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Climate services for society: origins, institutional arrangements, and design elements for an evaluation framework

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  • Catherine Vaughan
  • Suraje Dessai

Abstract

Climate services involve the generation, provision, and contextualization of information and knowledge derived from climate research for decision making at all levels of society. These services are mainly targeted at informing adaptation to climate variability and change, widely recognized as an important challenge for sustainable development. This paper reviews the development of climate services, beginning with a historical overview, a short summary of improvements in climate information, and a description of the recent surge of interest in climate service development including, for example, the Global Framework for Climate Services, implemented by the World Meteorological Organization in October 2012. It also reviews institutional arrangements of selected emerging climate services across local, national, regional, and international scales. By synthesizing existing literature, the paper proposes four design elements of a climate services evaluation framework. These design elements include: problem identification and the decision‐making context; the characteristics, tailoring, and dissemination of the climate information; the governance and structure of the service, including the process by which it is developed; and the socioeconomic value of the service. The design elements are intended to serve as a guide to organize future work regarding the evaluation of when and whether climate services are more or less successful. The paper concludes by identifying future research questions regarding the institutional arrangements that support climate services and nascent efforts to evaluate them. WIREs Clim Change 2014, 5:587–603. doi: 10.1002/wcc.290 This article is categorized under: Climate Models and Modeling > Knowledge Generation with Models Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change > Institutions for Adaptation Social Status of Climate Change Knowledge > Climate Science and Decision Making

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  • Catherine Vaughan & Suraje Dessai, 2014. "Climate services for society: origins, institutional arrangements, and design elements for an evaluation framework," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 5(5), pages 587-603, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:wirecc:v:5:y:2014:i:5:p:587-603
    DOI: 10.1002/wcc.290
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    Cited by:

    1. Surminski, Swenja & Barnes, Jonathan & Vincent, Katharine, 2022. "Can insurance catalyse government planning on climate? Emergent evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    2. Charles Herrick & Jason Vogel, 2022. "Climate Adaptation at the Local Scale: Using Federal Climate Adaptation Policy Regimes to Enhance Climate Services," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-20, July.
    3. Gigi Owen & Daniel B. Ferguson & Ben McMahan, 2019. "Contextualizing climate science: applying social learning systems theory to knowledge production, climate services, and use-inspired research," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 157(1), pages 151-170, November.
    4. Philip Antwi-Agyei & Frank Baffour-Ata & Sarah Koomson & Nana Kwame Kyeretwie & Nana Barimah Nti & Afia Oforiwaa Owusu & Fukaiha Abdul Razak, 2023. "Drivers and coping mechanisms for floods: experiences of residents in urban Kumasi, Ghana," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 116(2), pages 2477-2500, March.
    5. Deborah R. Coen, 2021. "A brief history of usable climate science," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 167(3), pages 1-17, August.
    6. Chiputwa, Brian & Blundo-Canto, Genowefa & Steward, Peter & Andrieu, Nadine & Ndiaye, Ousmane, 2022. "Co-production, uptake of weather and climate services, and welfare impacts on farmers in Senegal: A panel data approach," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    7. Dragana Bojovic & Andria Nicodemou & Asun Lera St.Clair & Isadora Christel & Francisco J. Doblas-Reyes, 2022. "Exploring the landscape of seasonal forecast provision by Global Producing Centres," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 172(1), pages 1-23, May.
    8. Mehryar, Sara & Sasson, Idan & Surminski, Swenja, 2022. "Supporting urban adaptation to climate change: what role can resilience measurement tools play?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 113367, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    9. Elena Lioubimtseva & Charlotte da Cunha, 2023. "The Role of Non-Climate Data in Equitable Climate Adaptation Planning: Lessons from Small French and American Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-21, January.
    10. Adama Ouedraogo & Irene S. Egyir & Mathieu Ouedraogo & John Baptist D. Jatoe, 2022. "Farmers’ Demand for Climate Information Services: A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-18, July.
    11. Arjan Wardekker & Susanne Lorenz, 2019. "The visual framing of climate change impacts and adaptation in the IPCC assessment reports," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 156(1), pages 273-292, September.
    12. Richard J. Choularton & P. Krishna Krishnamurthy, 2019. "How accurate is food security early warning? Evaluation of FEWS NET accuracy in Ethiopia," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 11(2), pages 333-344, April.
    13. Maurice Skelton, 2020. "How cognitive links and decision-making capacity shape sectoral experts’ recognition of climate knowledge for adaptation," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 162(3), pages 1535-1553, October.
    14. Blane Harvey & Lindsey Jones & Logan Cochrane & Roop Singh, 2019. "The evolving landscape of climate services in sub-Saharan Africa: What roles have NGOs played?," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 157(1), pages 81-98, November.
    15. Cheol Han Bang & Choon Seong Leem, 2020. "A New Perspective on the Supply and Demand of Weather Services," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-25, October.
    16. Momtaz Jahan & Julia Reis & Julie Shortridge, 2023. "Assessing climate service products with evaluation metrics: an application to decision support tools for climate change adaptation in the USA," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 176(8), pages 1-25, August.
    17. Deborah R. Coen & Adam Sobel, 2022. "Introduction: Critical and historical perspectives on usable climate science," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 172(1), pages 1-9, May.
    18. Mehryar, Sara & Sasson, Idan & Surminski, Swenja, 2021. "Supporting urban adaptation to climate change: what role can resilience measurement tools play?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 111057, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    19. Surminski, Swenja & Barnes, Jonathan & Vincent, Katharine, 2022. "Can insurance catalyse government planning on climate? Emergent evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 113564, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    20. Maurizio Bacci & Youchaou Ousman Baoua & Vieri Tarchiani, 2020. "Agrometeorological Forecast for Smallholder Farmers: A Powerful Tool for Weather-Informed Crops Management in the Sahel," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-17, April.
    21. Sophie Webber, 2019. "Putting climate services in contexts: advancing multi-disciplinary understandings: introduction to the special issue," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 157(1), pages 1-8, November.
    22. Conor Murphy & Anthony Kettle & Hadush Meresa & Saeed Golian & Michael Bruen & Fiachra O’Loughlin & Per-Erik Mellander, 2023. "Climate Change Impacts on Irish River Flows: High Resolution Scenarios and Comparison with CORDEX and CMIP6 Ensembles," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 37(5), pages 1841-1858, March.
    23. Meghan Alexander & Suraje Dessai, 2019. "What can climate services learn from the broader services literature?," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 157(1), pages 133-149, November.

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