Collaboration, impact and pioneering
The Finnish Meteorological Institute produces observation and research data on the atmosphere and seas, as well as weather, sea and climate services. The information we provide is used for the needs of public safety, business life and citizens. In practice, this means that our customers and stakeholders cover almost all sectors of the society.
Our industry is also strongly international. In order to produce research, observation activities and services, we collaborate with a highly extensive network, which is bilateral, Nordic, European and global.
Coronavirus has taught us something new
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to learn new things and change our operating methods. Under normal circumstances, my calendar – and that of many other FMI employees, as well – is filled with face-to-face customer meetings and stakeholder conferences. However, because of COVID-19, we have been forced to reorganise all our normal practices. Meetings, conferences and workshops included in research projects and international activities are now organised remotely. The visits of different researchers have mainly been postponed into the future.
I believe that once the pandemic is over, we will also have learned some positive and permanent lessons. The increase of remote working is one example. Remote meetings will reduce the need to travel, especially in international activities. It is clear, however, that face-to-face meetings are important and cannot be completely replaced by online conferences.
I dare to argue that despite the changed circumstances, collaboration has been smooth. We and our domestic and international stakeholders have a common goal of producing services and new research data to protect the society and support decision-making. The impact of our operations is based on the fact that our customers and stakeholders receive the information and services they need from us to support their own operations. Their new information needs inspire us to continue our work on the development of observations, research and services.
Work based on values
We are constantly challenged to develop our operations by the changing world and operating environment. Being a pioneer in our field requires continuous observation of changes in the operating environment and anticipation of our customers' needs.
In collaboration with the FMI employees, we have recently defined a set of new core values, which reflect the above-mentioned themes. Our core values are collaboration, impact and pioneering.
We at the Finnish Meteorological Institute strive to work in accordance with our values. We want to promote good collaboration in everything we do with our customers, stakeholders and colleagues. We want to produce information and services that have an impact on the everyday life and future of people and businesses. We believe that with the help of research data, we can change the world together.
Jussi Kaurola
The author is the Director General of the Finnish Meteorological Institute
