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Strategic planning

Fifteenth World Meteorological Congress (Geneva, May 2007) approved the WMO Strategic Plan (WMO-No. 1028), to replace the Sixth WMO Long-term Plan (2004-2011) as from January 2008. The Strategic Plan is the result of a planning process driven by the needs and priorities identified by WMO Members.  It is a living document that, within a continuous planning process, further evolves through periodic planning, execution, evaluation and updating phases.

Purpose of the WMO Strategic Plan

Using the WMO vision as a basis, the Strategic Plan defines the high-level and long-term objectives and strategies for WMO to effectively develop and coordinate plans and programmes for implementation, consequently enabling its 188 Members to collectively perform their key activities, mainly through their National Meteorological and Hydrological Services. These activities include monitoring, assessing and forecasting weather, air quality, climate, oceanic conditions, the global water cycle and hydrometeorological hazards.  Suitable policy advisory services are also rendered at national and international levels. Such policies are, among others, on management and use of weather, climate, water and related environmental information for socio-economic planning and management. The Strategic Plan thus provides guidance and direction to ensure focused and coordinated approaches across the Organization.

A considerable proportion of Gross Domestic Product of developed and developing countries alike is sensitive to weather, climate and water conditions. Hence, the vulnerability of communities everywhere could be significantly reduced through the appropriate use of weather, climate and water information and services.

The Strategic Plan will help all Members by enhancing their policy-related strategies for meeting society’s needs. Such strategies would be focused on how weather, climate, water and related environmental information and services could be harnessed to manage nature’s risks and enhance social and economic development. The Plan will indeed enhance strategies for the effective application of weather, climate and water information and related services within the framework of improving the safety and well-being of peoples, reducing poverty, increasing prosperity and protecting the environment for future generations. It is also expected to motivate, guide and coordinate the activities of Members, primarily through their National Meteorological and Hydrological Services, the Executive Council, regional associations, technical commissions and the WMO Secretariat.  In summary, successful use of the Plan will contribute to the following desired societal outcomes:

• Improved protection of life, livelihoods and property
• Improved health and well-being of citizens
• Increased safety on land, at sea and in the air
• Sustained economic growth in both developed and developing countries
• Protection of other natural resources and improved environmental quality
• Mitigation of natural disasters.

WMO strategic planning process

WMO has built its strategic planning on the results-based management (RBM) concept, which also steers the programme definition and implementation management in the Secretariat. This approach will enable the Organization to better achieve its objectives and assist Members in the realization of their own sustainable plans.

The WMO strategic planning process begins with the integration of Members’ input into a high-level planning document that defines the objectives, strategies and expected results.

This planning process in three fundamental documents:

• The WMO Strategic Plan, which provides a high-level statement of strategic directions and priorities of WMO in the form of the top-level objectives, strategic thrusts and corresponding expected results. It serves as the main basis for  the WMO Operating Plan;
  
  
• The WMO Operating Plan converts the Strategic Plan into specific deliverables and related activities to be implemented by the WMO Programmes, and the corresponding timelines and key performance targets;
  
  
• The WMO results-based budget connects deliverables and activities to resources. The      expected results connect the three documents and are reflected in each one of them;
  
  
• Actual achievements are measured by performance indicators.

Scope of the WMO Strategic Plan

The desired societal outcomes are addressed by three top-level objectives, namely:

• To produce more accurate, timely and reliable forecasts and warnings of weather, climate, water and related environmental elements;
• To improve the delivery of weather, climate, water and related environmental information and services to the public, governments and other users;
• To provide scientific and technical expertise and advice in support of policy- and decision-making and implementation of the agreed international development goals and multilateral agreements.

The top-level objectives are derived from, and embedded in, the frameworks of sustainable development policies and global partnership strategies for development and thus contribute to meeting the targets of internationally agreed development goals, programmes and frameworks such as the The World Summit (2005), the UN Millennium Development Goals (2000), the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (2002), the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015 (2005) and the Mauritius Strategy for the further Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States (2005). They also draw on a series of agreements and working arrangements with other international organizations and relevant international conventions and agreements related to weather, climate, water and the environment.

These top-level objectives are achieved through a series of initiatives which emphasize five strategic thrusts: science and technology development and implementation; service delivery; capacity-building; partnerships; and efficient management and good governance.  Expectations associated with each of these initiatives (see below) define a set of 11 expected results and associated performance indicators, which form the basis for the development of the WMO Operating Plan, the WMO results-based budget and the performance monitoring and evaluation measures.

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