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Frequently Questions and Answers (FAQs)

Activity Areas (1)

Regional Association IV

General

About RA IV

Using the Webpage


Documents and other resources

Meeting and Events

Others

General

  • What is the WMO Community Platform?

The WMO Community Platform is a collaborative webpage that facilitates information sharing between WMO Members and partners and the WMO Secretariat. The various tools on the webpage allow Members and partners to easily access relevant information as well as manage their involvement  in WMO-related activities.

For detailed information on the Community Platform, please click here.

 

  • Whom is this RA IV Community Platform page for?

The main page and public document folders are accessible to all Members and partners interested in obtaining information about RA IV and its activities. Members of the respective RA IV subsidiary bodies are kindly requested to log in to access the private document folders under the ‘Documents and Publications’ sections in the subsidiary body pages.

 

  • What do all the acronyms on the page mean?

Members and partners are welcome to use the United Nations Terminology Database (UNTERM) to decode acronyms. UNTERM is a multilingual terminology database maintained jointly by the United Nations Secretariat and certain specialized agencies of the UN system such as WMO. 

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About RA IV

  • What is RA IV?

RA IV refers to Regional Association IV (North America, Central America and the Caribbean). WMO divides its 193 Members into 6 Regional Associations and the list of Members in each Regional Association can be found here. RA IV has 27 Members and two working languages – English and Spanish


  • What is the RA IV Operating Plan?

The RA IV Operating Plan is a document which will guide the work of the regional association covering the four-year WMO financial period*. It details the key result areas of each RA IV subsidiary body as well as the respective deliverables, key performance indicators (KPIs) and related activities. The RA IV Operating Plan is aligned with the WMO Strategic Plan and RA IV regional priorities and takes into consideration all requests made by Congress and Executive Council to the regional associations. It promotes interaction between RA IV, INFCOM, SERCOM and the Research Board through synergies with the WMO Operating Plan.

* WMO’s four-year financial periods are as follows: 2016-2019, 2020-2023, 2024-2027, etc.

 

  • How was the RA IV Operating Plan established?

The RA V Operating Plan is developed by the RA V subsidiary bodies with the support of the WMO Secretariat. It takes into account regional priorities, requests from Congress and the Executive Council, as well as the WMO long-term goals. It will remain as a living document, to be edited as necessary with the approval of the RA V Management Group (MG) to reflect the changing needs and priorities of the region.

 

  • What is the WMO Experts Database?

The WMO Experts Database is a component of the WMO Community Platform that contains information about experts who may be nominated for the work of the regional associations and technical commissions. It facilitates the expert nomination process and helps community users find available experts in various areas of work.

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Using the Webpage


Documents and other resources

  • Where can I find the latest RA IV Operating Plan?

The latest RA IV Operating Plan (2022-2023) can be found here. 

 

  • Where can I find more information on what each subsidiary body (including their substructures such as Expert Teams) does?

Further information (including the Terms of Reference) is available in the respective pages, accessible through the left panel on the main RA IV Community Platform webpage.

 

  • Where can I find documents from previous RA IV sessions?

The 18th Session of Regional Association IV was held virtually from 8 to 11 February 2021. The final report is available here. For reports from earlier sessions, please visit the WMO Library.

 

  • Where can I find more information about partners and resources in the region such as Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs), Regional Centres, training opportunities, and regional collaborative mechanisms?

Please refer to RA IV Decisions 14 and 15 (RA IV-18) on WMO development partnership flagship initiatives and on Public-private engagement. 

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Meeting and Events

  • Where can I find a list of upcoming meetings and events? If I have not received an invitation, can I attend these meetings/events?

A list of upcoming meetings and events can be found on the RA IV Community Platform home page under the ‘Upcoming Events and Meetings’ section. Meeting details are typically circulated via email to all invited participants in advance of the meeting. Invitations to subsidiary body meetings are sent directly to subsidiary body members and invited experts (if any). Invitations to meetings/events open to all RA IV Members will be shared with the Permanent Representative with WMO and/or the National Hydrological Adviser. 

 

  • Where can I find resources related to previous meetings and events such as reports, minutes and presentations?

A list of concluded meetings/events can be found here. Where available, links to resources such as meeting reports, minutes and presentations have also been included. Please note that access to certain resources may be limited and members of the respective subsidiary bodies may be required to log in to be granted access.

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Others

  • Some information on the webpage is incorrect. What can I do?

The list of members in each subsidiary body is automatically generated based on information in the WMO Experts Database. Should there be incorrect information, Agency Approvers* are kindly requested to log in and make any changes necessary. Should assistance be required, please reach out to the Secretariat at community@wmo.int. The main page is periodically reviewed and updated by the WMO Representative Office for North America, Central America and the Caribbean (NCAC). Please reach out to us at fgomez@wmo.int to request any changes to the page.  

*Agency Approvers are appointed by PRs (Permanent Representatives), and they are authorized to act on behalf of a PR or WMO partner organization. For detailed information, please click here. 

 

  • How often is this page updated?

The list of members in each subsidiary body is automatically generated based on information in the WMO Experts Database. Please allow up to three working days for changes made to the Experts Database to be reflected on this page. All links and documents are periodically reviewed and updated by the WMO Representative Office for North America, Central America and the Caribbean (NCAC). Please reach out to us at fgomez@wmo.int if you have any questions or concerns.

 

  • I would like to nominate and/or deactivate experts using the WMO Experts Database but am having difficulty doing so. If I need help or have other questions regarding the WMO Experts Database, who should I contact?

Please note that actions such as nominating and deactivating experts can only be performed by Permanent Representatives and Agency Approvers. An Experts Database User Manual is available here and video tutorials are available here. Should you require further assistance, please email the WMO Secretariat at community@wmo.int.

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