The International Project Offices (IPOs) and Joint Planning Staff (JPS) of WCRP held a teleconference on Sep. 9, 2020. The telecon focused on the discussion of the involvement of the IPOs in the WCRP restructuring process, as well as how to strengthen the communication between WCRP JSC and IPOs. Representatives from the WCRP JPS and project offices of CLIVAR, CliC, GEWEX, SPARC, CORDEX, CORA, S2S and YESS attended the meeting. Dr Helen Cleugh, Vice-chair of the WCRP Joint Scientific Committee (JSC), also participated in the telecon, and proactively communicated and interacted with the IPOs about the progress of the Lighthouse Activity (LHA) and regional consultations and the role of the core projects in participating in these processes. The major uptakes from the meeting include:

• A Junior Professional Officer – Wenchao Cao joined WCRP JPS (part-time) recently;
• WCRP is in the process to finalize the identification of representatives from core projects for the LHAs and RFP;
• Core projects will undertake internal review for better fitting into the new structure of WCRP;
• There might be 7-8 project offices under the new structure of WCRP (still under discussion). It is important to bring together all the expertise from across all the projects and domains of WCRP, rather than doing in solos. The integration across different components in the new structure should be promoted.
• Funds from traditional donors (WMO, IOC-UNESCO and ISC) are shrinking due to COVID-19 and other political reasons, and WCRP is working to identify other possible donors in particular at regional and national levels (most supports received so far are non-financial). We need to advocate that WCRP is coordinating the climate science at global level, which no single nation nor region can complete.
• More interaction with WMO is pursuit through active interaction between WCRP JSC/JPS and WMO Science & Innovation Division as well as WMO Research Board.
• IPOs showed strong enthusiasm in participating the WCRP restructuring processes, which is highly recommended and respected by the WCRP JSC and JPS. The potential contribution from IPOs in this process is a key point , as IPOs may be more familiar with the overall picture of their projects and also possess the scientific background and expertise that may be needed in the WCRP restructuring processes.
• The better communication and information sharing among JSC, JPS, IPOs and SSGs are requested and the clear information flow and shared documents/meeting notes are expected by IPOs.
• The timeline and expected deliverables for LHA development and RFP activities are requested by IPOs, in order to facilitate the coordination with scientists in their respective communities.