Open Call: Robust Information Working Group and associated Task Teams
Background
The Regional Information for Society (RIfS) Core Project of WCRP is calling for members of the newly established Robust Information Working Group (RIWG), and associated task teams which will contribute to its work.
The aim of the group is to establish what it means for a scientific product to be “robust”, i.e., context specific regional climate information that is fit for informing decision-making; and what processes could look like to generate and apply robust information to produce “robust” decisions.
The group aims to identify attributes of robustness of information, identify processes to generate and apply such information, and produce recommendations about what we need to change in our communities of practice, institutions and structures to allow for the achievement of robust climate change information geared towards context-specific decisions. We expect that this group will be highly interdisciplinary, building on the work of the interim working group formed after the RIfS’ expert meeting on Robustness of Climate Change Information for Decisions in April 2024.
The World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) has been coordinating global research collaborations for more than 40 years. Currently, with the impacts of climate change upon us, there is a priority on robust climate change information to inform regional decisions. For this reason, WCRP created a new Core Project on Regional Information for Society (RIfS) which is focused on enhancing the scientific value of regional climate information in policy and decision contexts.
Call Description
This call is for working group members, as well as participants in several task teams that the interim working group has identified. The RIWG is an enduring coordinating body: this working group addresses a theme that the RIfS SSG envisions to be of ongoing interest. The working group creates task teams under it to organize its work. Task teams end after a period of time when they have completed their work, and other task teams can be created as needed. We imagine that the leads of the task teams take part in the working group, which coordinates across these interrelated topic areas. It is possible to participate at just the task team level. Preferences can be indicated in the nomination form.
The work of the RIWG will be underpinned by two initial task teams addressing (1) how to bring context into the information construction (and vice versa), (2) attributes of robust information. In the mid-term, we are planning to start two
additional task teams: (3) ethics, transparency and user values, and (4) climate literacy in particular of users of climate information.
Robust Information Working Group
The aim of the overall working group is to coordinate work across the task teams, to synthesize the task team results and to liaise with the RIfS SSG as well as other relevant activities.
- Publications, community resources, and presentations
- Ensure the timely and ongoing updating of reference documents produced by the task teams
- Periodic workshops involving the wider community and stakeholders
- Webinar series, or other outreach and training efforts
- Concrete steps to mainstream the insights produced by the working group
- Regular and active participation in monthly to 2-monthly 1-hour meetings
- Use their networks to promote the desired outcomes of the Working Group and to establish collaborations with other relevant activities;
- Advocate for the goals of the working group, setting aside the particular interests of their own institution;
- Contribute to the writing of relevant documents;
- Contribute to journal articles and/or white papers on these issues;
- Follow the WCRP Code of Conduct.
Two to three co-chairs will additionally:
- Chair meetings of the Working Group, including managing scheduling conflicts and circulating agendas;
- Coordinate the scientific activities;
- Evaluate and recommend individuals to fill opening in the task team due to resignations or removal due to non-activity;
- Report on the activities of the working group to the RIfS SSG, during at least two RIfS SSG meetings per year;
- Work with the RIfS IPO to ensure that written reporting about major activities is completed in a timely manner;
- Coordinate with the RIfS IPO as needed.
We are seeking experts with experience (or a strong interest) in stakeholder engagement for the development of robust climate information for decisions and at least one of the following. The working group as a whole should include people with expertise in:
- Climate science, in particular climate and atmospheric dynamics
- Dynamical or statistical modeling
- Ethics or law
- Standardisation and certification
- Working in a Global South context
In order to represent a broad range of sectors, decision contexts and regions across the world, we will select members from a range of different backgrounds.
Task Team: Robust Information in Context
Robust regional climate information, that is fit-for-purpose for decision makers, needs to come from a mutual understanding of both the decision context, as well as the scientific context, and thus close collaboration between stakeholders and scientists is crucial. This task team focuses on improving the interaction between scientists and stakeholders in the context of providing climate information, and exploring methods for generating climate information in context. The aim is to improve our understanding of the collaboration process, develop new means of co-creation and build a community of practice to develop guidelines and standards towards integrity and utility of climate information, bridging the gap between for decision makers and climate scientists.
- Identify potential case studies of decision contexts where climate information is valuable, which can be used to explore the process of co-creation and generating robust information in context
- Identify stakeholders who would be interested to contribute to exploring these themes, including climate service providers
- Organise and facilitate a stakeholder forum to explore methods for co-creating robust information for case studies
- Develop research methods (for example surveys) to capture data from this workshop
- Document insights for co-creating robust information in context
- Consider products that could support co-creation of information in context, for example a protocol for (informal or formal) conversations/engagements
- Contribute to expected outcomes
- Use their networks to promote the desired outcomes of the Working Group;
- Advocate for the goals of the working group, setting aside the particular interests of their own institution;
- Contribute to journal articles and/or white papers on these issues;
- Follow the WCRP Code of Conduct.
Two co-chairs, will additionally:
- Chair meetings of the task team, including managing scheduling conflicts and circulating agendas;
- Evaluate and recommend individuals to fill opening in the task team due to resignations or removal due to non-activity;
- Report on the activities of the task team to the RIWG;
We are seeking experts with experience in (or strong interest in) stakeholder engagement for the development of robust climate information for decisions and at least one of the following. The task team as a whole should include people with expertise in:
- Climate data reanalysis and monitoring
- Data science and analysis expertise for climate applications
- Global and/or regional climate modeling, and/or analysis of physical processes in climate model outputs
- User centred design, co-production and/or stakeholder engagement
- Social science and science communication in a climate service context
- Ethics
- Seasonal-to-decadal prediction
- Experience in working in or working closely with a operational climate services
- Experience, as a decision maker, in working with climate information
- Climate information brokering or consulting on climate-related decisions
In order to represent a broad range of sectors, decision contexts and regions across the world, we will select members from a range of different backgrounds
Task Team: Attributes of Robust Information
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The aim of this task team is to identify attributes for characterizing the robustness and fitness of climate information in various decision contexts, and to develop guidelines and recommendations for both the construction of such information as well as the assessment of the robustness of information by potential users. The attributes will consider not only epistemic attributes such as the reproduction of observed climatologies and trends or the representation of key processes, but also aspects related to stakeholder involvement, consideration of the decision context, ethics and transparency. The task team will therefore closely collaborate with the other task teams of the working group. The results of the task team are intended to be mainstreamed into the generation of climate information and climate services. To this end, the task team will, via the working group, liaise with relevant international and national activities. |
- A glossary of terminology around the terms robustness and fitness for purpose
- A set of attributes to characterize the robustness and fitness of an information product in a certain context
- A definition of a minimum set of criteria of robustness, linked in particular to steps and decisions in the production process
- Guidelines for users to assess the robustness and fitness of an information product in a certain context
- Scientific publications related to the rationale and outcomes of the task team
- Regular and active participation in bi-weekly to monthly 1-hour Task Team meetings
- Work on particular tasks defined during the meetings, such as literature research related to the objectives of the task team
- Use their networks to promote the desired outcomes of the Working Group;
- Advocate for the goals of the working group, setting aside the particular interests of their own institution;
- Contribute to the writing of the glossary, attributes and guidelines documents;
- Contribute to journal articles and/or white papers on these issues;
- Follow the WCRP Code of Conduct.
Two co-chairs will additionally:
- Chair meetings of the task team, including managing scheduling conflicts and circulating agendas;
- Coordinate the scientific activities;
- Evaluate and recommend individuals to fill opening in the task team due to resignations or removal due to non-activity;
- Regularly report on the activities of the task team to the working group;
- Coordinate with the RIfS IPO as needed.
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We are seeking experts from physical climate science, climate impacts and philosophy as well as stakeholders with experience in at least one of the following. The task team as a whole should include people with expertise in:
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Task Team: Ethics, Values, and Transparency
This task team is not ready to launch, but please indicate your interest in the nomination form if you would like to be contacted in the future.
The task team may address questions of procedural ethics in this domain, the meaning of “transparency” and working with the Attributes Task Team to include markers of transparency among others, the incorporation of user-values into scientific methods, and to identify potential case studies on ethical oversight around adaptation actions.
Task Team: Climate Literacy
This task team is not ready to launch, but please indicate your interest in the nomination form if you would like to be contacted in the future.
By climate literacy we refer to competence across the web of actors to ask relevant questions of one another. So, for example, this includes some basic knowledge of climate science among decision makers, but also basic knowledge of decision context among scientists. This group will survey the landscape and make recommendations about potential capacity development activities.
Time commitment
Meetings will take place regularly (see above) with a longer annual meeting (in-person, pending funding). Other meetings will primarily be online, with some face-to-face meetings, if possible, to leverage suitable opportunities. Some work will be necessary between the meetings to reach the objectives of the working group.
The initial membership term is 4 years to commence in May 2025, with possible two-year extension.
How to apply
To nominate someone (including self-nomination), please complete this application form.
Deadline
Applications must be received by May 15th at 17:00 UTC.
Selection process and criteria
The call selection panel will consist of the interim co-chairs and the ex-officio RIfS SSG co-chair.
The call selection panel will undertake the shortlisting of the applications. Priority will be given to interim working group members and those from regions not already represented. The identified names will then be submitted as a recommendation to the RIfS SSG for final approval.
The working group, and its task teams, will each consist of:
- Size of 8-12 regular members
- 2 or 3 co-chairs
- Ex-officio membership of the working group by
- Co-chairs of task teams who are not already working group members
- A RIfS SSG co-chair
- RIfS International Project Office (IPO)
- Relevant donors supporting RIfS-related activities, as identified by the working group
For more details, please consult the draft terms of reference.
Remuneration
Working group members are not paid. Financial support to travel and participate in-person to relevant meetings may be available on a case-by-case basis.
Diversity and inclusion
WCRP is committed to diversity and inclusion. We strongly encourage applications from:
- Early to mid-career researchers
- Women and other underrepresented groups in climate science
- Scientists living and working in all regions of the world
Questions and contact
For questions about this call, please contact the RIfS office: admin@wcrp-rifs.org