The relation between forecast and eventual benefit is by no means straightforward. It is therefore of utmost importance to understand forecast process from the perspective of users, and to consider the pathway from forecast to the user and the decision context. The pathway, involving communication channels, user interfaces, human interpretation, timely delivery, etc., may entail a significant amount of ‘information decay’, and a high technical quality of a forecast is no automatic guarantee for notable benefit generation
In recent years in Europe the number of studies concerning the socioeconomic benefits (SEBs) of weather, climate and hydrological services is rising steadily. On the one hand these types of studies could still merit from more sophistication regarding impact attribution to a chain of factors. Also joint use of monetized and non-monetized benefits (and costs) remains compelling. On the other hand it is valuable to learn how implemented SEB projects have helped (1) to reduce information decay in the chain from forecast to user, and (2) to better prioritize investments.
This session invites meteorologists and senior managers from national weather services to present their experiences with performing SEB studies and with exploiting the results. The experiences and requirements of key weather-sensitive users, such as in government or in the private sector, are also sought. The session also invites academic and consultancy experts in socioeconomic appraisal of weather and climate services to present their experiences and explain difficulties in valuation methods.