RA VI Research Group Meeting - Highlights

The first meeting of the recomposed RA VI Research Group was held back to back to the RA VI Scientific Forum hosted by the Czech Republic in Prague. This meeting reaffirmed its mandate endorsed at RA VI-19 and its expanded role in supporting the RA VI Research Programme 2024–2025 and beyond.

The Group reviewed the Progress under the 2025 Action Plan, including outcomes of the RA VI Scientific Forum in Prague and the launch of the Scientific Lecture Series in September 2025.

A particular focus was on the need to enhance communication, outreach and capacity development, with agreement to strengthen the use of digital platforms (WMO Community, LinkedIn, YouTube) and explore collaboration with media partners to improve the visibility and uptake of research outcomes, including AI-related activities.

Key challenges were also discussed, notably access to historical, observational and forecasting datasets for research, and the need to better support the transfer of research into operations.

The Group reviewed the Draft Action Plan 2026–2030, aligned with WMO Strategic Objectives 3.1–3.3 and building on the RA VI Research Programme, the revised Research Hydrology Strategy and the E-AI Programme.

An Agreement on next steps was reached, with Group members invited to provide comments on the draft Plan by end November 2025, and a view to finalizing and submitting it to the RA VI Management Group in early 2026.

Next meeting was tentatively considered for January 2026, to finalize the Action Plan 2026–2030 and agree on follow-up actions.