1. Public-Private Engagement:
A Way Forward
February 2017

2. Decision 73 (EC-68)
What: To develop a long-term strategy for cooperation between the public and private sectors for the benefit of society Who: President of WMO and PRAs to lead the development of the strategy in consultation with the broader WMO community SG to support the implementation of this Decision When: Draft work plan and position paper by EC-69

3. Decision 73 (EC-68)
How:
Assess experience, good practices, opportunities and risks associated with private sector engagement;
Consider short-, medium- and long-term perspectives and goals;
Develop draft principles for private sector engagement based on the key issues outlined in Annex 2 to Decision 73 (EC-68);
Propose mechanisms and structures to foster dialogue and consultations, taking into consideration global, regional and national contexts, with a focus on national circumstances;
Propose options for future governance of public-private partnerships and directions for development of WMO guidance to Members;
Engage the Permanent Representatives of Members in discussions and deliberations.

4. Decision 73 (EC-68) Key issues to address (1/3):
Differences at global, regional and national levels;
Clear roles and responsibilities – legislation (mandates), authoritative voice of NMHSs for warnings, authoritative source of information;
Need for agreed policies and shared commitment to data policy – free and unrestricted data exchange;
Expertise/knowledge sharing and technology transfer;
Cost, benefit and liability sharing;
The basic systems and infrastructure of WMO/NMHSs is critical to the weather, climate, water, marine and environmental enterprise;

5. Decision 73 (EC-68) Key issues to address (2/3):
WMO Standards should be complied with (quality, authentication, reliability and verification);
Principle of cooperation, collaboration, complementarity and professionalism;
Inclusiveness – public sector, private sector and academia;
“No country left behind” – keep LDCs and SIDS in focus;
Principle of common and shared responsibility;
Balancing the opportunity and costs of ‘big data’ versus fit- for-purpose data;
Urgency for adapting, accelerated uptake of new/changing technology (including learning from private sector which is more agile/dynamic);

6. Decision 73 (EC-68) Key issues to address (3/3):
Moving ahead through continuous and expanding dialogue and consultations;
Attribution requirement (credit source of public good information/services);
Accountability (for information/services);
A shared code of conduct for all parties engaged in the global weather enterprise;
WMO’s recognized key role in facilitating and enabling the public-private process.

7. Suggested Goal on Public-Private Engagement (PPE)
Help Members ensure continuation of an effective and sustainable global weather enterprise providing reliable, high-quality and ever-improving services in all countries to support societies worldwide.

8. What is the “global weather enterprise”:
The multitude of systems and entities participating in the production and provision of meteorological, climatological, hydrological, marine and related environmental information and services.
For brevity, the name only refers to “weather”; however, the enterprise encompasses all business areas of WMO, including weather, climate and water; and all core activities – observations, modelling, data processing and forecasting, and other services and related research.
It includes public-sector entities, private-sector entities and academia, as well as civil society.
It has global, regional, national and local dimensions.

9. How will we reach our goal?
Deliverables:
Draft Framework Policy. Initiate dialogue and action to shape new policy.
Analysis/White Paper. WMO-coordinated substantive analysis of issues and possible policy solutions – by Summer 2018.
New Policy based on Analysis and Dialogue. New comprehensive policy resolution/declaration, with principles of engagement – Cg-18, June 2019.
Guidance Material.

10. How will we reach our goal?
Process:
Member-driven process. Solicit ongoing Member input on key issues, good practices and preferred solutions.
Outreach throughout. Regular outreach to Members, private sector and other stakeholders.
Interim solutions for immediate needs. Respond to urgent needs for guidance via EC-69 and EC-70 decisions, other vehicles.

11. Road map of our way forward:
Strategy
including principles (policy), governance, guidance to Members
White paper opportunities and risks for the weather enterprise in public-private sector engagement
Elements of the weather enterprise: observations, modeling, computing, data, forecasts & other services, users
Case study compendium on private sector engagement
benefits, concerns, good practices, lessons learned, opportunities, risks, sustainability.

12. Why a two-year process?
No short cuts to success: analyzing the complex situation globally and developing effective responses takes time and sustained effort.
Dramatic changes in private-sector engagement affecting 4 different core NMHS operations areas (observations, data, modelling and services).
Concerns of 191 Members very diverse.
Member concerns differ substantially based on factors including level of development, national economic and legislative structures, national and regional service needs, and the nature of their existing national weather/ water/climate businesses.
No “off-the-shelf” ways forward exist.

13. Different PPE issues are occurring in different regions and business areas
Emerging data management issues in developed Met Services – how best provide ‘open data’? Rising costs, new private-sector options…and long-term risks to sustainability.
NWP – private-sector competition (Panasonic, etc.): how respond?
Data explosion/’big data’ – enormous increase in data, many commercial interests – how NMHSs respond?

14. Different PPE issues are occurring in different regions and business areas
Big multinational competitors – will they try to replace small NMHSs?
Competition in weather service provision, and “Authoritative Voice” – how should NMHSs respond to explosion of weather apps and specialized service providers?
‘Fake weather news’ – how manage rumors and competing forecasts?
Funding shortfalls in NMHSs

15. Thank you