Review of the Work Programme Implementation

CAeM-MG/2016/Doc. 4.1(2), p. 1

World Meteorological Organization / CAeM-MG/2016/Doc. 4.1(2)
COMMISSION FOR AERONAUTICAL METEOROLOGY / 03.XI.2016
MANAGEMENT GROUP 2016
Hall (Innsbruck), Austria
8-10 November 2016 / ITEM4.1
English only

REVIEW OF THE WORK PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION

Report of the Expert Team on Communication, Coordination and Partnership (ET-CCP)

(Submitted by Marina Petrova and Gaborekwe Khambule, Co-chairs of ET-CCP)

Summary and Purpose of Document
This document provides an overview of the activities of the ET-CCP since the last meeting of the CAeM Management Group held 12 to 14 May 2015 together with detailed information on the working arrangements andwork plan of the expert team.

ACTION PROPOSED

The Management Group (MG) is invited to note the progress made by ET-CCP since May 2015, to review the working arrangements and work plan of the expert team and to formulate actions accordingly.

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CAeM-MG/2016/Doc. 4.1(2), p. 1

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.1During the intersessional period, the ET-CCP is tasked to coordinate an encouraging response from the Commission to the requests for advice and guidance, enabling the Regional Associations to align their Strategic and Operating Plans with the recommendations made at the MET DIV Meeting, including the ICAO GANP and ASBU implementation.Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) tools throughout the WMO Regions/sub-regions are used by ET-CCP to identify gaps/challenges, as well as weaknesses and successes, in the Members in meeting the requirements for enhanced meteorological service delivery arising from the GANP and ASBU strategies.

1.2In2016, the composition of ET-CCP changed slightly when a core member (Collins Osague) from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NMA) was replaced by his colleague (Ishiyaku Ibrahim, General Manager in Aeronautical Meteorology)from the same agency and a new core member from the Meteorological Service of Singapore(Ms Kar Lin Yap, Executive Meteorologist, Aviation Weather Services)entered the team for better liaison with RA V. As of now, the six core members of the Expert Team represent the six WMO Regions.

1.3The Terms of Reference of the team were reviewed after CAeM-MG/2015 (Cape Town, South Africa, 12–14 May 2015) to include the following activities:

• To promote and maintain effective two-way communication mechanisms on matters relating to aeronautical meteorology with Members through the Regional Associations to determine regional priorities, promote awareness of developments, opportunities and challenges, and to coordinate appropriate responses to requests for advice and guidance;

• To establish an effective mechanism for monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of the CAeM work programme in the Regions as an integral part of the WMO M&E system;

• To provide support to the Secretariat in developing and updating the relevant Aeronautical Meteorology Programme data base entries e.g. Country Profile database;

• To promote WMO gender and equality policies within CAeM;

• To report regularly on progress to the president of CAeM.

1.4The ET-CCP members have been communicating effectively through the teleconferences and emailing, putting together the updates on regional/subregional implementation process. On the whole, four teleconferences have been held so far. Detailed reports on the teleconferences have been forwarded to the president of CAeM on a timely basis.

1.5The ET-CCP convened its 1stface-to-face meeting in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, in May 2016to address a range of communication and outreach issues and update its work plan. The participation of the co-chair of the WMO CAeM Expert Team on Governance (ET-GOV) helped take forward coordination effortsbetween the two expert teams.The report of ET-CCP/1 is available on the CAeM web-site.

1. PROGRESS/ACTIVITY REPORT

2.1Interactions within ET-CCP

2.1.1Following the Resolutions adopted by CAeM-15 (Montreal, Canada, July 2014) and the recommendations made at the CAeM-MG/2015meeting,the expert team felt empowered to balance the goals and needs in collaboration and partnership in response to changing context of local, sub-regional, regional, multi-regional and global MET.

CAeM ET-CCP Teleconferences

2.1.2Teleconference was a recognized tool for sharing acquired meteorological experience and maintaining equitable participation. The ET-CCP drew up a schedule of teleconferences – once in every three months – which, for some obvious reasons, was hard to meet. During the teleconferences the focus was placed on priority areas and urgent tasks to be fulfilled to help the Regions meet the GANP and ASBU requirements, including the involvement in theregional/subregional projects, participation in the regional/subregional expert teams/groups, collection of best practice examples, provision of advice, consultation and guidance at the meetings/workshops/conferences.

2.1.3The core experts’ reports highlighted both successes and weaknesses in the Regions, i.e.:

Successes

1.Regions are striving to host aviation conferences;

2.On-going regional/subregional partnership/twinning projects, e.g. projects on cross-border SIGMET coordination between the neighbouring FIRs (the MET Alliance area, CIS airspace, South-East Asia region);

3.Sharing of QMS/competence/qualification expertise through the twinning partnerships;

4.Benefits from monthly teleconferences initiated by ICAO and WMO;

5.ICAO Regional Offices are helpful and open for closer cooperation with WMO;

6.Efforts are made for smooth migration of OPMET data to XML/GML;

7.GANP/ASBU implementation plans are under consideration.

Weaknesses

1.Lack of sufficient information on the GANP/ASBU requirements, the impacts and challenges arising from the GANP and ASBU implementation;

2.Service quality becomes increasingly challenging in light of GANP/ASBU implementation - Lack of common policy on service delivery;

3.Need to achieve performance improvements in the light of SESAR, NextGen and other projects via new technological upgrades;

4.Deficiencies in the QMS implementation/compliance with ISO 9001:2008 and those related to theintroduction of the new ISO 9001:2015 Standard;

5.Deficiencies of SIGMET issuance, including cross-border SIGMET coordination (FIR boundaries);

6.Need to initiate work on capacity building towards GANP/ASBU strategies;

7.Lack of national air navigation plans in some Members;

8.Provision of regionalized meteorological information is challenging;

9.Members are not prepared for exchange of MET information in digital format, conversion of OPMET data to XML/GML (IWXXM model) by November 2016;

10.Lack of a proper cost recovery mechanism;

11.Insufficient competent human resources;

12.Language difficulties, preventing from attending regional/subregional aviation MET meetings;

13.Financial constraints making it difficult for Members to fully participate in regional/subregional aeronautical meetings.

CAeM ET-CCP/1 Meeting

2.1.4The ET-CCP met in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, from 16 to 18 May 2016 to tackle with the critically important issues, namely:

• Geographical representation of the ET was still incomplete due to the lack of an expert from RA V. The president of RA V should be approached for the second time with a request for designating an aviation expert from RA V for inclusion as a core member of ET-CCP.

• Need for improved outreach with regard to CAeM activities and issues – the idea for a regular newsletter should be regarded as one approach in this direction.

• Liaison with the regional associations in monitoring and evaluation of the on-going implementation process to share the knowledge of the Regions’ successes and weaknesses.

• How to improve the communication with the stakeholders concerned, e.g. to raise the importance of making MET experts attend the stakeholders’ meetings in view of the GANP and ASBU strategies and requirements.

• Collaboration with airlines to communicate best practice examples.

• How to meet the industry needs in MET data.

2.1.5Taking into account the CAeM priorities aligned with the Cg-17 Resolutions 3 and 66, the ET-CCP work plan approved in June 2015was further reviewed for approval by MG. It was seen as a collection of work packages, tasks and activities. The focus was placed on defining realistic and achievable deliverables in view of the limited resources available for conducting the work of the team. It was agreed that coordination and collaboration with other CAeM ETs was vital in order to ensure effective and efficient completion of the CAeM programme.

2.1.6The team noted the need to develop the KPIs for the CAeM activities and seek advice from the MG.

2.1.7 The ET-CCP concluded its work with the Action Plan which is expected to serve as an interim plan with a focus for coordination efforts, perfectly complementing the team work plan.

2.2Coordination with the Management Group

2.2.1The CAeM-MG meeting held in Cape Town, South Africa, from 12 to 14 May 2015 set vital tasks before the team. Following the CAeM MG recommendations, the ET-CCP was supposed to improve the national dialogue between the NMHSs, Civil Aviation Administrations and other aviation stakeholders to build an inclusive and equitable partnership.In cooperation with ICAO, WMO through the ET-CCP would contact with the regional task teams/working groups to provide guidance and advice in regional planning and coordinate assistance for Members in need.

2.2.2In addition, the CAeM MG/2015 explained the role of ET-CCP in relation to the following CAeM initiatives:

• The planned global survey on governance and business models;

• The preparation and issuance of a regular information bulletin – Newsletter - to inform the MET community of the CAeM activities.

2.3Cooperation with other CAeM Expert Teams

Global Survey

2.3.1During the joint meeting of the CAeM Expert Team on Governance (ET-GOV) and the Expert Team on Education, Training and Competence (ET-ETC) (Wellington, New Zealand,
30 November – 3 December 2015) it was decided that the ET-GOV would carry out a global survey on institutional changes in close coordination with the ET-CCP. The Survey aimed to understand better the global landscape of aeronautical meteorological service provision. For the first time, it would be conducted through an online questionnaire, using the Survey Monkey platform.

2.3.2Taking into account previous experience of similar surveys, there was a danger of collecting insufficient number of responses. In this regard, the ET-CCP was requested to compile a list of focal points in MET, which at a later stage would ensure the responses from the countries. The ET-CCP was also expected to contribute to the content of the questionnaire with a set of questions. The ET-CCP/1 meeting helped combine the two draft lists of regional/subregional focal points compiled by both ET-GOV and ET-CCP and recommended the ET-CCP experts to identify the missing focal points for certain countries. Information provided by the Secretariat from official sources, like the ICAO DGCA Directory and WMO Country Profile Database, was also taken into account.On the whole, all available opportunities through other formal and informal groups (e.g. the AVIMET in Europe), the regional association contacts, etc., were utilized in order to create and maintain a network of experts as full as possible, which would assist the communication between the CAeM and the Members.Knowing that the Survey will be conducted in the English language, assistance from ET-CCP may be required to translate the questionnaire into other WMO languages.

2.3.3The Information Letter to the PRs on the launch of the CAeM Survey was issued on 27 October. Hopefully, the responses from the Members will be received by 25 November 2016 for proper analysis and a summary report to be displayed on the CAeM web-site.

2.3.4In parallel, the Working Group on Compliance Issues in Marine and Aeronautical Meteorological Services and Cost Recovery and the Task Team on Aeronautical Meteorology in RA I strove to identify the implementation strategies, compliance gaps, human resources/MET expertise available in the Region, by distributing a regional questionnaire and offering the Members to respond. It was anticipated that the outcomes would be made available for the Africa Aviation Meteorological Conference (ACMA-2017). To avoid duplication of efforts, it was agreed to send out a shortened questionnaire to the two WMO Regional Offices in RA I and the members of the WG/TT for distribution in coordination with the ET-GOV.

Implementation of Amendment 77 to ICAO Annex 3

2.3.5Following the notification of the publication of the ICAO Meteorological Information Exchange Model (IWXXM) version 2.0 Release Candidate 1 (RC1) in April 2016 as a result of the work carried out by the CBS TT-AvXML, CAeM MG offered the ET-CCP to distribute such critically important information to the CAeM community and further to WMO Members for timely feedback. The IWXXM 2.0RC1 was published for consultation before the release of the final version of IWXXM in August 2016.

2.3.6For the first run, the ET-CCP developed speedily and comprehensively in May 2016 a dissemination package, consisting of a covering letter and technical documentation to meet all technical competence of the recipients. Each step involved consultation with the co-chairs of ET-ISA, the chair of TT-AvXML and the Secretariat (both CAeM and CBS officers). At the final stage, given that the CBS IPET-MDRD holds a meeting on the week of 9-13 May and the version of IWXXM will be reviewed, the ET-CCP was recommended to postpone the dissemination of the package until the outcomes of the CBS IPET-MDRD had been made available. Conversely, the ET-CCP meeting held a week afteridentified theexpert community, including the relevantCAeM experts,to be notified on the on-going consultation of the IWXXM 2.0.

2.3.7Similarly, when the IWXXM 2.0 and the Modèle pour l’échange des informations sur le Temps, le Climat et l’Eau (METCE) Version 1.2were ready for publication in August 2016,the ET-CCP,together with the APANPIRG MET/SG, CBS TT-AvXML and IPET-MDRD,made an announcement to the MET community, indicating that the final version would be IWXXM 2.1 to be further adopted by the WMO EC.

2.3.8Clearly, the migration to XML/GML (IWXXM model) will present special difficulties for the Members. Coordination with ET-ISA, ET-ETC and ICAO regional MET groups should be strengthened to meet the training needs of the Members. As a good example of capacity building, the First Workshop on Implementing the IWXXM was organized by the ICAO EUR/NAT Office from 31 May to 2 June 2016. Invitations were sent to the countries hosting the Regional OPMET Data Banks (RODB) in all Regions.In addition, Hong Kong, China is planning to host a joint WMO VCP/APANPIRG training workshop in mid-2017.

2.4Liaison with aviation task teams/subgroups

2.4.1The team seeks to maintain coordination with Regional Associations through the Presidents. However, such communication has not proven to be too efficient. Two major areas have received attention in this regard: interactions with AeM focal points and interactions with MET groups. These two areas are linked and have to result in regular and direct communication between CAeM and the Regions. More success has been reached in establishing contacts with different aviation MET bodies.

2.4.2Evidence show that there is a variety of regional and sub-regional organizational frameworks under WMO and ICAO. Therefore, the ET-CCP should try to map all these different forms and groups that may be instrumental in the communication and outreach with regard to the CAeM activities.Liaison with regional/subregional aviation task teams/subgroups was enhanced through involvement and participation in various meetings and AeM-related events.

As an example, close collaboration continues:

a)Between the CIS ICH Working Group-4 and the ICAO METG PT/EAST which keep holding joint meetings (the 5th joint meeting was held in Yaroslavl, Russia, from
7 to 10 June 2016), dealing with vital MET issues arising from the GANP/ASBU implementation (RA VI);

b)Between the Working Group on Compliance Issues in Marine and Aeronautical Meteorological Services and Cost Recovery and the Task Team on Aeronautical Meteorology which address regional challenges at the joint meetings (RA I);

c)With the ICAO EANPG Meteorology Group (METG) and Data Management Group (DMG);

d)With the EUMETNET Working Group on Aviation(AVIMET);

e)With the ICAO MET Panel through the experts nominated by WMO Members, including theET-CCP members;

f)Between the MET Alliance Members.

2.4.3Throughout the Regions, the MET issues are addressed by:

a)RA I – A subregional task team set up at RA I/16 to address the GANP/ASBU implementation issues and keep the PRs abreast of the developments. Also, the South African Development Community (SADC) and the Meteorological Association of South Africa (MASA) are now more active in discussing aviation MET issues, trying to find common solutions related to, inter alia, implementation of QMS and competence requirements.

SAWS received an invitation from CANSO to attend the CDM conference held in Accra, Ghana, from 11 to 13 September 2016 and make a presentation. The conference sought to encourage collaboration among the aviation service providers/stakeholders in line with the ASBU modules. Also,at the 3rd AVI Afrique Summit SAWS made a presentation on collaborative partnership in aeronautical meteorology under SADC which emerged from the CDM discussions. The Summit was hosted by the air traffic and air navigation services from 31 October to 2 November 2016. In addition, SAWS outlined an AMDAR programme in coordination with WMO, persuading the airlines to join it at the 5th AFRAA (African Airlines Association) stakeholders’ conference.