Virtual co-delivery of international climate services -evolving the way we work with our international partners

The Met Office has developed internationally recognised expertise in delivering scientific collaboration, capacity building, training, user-engagement and service development. However, during the last 18-months, as travel restrictions prevented planned in-country delivery of our climate science to services work, our ways of working were forced to evolve so that we could continue meet objectives across a number of international climate service programmes and projects. Successful remote co-delivery of climate services has been possible because of the necessary ground-work put in place through:

• A focus on the co-production of climate science and services with a strong stakeholder-led approach;
• Strong established international partnerships and networks;
• Previous and current innovative international climate services projects, such as the Future Climate for Africa (FCFA) Future Resilience for Africa Cities and Lands (FRACTAL) project, the Weather and Climate Information Services for Africa (WISER) programme, and the Asia Regional Resilience to a Changing Climate (ARRCC) programme.

Delivering international climate science to services work in innovative and thoughtful ways via online platforms, is not just a seen as a temporarily replacement for in-country activity. The examples we showcase will demonstrate how we are evolving our international climate science to services delivery.

During the presentation, we will showcase examples of successful virtual co-delivery of climate services, alongside taking a considered look at the both the opportunities and challenges of virtual collaboration and communication, particularly when working with developing and emerging countries. We will conclude by opening up discussion around others experiences of remote co-delivery of climate services, exploring how a international climate services co-delivery could look in the future.