improve the logical presentation of WMO Strategic Plan for all stakeholders to have a common understanding of the focus, processes to make it happen and what is to be achieved;

f) The need to conduct a SWOT and analysis to enhance the focus of the SP 2020-2023; and

g) The need to enhance the capacities of NMHSs in strategic planning, particularly from developing and least developed countries, to enable them contribute effectively to WMO strategic planning and implementation processes.

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Table 1: The seven variables in the McKinsey 7S’s Model.Variable Definition

Strategy Actions an Organization or Company plans in response to changes in its external environment.

Structure Basis of specialization and coordination influenced primarily by strategy, size, and diversity of organization.

Systems Formal and informal procedures that support the strategy and structure.

Style Consists of two components: (1) Organizational culture - the dominant values, beliefs, and norms which develop over time and become relatively enduring features of organizational life. (2) Management Style - more a matter of what managers do than what they say; how do company managers spend their time; what are they focusing on.

Staff The people/human resource management-processes used to develop managers, socialization processes and ways of introducing young recruits to the company.

Skills The distinctive competences - what the company does best.

Shared values Guiding concepts, fundamental ideas around which a business is built - must be simple, usually stated at abstract level, have great meaning inside the organization even though the outsiders may not see or understand them.

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Table 2: A set of questions to analyze the strengths of an Organization.Question Answer

What makes your Organization unique?

How do the communities we serve understand what makes us unique?

How do we add value to the communities we serve?

In terms of our Organizational structure, how easy is it to adapt to changes in workload so that you can deploy staff to new initiatives without impacting on the regular processes?

What is the most innovative idea that you and your staff and partners have agreed upon to date?

How do we rate your basic requirement to fulfill your mandate?

What is our financial state?

What is the state of your skilled workforce?

What are your the strongest product brands?

What factors demonstrate our capability to be flexible and accept changes?

What is the state of the morale of our staff?

Is our advertisement and marketing strategy efficient and effective?

Are we making best use of information technology?

Is our culture innovative?

Are we able to compete locally and internationally?

How do we manage our cultural differences?

How well do our services meet users’ needs and do users value them?

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Table 3:A set of questions to analyze the weaknesses of an Organization Question Answer

What do we frequently mitigate as our weaknesses or use as our strengths to reduce our weaknesses?

What are our capability gaps?

How do we address the challenges facing our Organization?

What do we consider as weaknesses of our partners?

How do we work together to overcome the identified weaknesses?

What are the weaknesses we give the highest priority to address?

What are the areas in which our competitors do better than us?

What are the lacking essential human resources?

What essential basic infrastructure is lacking?

Are funds required available?

Are we able to meet the challenges from our competitors?

What are the most frequent complaints from our customers?

Is the working environment suitable to our staff?

Does staff trust the management?

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Table 4:A set of questions to analyse opportunities.Question Answer

How do you capitalize on your opportunities?

How do we identify new opportunities?

How do we define your ideal client, someone you are confident benefits from your services?

How do we take into consideration the emerging global trends in the delivery of meteorological and hydrological services?

How will we and our partners continue to innovate new services and products?

How will you and your partners continue to innovate new project delivery methods?

What external changes will bring us opportunities?

Will trends in the delivery of meteorological and hydrological services affect us in a positive manner?

What is missing in the delivery of services that you can take advantage of to increase your relevance?

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Table 5:A set of questions to analyze threats.Question Answer

How do we protect yourself from our threats?

What do we consider as the most threatening factor to our Organization i.e. political, economic, societal, environmental, etc.?

What is the type of business that you would not like to associate with?

How can the advances in information and technology affect the identity of our Organization?

If we know your current rivals, which ones do we consider as our future rivals?

How would we protect our Organization from the threats that we have not foreseen?

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Table 6: The terms frequently used in strategic planning.Term DefinitionsMission A mission statement presents the overriding

purpose of an Organization in line with the values and expectations of stakeholders and should answer the questions: ‘’What business are we in?‟ and ‘’what is our business for?’’. It enables an Organizational to have a uniform focus.

Vision A vision statement presents a strategic direction of an Organization. It should be challenging and ambitious yet workable enough to evoke employees’ ingenuity as far as its realization is concerned. It is expected to evoke powerful and compelling mental images of the desired future state of an organization. It involves dreaming of a future, which is a good element for initiating actions to improve and adapt to rapidly changing environment for providing meteorological and hydrological services, and the rapidly changing users’ demands

Shared Values The values represent the principles guiding internal conduct of an Organization and its relationships with its external stakeholders. They are the beliefs of an Organization that specific modes of conduct are preferable to opposite or contrary modes of conduct

Goals/ Objectives/Expected Results Goals, Objectives or Expected Results represent the results an Organization aims to achieve within a time frame and with available resources to realize its vision. The Objectives are considered to be more specific and easier to measure than goals.

Strategy or Strategic Thrusts Broad indications of directions to achieve goals, objectives or Expected Results. They represent the approaches or tactics that would be used to realize the expectations.

Action/operational planning Translating strategies into specific actions or projects to achieve the set objectives, goals or expected results. It guides the implementation of activities aimed at achieving the set objectives. It forms the basis for developing a budget that allocates resources to achieve the objectives and realize the vision.

Budgeting Allocating resources to implement identified activities.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Tracking, evaluating and reporting on performance progress.

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AnnexThe Major Elements of WMO Strategic Plans 2008-2011, 2012-2015 and 2016-2019

Table 1: WMO SP 2008-2011

Table 1a:Top-Level Objectives of the World Meteorological OrganizationI To produce more accurate, timely and reliable forecasts and warnings of weather, climate,

water, and related environmental elementsII To improve the delivery of weather, climate, water, and related environmental information

and services to the public, governments and other usersIII To provide scientific and technical expertise and advice in support of policy and decision-

making and implementation of the agreed international development goals and multilateral agreements

Table 1b:Strategic thrusts, Expected Results and performance indicators.

Strategic Thrusts

Expected Results and Performance Indicators

Science and Technology Development and Implementation

I Enhanced capabilities of Members to produce better weather forecasts and warnings by:1. Ensuring greater use of Numerical Weather Prediction products, including the output of global and

regional ensemble systems;2. Increasing the number of new and advanced scientific tools made available to Members;3. Improving the rate of implementation of new forecasting techniques into operations; and4. Providing training, guides, manuals, standards, operational procedures, and technical and scientific

publications that enhance Members’ ability to deliver quality, targeted and user-friendly products.

II Enhanced capabilities of Members to provide better climate predictions and assessments by:

1. Improving the tools to gather and process data to make accurate and useful climate predictions and assessments at the national level;

2. Reducing uncertainties in the understanding of climate variability and change;3. Providing training and guidance in the application of climate information; and4. Providing tools for the interpretation and utilization of climate information and products.

III Enhanced capabilities of Members to provide better hydrological forecasts and assessments by:

1. Increasing the use of existing and developing new scientific tools by Members; and

2. Increasing the effectiveness of training in new hydrological techniques and technologies.

IV Integration of WMO observing systems by:1. Increasing the sustainability of WMO observing systems for better efficiency;2. Increasing the level of standardization and interoperability of WMO observing systems;3. Enhancing information-sharing among Members and relevant institutions;4. Improving management efficiency for WMO observing systems; and5. Increasing the capability to provide data from WMO observing systems to external users at national

and international levels.

V Development and implementation of the new WMO Information System (WIS) by:1. Increasing WMO telecommunications capabilities and capacities supporting all Members;2. Ensuring transmission and dissemination network interoperability and connectivity across WMO and

with appropriate external partners;3. Accelerating progress in WIS implementation; and4. Promoting the implementation of efficient and cost-effective technologies for information-gathering

and -sharing.

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Strategic Thrusts

Expected Results and Performance Indicators

Service Delivery

VI Enhanced capabilities of Members in multi-hazard early warning and disaster prevention and preparedness by:

1. Improving the capacity of Members to provide inputs and make decisions where appropriate for multi-hazard early warning for disaster preparedness;

2. Increasing participation of Members’ NMHSs in national risk reduction planning and disaster management processes and activities;

3. Improving the capacity of Members in the delivery of weather, climate and hydrological hazard information and advice in support of risk identification, risk transfer and development planning; and

4. Increasing collaboration and cooperation of Members’ NMHSs with ministries, agencies, and economic sectors involved in disaster risk management.

VII Enhanced capabilities of Members to provide and use weather, climate, water and environmental applications and services by:

1. Increasing the understanding of societal and economic requirements for weather, climate, water and air quality services;

2. Improving relevant, timely, cost-effective and useful products and services that can be used beneficially by end users;

3. Expanding the use of weather, climate and hydrological outlook services provided by Members;4. Increasing assistance to countries in flood management; and,5. Increasing training and guidance material that enhance Members’ ability to deliver quality services.

Partnership

VIII Broader use of weather, climate and water outputs for decision-making and implementation by Members and partner organizations by:

1. Increasing the utility and uptake of assessment reports, bulletins, statements and other provisions by policy- and other decision-makers;

2. Increasing WMO interaction with various users through participation in relevant fora; and,3. Increasing cooperation between WMO Members’ institutions, including universities, national

laboratories, the private sector and NMHSs.

Capacity Building

IX Enhanced capabilities of Members in developing countries, particularly least developed countries, to fulfil their mandates by:

1. Increasing the ability of Members to plan, monitor and assess weather, climate and water phenomena more effectively in support of national development plans and policies;

2. Successfully implementing capacity-building activities that improve service delivery;3. Enhancing the capabilities of Members to support poverty alleviation programmes; and4. Increasing the opportunity for effective participation of candidates from developing and least

developed countries in training events and technical meetings, thereby promoting institutional capacity-building.

Efficient Management and Good Governance

X Effective and efficient functioning of constituent bodies by:1. Achieving agreed targets within budget;2. Improving efficiency and effectiveness of constituent body meetings; and3. Increasing the satisfaction of the constituent body members.

XI Effective and efficient management performance and oversight of the Organization by:

1. Increasing the effectiveness of the interaction of the Secretariat with Members, intergovernmental and other multilateral agencies, the private sector and civil society;

2. Ensuring that interaction with various governance groups occurs as needed;

3. Completing organizational reviews, internal/external audits, performance audits and evaluations designed to improve business effectiveness and efficiency;

4. Ensuring that programme performance reports are relevant and are produced by the WMO Secretariat on a timely basis;

5. Ensuring that organizational risks are properly identified, registered and managed;

6. Ensuring that significant financial, managerial, and operating information is accurate, reliable and timely;

7. Ensuring that resources are acquired economically, used efficiently and adequately protected;

8. Ensuring that organizational programmes, plans and objectives are effectively achieved; and

9. Ensuring that quality and continuous improvement are fostered in WMO’s control processes.

EC WG/SOP-I(2016)/Doc. 3.1(1), p. 21

Table 2 :WMO SP 2012-2015Global Societal Needs Strategic Thrusts Expected Results

Protection of life and property and safety of transport on land, sea and in the air

Improving service quality and service delivery

Priority: DRR, GFCS

Important areas: public weather services, services for aviation, marine navigation and coastal areas

1

Service delivery

Enhanced capabilities of Members to deliver and improve access to high-quality weather, climate, water and related environmental predictions, information, warnings and services in response to users’ needs and to enable their use in decision-making by relevant societal sectors

2

Disaster risk reduction

Enhanced capabilities of Members to reduce risks and potential impacts of hazards caused by weather, climate, water and related environmental elements

Poverty eradication, sustained livelihoods, health, food security, access to water and energy, and economic growth

Advancing scientific research and application, development and implementation of technology

Priority: GFCS, WIGOS

Important areas: research in climate predictions (seasonal, sub-seasonal), polar predictions, and megacity services

3

Data processing and forecasting

Enhanced capabilities of Members to produce better weather, climate, water and related environmental information, predictions and warnings to support in particular disaster risk reduction and climate impact and adaptation strategies

4

Observations and data management

Enhanced capabilities of Members to access, develop, implement and use integrated and interoperable surface- and space-based observation systems for weather, climate and hydrological observations, as well as related environmental and space weather observations, based on world standards set by WMO

5

Research

Enhanced capabilities of Members to contribute to and draw benefits from the global research capacity for weather, climate, water and the related environmental science and technology development

Sustainable use of natural resources and improved environmental quality

Strengthening capacity development

Priority: capacity development

6

Capacity Development

Enhanced capabilities of NMHSs, in particular in developing and least developed countries, to fulfil their mandates

Building and enhancing partnerships and cooperation

Important areas: partnerships for GFCS and DRR

7

Partnerships

New and strengthened partnerships and cooperation activities to improve NMHSs’ performance in delivering services and to increase the value of the contributions of WMO within the United Nations system, relevant international conventions and national strategic issues

Strengthening good governance 8 An effective and efficient Organization

EC WG/SOP-I(2016)/Doc. 3.1(1), p. 22

Table 3:WMO SP 2016-2019

Global Societal Needs Priorities Expected Results

Improved protection of life and property Disaster Risk Reduction

Global Frameworkfor Climate Services

WMO IntegratedGlobal Observing System

Aviation meteorological services

Polar and high mountain regions monitoring, prediction and services

Capacity development

WMO governance

1

Improved service quality and service delivery

Enhanced capabilities of Members to deliver and improve access to high-quality weather, climate, water and related environmental predictions, information, warnings and services in response to users’ needs and to enable their use in decision-making by relevant societal sectors

2

Reduced Disaster Risk

Enhanced capabilities of Members to reduce risks and potential impacts of hazards caused by weather, climate, water and related environmental elements

End poverty, ensure sustainable resilient

livelihoods, food security, sustainable access to water and energy, healthy lives,

gender equality and economic growth, and combat climate

change

3

Improved Data Processing, Modelling and Forecasting

Enhanced capabilities of Members to produce better weather, climate, water and related environmental information, predictions and warnings to support, in particular, reduced disaster risk and climate impact and adaptation strategies

4

Improved Observations and Data Exchange

Enhanced capabilities of Members to access, develop, implement and use integrated and interoperable Earth- and space-based observation systems for weather, climate and hydrological observations, as well as related environmental and space weather observations, based on world standards set by WMO

5

Advance Targeted Research

Enhanced capabilities of Members to contribute to and draw benefits from the global research capacity for weather, climate, water and the related environmental science and technology development

Sustainable use of natural resources and improved

environmental quality

6

Strengthened Capacity Development

Enhanced capabilities of Members’ NMHSs, in particular, in developing and least developed countries and Small Island Developing States, to fulfil their mandates

7

Strengthened Partnerships

New and strengthened partnerships and cooperation activities to improve NMHSs’ performance in delivering services and to demonstrate the value of WMO contributions within the United Nations system, relevant regional organizations, international conventions and national strategies

8

Improved Efficiency and Effectiveness

Ensure effective functioning of policy-making and constituent bodies and oversight of the Organization.