There are many ways to give recognition to service providers in information services business. The goal usually is to inform consumer decision-making in selecting a service, as well as to influence respective industry developments towards excellence and innovation based on recognized ‘golden standards’.
Awards could be given based on the level of consumers’ satisfaction assessment through the popular review processes (e.g., based on number of users correlated to number of downloads) of the service/app, or based on expert assessment by independent professionals and influencers. Neither of these methods is fully objective, but they help people in making their choices.
WMO International Weather Apps Awards 2020 was conducted through an expert evaluation approach with the help of an International Jury composed of distinguished experts from several fields relevant to the weather apps development and utilization. The awards were given based on a complex assessment of essential characteristics of the applications, hence not focusing solely on the accuracy of the information.
CATEGORIES
Several categories are listed as follows:
Public weather forecasts and information (general category)
Award for information content – usefulness, reliability, quantity and quality of information
- Two awards for submissions from public sector (NMHSs’ apps)
- Two awards for submissions from private sector
- One award for submission from other sectors (NGO and other non-profit, individuals
Award for design and presentation of information – user-friendliness, access, customization, etc.
- Two awards for submissions from public sector (NMHSs’ apps)
- Two awards for submissions from private sector
- One award for submission from other sectors (NGO and other non-profit, individuals)
Specialized apps award category
- Weather warnings
- Weather/climate information for Farming
- Weather information for outdoor activities, leisure and sports
- Weather information for sectoral/specialised users (aviation, marine, health, others)
Awards for innovation and promotion of the use of weather and climate information for development
- Award for user interface and data representation: observation data (station measurements, radar, satellite, etc.) and model data
- Award for originality and innovation
- Award for apps for developing countries
- Award for engagement of citizens (crowdsourcing, citizens’ obs data)
- Award for young developers
Honourable mention
In addition to the formal awards, the International Jury may award a Honourable Mention to up to two candidate apps in each category above as a sign of recognition of quality and encouragement.
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