World Meteorological Organization

Expert Team on General Service Delivery (ET-GSD) 

Terms of Reference (ToR) 

The Expert Team on General Service Delivery (ET-GSD) will serve, under the direction of the Standing Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction and Public Services (SC-DRR) of the Commission for Weather, Climate, Water and Related Environmental Services and Applications (“Services Commission” – SERCOM) and the general oversight of the WMO Executive Council (EC), the following Terms of Reference (ToR): 

I. Objective 

The purpose of the ET-GSD is to: 

1. Coordinate the implementation of the decisions of the World Meteorological Congress (Cg), EC and SERCOM with respect to Public Weather Service delivery,  
2. Ensure continuity of the activities and recommendations emanating from of the former CBS-OPAG/Public Weather Service Delivery (PWSD) Programme and its expert teams (ICT, ET-IMPACT and ET-SPII), and in this regard, develop and update as decided by the Constituent bodies, SERCOM and the SC-DRR guidance material related to service delivery, and 
3. Develop a service focused framework aiming at implementation of innovative Impact-based Forecast and Warning Services (IBFWS) by Members. 

II. Modalities of work  

1. Correspondence including email exchanges and other appropriate online interactions, 

2. Convening virtual meetings of the ET-GSD as appropriate, with at least one annual face-to-face meeting in Geneva or any alternative location if it increases efficiency without increasing costs to the Organization, 

3. Maintaining a workspace for sharing relevant documents and information, and  

4. Reporting at least yearly, through the co-chairpersons and in writing, to the SC-DRR. 

III. Activities  

1. Promote strong partnerships between National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs), other agencies and user sectors (e.g., media, health, emergency management) in areas relevant to  Service Delivery, 

2. Promote the implementation of IBFWS by Members, through training, providing guidance and supporting pilot projects, 

3. Promote the implementation of the WMO Strategy for Service Delivery and its Implementation Plan (WMO Publication No. 1129), 

4. Provide guidance to Members on asserting the authority of NMHSs as the official providers of weather forecasts and warnings, particularly for high-impact weather,  

5. Provide guidance and promote excellence in communication skills and communication channels through legacy and emerging technologies (e.g. TV, radio, mobile applications, web services, and social media,) as a key enabler of quality service delivery, 

6. Promote the awareness and use of guidance of existing PSD documents and bibliography and new guidance developed through the work of ET-GSD, in collaboration with regional associations, and by other means, 

7. Assist development of international communication of official weather forecasts provided by NMHSs and provide oversight and coordination of the WMO World Weather Information Service (WWIS), 

8. Develop an operational perspective to Urban Service Delivery in coordination with the Study Group on Urban Services (SG-URB) of SERCOM, taking into consideration the outcomes of the “WMO 2019 Member Survey on Urban Services”, 

9. Assist the SG-URB in aligning the urban related issues with the IBFWS as specified by the WMO Guidelines on Multi-Hazard Impact-based Forecast and Warning Services (WMO No. 1150), 

10. Assist the SG-URB in ensuring international coordination of efforts on the development and delivery of integrated urban operational services,  

11. Assist development guidance on the use of GIS-based data formats, the use of Artificial Intelligence and Big Data, and the inclusion of data from innovative sources, in collaboration with the Commission … (“Infrastructure Commission” – INFCOM) and its Study Group on … (SG-HEA), Study Group on … (SG-ENE) and the SG-URB, 

12. Guide Members in the development of mechanisms and methodologies for the assessment of the Social and Economic Benefits (SEB) of the services provided by NMHSs, based on WMO publication No. 1153, 

13. Develop training modules on IBFWS for inclusion in the curricula of WMO Regional Training Centres as part of implementing the WMO Public Weather Service Delivery (PWSD) Competencies, in collaboration with other WMO programmes, notably Education and Training (ETR), 

14. Develop guidance and appropriate training materials for Members on the implementation of Competency requirements based on the updated PWSD Competency Framework to enable timely implementation of the Recommended Practices appropriate to PWSD forecasters and advisors (developing of metrics, Competency training, advice on development of  data system for access to information/training material and documentation, taking advantage of the WMO Global Campus platform, etc.), in collaboration with the WMO ETR office, 

15. In keeping with SERCOM 2020 decision, keep in mind the development of service delivery for land transportation following the “Roadmap for Implementation of WMO Land Transport Service Delivery” and conduct a survey on land transport users’ needs, 

16. Remain mindful of the service delivery needs of Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States when innovating and developing new services, in the spirit of the principle that ‘no country is left behind’.  

IV. Deliverables  

1. The 2nd Volume of the “WMO Guidelines on Multi-hazard Impact-based Forecast and Warning Services” (WMO No. 1150), 

2. The WMO Guide to General Service Delivery (Decision 10-EC-70), in accordance with the decision of SERCOM, 

3. The 2nd Edition for the Guide to Public Weather Services Practices (WMO-No. 834) First draft finalized, approval and publication planned in 2020, 

4. Contribution to guidance on the use of GIS-based formats, the use of Artificial Intelligence, the use of Big Data, and the inclusion of data from innovative sources, in collaboration with INFCOM, SG-HEA, SG-ENE and SG-URB,  

5. Material for training modules on IBFWS suitable for inclusion in the curricula of WMO RTCs as part of implementing the WMO PWSD Competency Frameworks, 

6. Guidance and training materials for Members on the implementation of Competency requirements based on the updated PWSD Competency Framework, 

7. Assistance with developing mechanism for the collection and processing of impact-related data and information for GDPFS centres developed in collaboration with the regional associations and mechanisms to support the sharing digital data in support of the Severe Weather Forecasting Programme (SWFP), (EC-69) 

8. Guidance material on meteorological support to Land Transportation services, 

9. Guidelines for the development of an integrated operational platform to meet urban service delivery needs.  

10. Advice to ET-GMAS on application of IBWS principles to standards for GMAS and other warning sharing systems.