Introduction

Here we describe the significant previous activities of UKEOF that were not associated with our current Working Groups. The following activities are described:

  • Monitoring & Modelling (task & finish group) - 2017-18
  • Efficiencies in Observations - 2011-15
  • Coordinating Climate Observations - 2012-14
  • Sustainable Funding Mechanisms - 2008-15

Many of these activities involved workshops and other events. We also ran some events not directly connected with the activities described below. You can find a comprehensive list of UKEOF-led events here, including - where available - the main outputs from each.

Monitoring & Modelling ('Task & Finish' Group)

This activity took place from 2017 to 2018

UKEOF formed a time-limited 'task and finish' group on monitoring & modelling. The aim was to explore the relationship between monitoring and modelling, looking at existing practice and new developments, and engaging the agencies and modelling community in a dialogue which will reinforce the partners’ ability to act as ‘intelligent customers’ for modelling. The group organised several meetings, including:

Efficiencies in Observations

This activity took place from 2011 to 2015

UKEOF works to improve environmental observation activities through encouraging collaboration across UK organisations. Working together can help avoid duplication, develop more robust networks and improves knowledge and data accessibility. From 2011-2015, we led a pilot project to realise the benefits of working collaboratively over monitoring activities.

The aim of the project was to investigate the potential of integrating and aligning monitoring activity in a specific area by facilitating better coordination between relevant organisations, and to develop best practice guidelines that could be applied in other areas.

In 2011, UKEOF worked with Natural England to deliver a workshop on Developing a Long Term Monitoring Network. A workshop report was produced following this. Work was then carried out with Natural England to map geographic coincidences in environmental monitoring sites, where it became apparent that there were high levels of geographical coincidences in monitoring sites in England and Wales. 

The Hampshire Avon catchment was chosen as the site for the pilot project due to the number of monitoring coincidences found there in the Natural England analysis.

Three objectives were set for the project, all of which were met:

Objective 1: establish what monitoring activity is occurring in the Hampshire Avon catchment
Work was carried out over summer 2013 to research which organisations are monitoring in the catchment and to request information regarding these activities. 

Objective 2: host a workshop to provide the opportunity for collaborative working
A workshop was carried out in October 2013, attended by 15 organisations which carry out environmental monitoring in the Hampshire Avon catchment, to discuss potential collaborations over their monitoring activity.

Objective 3: produce a report and best practice guide to ensure impact of the work
Participants of the workshop were contacted six months after the workshop to determine whether any collaborative activities had been put into place. An impact report has been published, along with best-practice guidance for running similar projects.

The key findings and recommendations from this project were fed back to UKEOF partner organisations to discuss the potential next steps, which included further work to assess the potential benefits from joined up survey efforts at a national scale and the options for such delivery. 

Following consideration by the UKEOF Management Group (2015), the decision was made to close the project at this point as it was felt that there were unlikely to be savings identified by looking at the spatial overlap of monitoring sites. More details are provided in the project summary and closure report below.

Project Reports

Guidance Documents

Coordinating Climate Observations

This activity took place from 2012 to 2014

UKEOF is working to promote a better understanding of UK climate observations and ensure a coordinated approach to the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) activities in the UK.

In 2012, UKEOF set up a group of experts to oversee coordination of UK climate observing activities, advise on UK user priorities, and encourage implementation of common observing standards and methods. As a first step, this group commissioned a project to: 

  • review UK observations relating to climate science and risk assessment
  • identify what UK climate observations are being used for and gaps in our knowledge of where more data are needed
  • identify and promote information within the UK about international climate standards such as the GCOS ECVs.

A report summarising this work and a Guidance Note detailing sources of information relevant to ECVs were published in 2013. The UK's 6th National Communication and First Biennial Report under the UNFCCC (December 2013) drew heavily on this work.

Building on the recommendations of the report, the group will work with the UKEOF Management Group, the Living With Environmental Change Programme, the GCOS Secretariat and other relevant stakeholders to ensure better coordination of climate observing activities within the UK.

UK Response to the GCOS Implementation Plan (2011)

UKEOF consulted members of the climate science community during 2011 to input into the DECC-led UK response to the GCOS Implementation Plan (for the Global Observing System for Climate in Support of the UNFCCC). The consultation generated an informed view of the activities contributing towards each of the 137 recommendations and is summarised in the UKEOF report GCOS IP10 - A UK Response: A summary of consultation responses from the UK.

References

Sustainable Funding Mechanisms

This activity took place from 2008 to 2015

This activity aimed to remove barriers to financial mechanisms so that the long term national and international needs of the UK can be met. To achieve this, it was necessary to understand both the UK's needs in environmental monitoring and how much is invested.

Funding needs and mechanisms

As a result of discussion between the Government Chief Scientific Adviser (GCSA) and UKEOF, a group was set up to look at the issues surrounding the funding of long term observations. UKEOF provided evidence and analyses, utilising the UKEOF catalogue and its assessment tool, to support the initial group. A new GCSA chaired Observations Committee was established to take this work further.

Together with the Government Office for Science (GO Science), UKEOF provided evidence and secretariat support to this cross departmental Observations Committee. The aim of the Committee was to help ensure that the UK's crucial long term environmental observational information needs can be met for science, society and the economy.

Investments in environmental observations

To better understand the scale of investment made in environmental observations it is necessary to collate the costs that organisations attribute to these activities. However, costs can be determined in a number of ways and a standard methodology for submitting cost information was required, to help provide consistency between organisations.

UKEOF produced a set of guidelines for a common method of reporting investments associated with observation activities to encourage all organisations to report their investments in a comparable way.

Analysis of the information shows that the UK spends at least £300m per annum on environmental observations. The 2008/09 estimate was the first attempt to refine the estimated spend by the UK's major public funders of environmental observations.

Cost guidance guideline development

In 2008, Assimila Ltd was commissioned to develop guidelines to report the costs associated with environmental observations. Professor Bob Watson, Defra’s Chief Scientific Advisor at the time, then wrote to the 18 organisations that carry out the majority of activities (publicly fund environmental observations) recorded in the UKEOF Catalogue, to ask them to submit investment data following a scaled down version of the Guidelines (November 2008).  The Investment Study letter explained the aims and requirements for gathering economic information. A second phase of data collection was undertaken in May 2009 with the same 18 organisations. This was according to revised (May 2009) instructions, and it is this information that was used to generate the 2008/09 table of estimated investments.