Workshop International Climate Services: Understanding and Responding to the Needs of Decision Makers

The convergence of evolving scientific and institutional capabilities on the national and international landscapes provided a natural opportunity (and imperative) for NOAA€™s Climate Program Office to convene a dialogue with a sub-set number of our partners and stakeholders to thoughtfully explore and consider some of the challenges and opportunities associated with moving into the next phase of international climate services development. Given the scope of the challenge, this workshop was designed to deal specifically with those issues most relevant to understanding and responding to the needs of decision makers, and the potential implications for NOAA€™s future directions and program investments. It was not intended to cover all dimensions of the development and use of climate information services. This workshop report is the summary of this dialogue and offers some potential directions for NOAA€™s international climate applications and services development activities.