Ocean Observing Co-Design Programme, implemented by the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), is a flagship programme endorsed by the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030). Series of the Ocean Observing Co-Design Supporter Forums were organized at the end of 2022 to start building the partnerships and identify avenues for financial support that will advance this first set of key Exemplar Projects. CLIVAR was invited to join the Forum on 13^th December 2022, alongside other ~30 participants from international community.

At the beginning of the workshop, Dr David Legler, co-PI of the programme, introduced the need for co-design and an ocean observing system ‘step change’, which included the drivers, key challenges, objectives and its implementation plan. The introductions to the six exemplar projects was presented following Dr Legler’s talk: 1) Boundary Currents (Tammy Morris); 2) The Ocean Carbon Cycle (Richard Sanders, Anya Waite); 3) Tropical Cyclones (Cheyenne Stienbarger, Scott Glenn); 4) Marine Life 2030 (Frank Muller-Karger); 5) Marine Heatwaves (Diana Ruiz-Pino, Alban Lazar) and 6) Storm Surge (Giovanni Coppini). Each Exemplar Project is supposed to address key gaps in an integrated value chain across observing-modelling-services–users; engage key user stakeholders to understand their needs; integrate along the chain from observers to users to assure delivery; assess value of investment on ocean observation; support the development of co-design best practice and lift the system in key societal areas. Dr Sabrina Speich, former co-chair of the CLIVAR Atlantic Region Panel (ARP) introduced the vision and the collaborative effort needed.

During the open discussion and Q&A session on how to interact and drive the change forward, Ms. Jing Li, staff scientist from the International CLIVAR Project Office (ICPO) shared the initial thoughts for collaboration on marine heatwave, by promoting the links and interactions between the Marine Heatwave Exemplar project of the Co-Design programme, and the newly approved CLIVAR Research Focus on Marine heatwave in the Global Ocean and the upcoming ICTP/CLIVAR Summer School on Marine Heatwaves: Global Phenomena with Regional Impacts to be organized in July 2023, Trieste, Italy. Further opportunities for collaborations could also be identified along the implementation of the Co-Design programme.