CEOS Self Study- Major Meetings Ivan Petiteville (ESA), on behalf of Topical Team on Major Meetings CEOS SIT-28 Meeting Hampton, Virginia, USA 14 March 2013

SIT-28 Meeting Hampton, Virginia, USA March 2013 SIT-28 Meeting Hampton, Virginia, USA March 2013 “Develop coordinated objectives and formats for the CEOS Plenary meeting, SIT meeting(s), and SEC telecons to encourage discussion and decision-making. Balance reporting with strategic discussions that engage and utilize participation from all CEOS functional groups.” 2 CSS Key Recommendation

SIT-28 Meeting Hampton, Virginia, USA March 2013 SIT-28 Meeting Hampton, Virginia, USA March 2013 Persons that have contributed to the Report on Major Meetings: NOAA: Brent Smith, Jacob Sutherlun CEO: Kerry Sawyer NASA: Christine Bognar INPE: Márcia Alvarenga, Julio Dalge USGS: Tim Stryker ESA: Ivan Petiteville 3 Topical Team

SIT-28 Meeting Hampton, Virginia, USA March 2013 SIT-28 Meeting Hampton, Virginia, USA March 2013 Starting point: Findings & Recommendations from previous CSS reports. Additional suggestions by Topical Team members & brainstorming through several iterations (telecons, e- mail) Findings presented at the CEOS 2012 Plenary (Bangalore) Process

SIT-28 Meeting Hampton, Virginia, USA March 2013 SIT-28 Meeting Hampton, Virginia, USA March 2013 Major CEOS Meetings: -Not specific to a WG, VC, project,.. -Participants from across various CEOS entities Current Major CEOS Meetings MEETINGWHENATTENDANCE CEOS-GEO Actions Workshop January-February Physical attendance by  mostly technical experts & scientists  few CEOS Principals Strategic Implementation Team (SIT) Meeting March-April Physical attendance by  mostly CEOS Principals/Designees, staffed by CEOS Contacts  supported by a few technical experts & scientists Preceded by optional side-meetings SIT Technical Workshop September Physical attendance by  mostly technical experts & scientists  few CEOS Principals Preceded by optional side-meetings CEOS Plenary October-November (before GEO Plenary) Physical attendance by  mostly CEOS Principals, staffed by CEOS Contacts.  few technical experts/scientists (depending on agenda/issues for which their support is needed) Preceded by optional side-meetings CEOS Secretariat Monthly Mostly teleconferences CEOS Secretariat representatives, incl. the GEO Secretariat rep(s) CEOS Troika Meeting Side-meeting to the CEOS Plenary and sometimes SIT meeting Physical attendance by  Current, former and next CEOS Chairs  SIT Chair and WG Chairs are regularly invited to attend 5

SIT-28 Meeting Hampton, Virginia, USA March 2013 SIT-28 Meeting Hampton, Virginia, USA March 2013 Objectives: Objectives of both, the Plenary and SIT, vary each year depending on the Chair and SIT Teams Agenda: Redundancy between the SIT Technical Workshop and the CEOS Plenary Meeting. Some Plenaries are characterized by too many detailed technical presentations that focus the attention of the CEOS Principals on reporting rather than CEOS decision making. Use of SIT and Plenary meetings for routine, redundant reporting is a missed opportunity to make progress on issues of strategic relevance. Frequency & Timing: OK in general, except that some critical discussions take place only every 6 months (at SIT Spring meeting or CEOS Plenary), consequently delaying some key decisions and follow-up activities or work associated with them. Format: Physical presence at all major meetings (except CEOS Secretariat telecons) may cause financial difficulties for some Agencies. 6 Major CSS Findings and … a few Additional Ones

SIT-28 Meeting Hampton, Virginia, USA March 2013 SIT-28 Meeting Hampton, Virginia, USA March 2013 MEETINGMEETING OBJECTIVES & FORMATS CEOS-GEO Actions Workshop Same every year:  Define yearly cooperation activities by CEOS Agencies to support several GEO WP Tasks. Synchronized with the updated GEO WP Strategic Implementation Team (SIT) Meeting Main objectives are the same every year (resource commitments, strategic discussions) but emphasis may vary depending on the CEOS SIT Chair leadership SIT Technical Workshop Same every year:  Status of the CEOS Implementation Year (Actions to be implemented)  Prepare CEOS participation and outreach at ministerial-level and other major events at the end of the calendar year (e.g., GEO Plenary, UNFCC SBSTA COP, UN international Strategy for Disaster Reduction). Requires active review/leadership of SIT Chair in consultation with CEOS Chair, in addition to technical and logistic organization.  Provide CEOS Agencies with the necessary Information to take appropriate decisions at the CEOS Plenary CEOS Plenary Varies depending on the CEOS Chair leadership Several overlaps with SIT Technical workshop especially for usual technical working groups (VCs, WGs, ad hoc projects teams). CEOS SecretariatStatus of Work Plan activities, stakeholder related business, and outreach CEOS Troika MeetingTo allow CEOS leaders to exchange ideas and discuss, prior the plenary, on important issues regarding current year achievements, and direction, strategy, plan, and expectation for the following year. Current Meetings Objectives 7

SIT-28 Meeting Hampton, Virginia, USA March 2013 SIT-28 Meeting Hampton, Virginia, USA March 2013 Objectives of SIT (Spring) and Plenary meetings vary from year to the next. After careful consideration, the Team does not think this finding is indeed an issue: this variability could be considered as positive. As recommended by Roy Gibson 1 : R1: some flexibility in the definition of the objectives of those meetings might be needed, to cope with the differences of profile, expertise and resources of both the CEOS Chair and SIT Chair teams General Recommendations # 1 8 1) see report on “Executive Functions” (June 2011) Frequency: R2: possibility to have ad hoc meetings on specific matters that cannot bear too long delays. Ad hoc meetings could be held as webex telecons or side meetings to existing major meetings (not necessarily CEOS) to reduce travel costs Format: R3: enhance the use of some communication media (e.g. webex) to allow some participants to attend from their premises whenever compatible with the time availability of the remote participants. –Physical and remote participation are not mutually exclusive: a mixed participation schema can be a good solution

SIT-28 Meeting Hampton, Virginia, USA March 2013 SIT-28 Meeting Hampton, Virginia, USA March Specific Recommendations # 2 MEETINGRECOMMENDATIONS CEOS-GEO Actions Workshop R3: Should be organized as a mixture of physical presence and remote attendance (i.e. virtual meeting). Participants would choose the more convenient solution for them. Strategic Implementation Team (SIT) Meeting R1: Should allow some flexibility in the definition of the objectives; R4: Should serve as an appropriate forum to invite non-CEOS guests to discuss a topic of interest for CEOS OR should focus on issues and matters internal to CEOS only; options : R4 applicable either to SIT meeting or to CEOS Plenary R5: Needs less redundancy and balance reporting with time for discussion. R6: SIT Chair agency should reach out and work carefully (as is being done through periodic telecons with WG Chairs/VC Co-Leads) to themselves know the issues and be able to effectively design meeting agendas and frame issues that require decisions. R7: If discussion time is exceeded and consensus is not being reached, Chairs should adequately moderate the debate and control the time needed for each discussion, ask the protagonists to work on the issue outside the meeting. SIT Technical Workshop R3: Should be organized as a combination of physical presence and remote participation (i.e. virtual meeting). Participants would choose the more convenient solution for them. CEOS SecretariatR8: Should include also discussion on “minor topics” not discussed at Plenary (issue: “minor” still to be defined)

SIT-28 Meeting Hampton, Virginia, USA March 2013 SIT-28 Meeting Hampton, Virginia, USA March Specific Recommendations # 3 MEETINGRECOMMENDATIONS CEOS Plenary R1: Some flexibility in the definition of the objectives is welcome; R9: Should include a day for CEOS VCs and WGs side meeting; R4: Should serve as an appropriate forum to invite non-CEOS guests to discuss a topic of interest for CEOS OR should focus on issues and matters internal to CEOS only; options : R4 applicable either to SIT meeting or to CEOS Plenary R10: Needs more care when setting its agenda to reduce overlap with SIT Technical WS. R8: Should focus on major matters, sessions on “minor” topics could be included if they require an outcome or decision. (issue: “minor” still to be defined) R11: Should be less technical, focused on issues requiring decisions. Use of template shall help to limit the length and guide the content of presentations. If needed, oral reports could be complemented by detailed written reports, posters & backup slides (not to be displayed during meeting). R12: CEOS Chair agency should reach out and work carefully (as is being done through periodic telecons with WG Chairs/VC Co-Leads) to themselves know the issues and be able to effectively design meeting agendas and frame issues that require decisions. R7: If discussion time is exceeded and consensus is not being reached, Chairs should adequately moderate the debate and control the time needed for each discussion, ask the protagonists to work on the issue outside the meeting. CEOS TroikaR13: Should continue its frequency and format. It contributes continuity of leadership to CEOS by allowing the current, past, and incoming CEOS Chairs to discuss matters of strategic importance to CEOS.

SIT-28 Meeting Hampton, Virginia, USA March 2013 SIT-28 Meeting Hampton, Virginia, USA March 2013 THANK YOU ….