From research to daily forecasting Maturing space weather capabilities through R2O and O2R

From research to daily forecasting: Maturing space weather capabilities through R2O and O2R Operational space weather forecasting brings together observations, scientific models, software and forecaster expertise to provide timely information and warnings to users. Transitioning research capabilities into operational services requires scientific and technical maturity, validation and verification, and an understanding of operational needs. Drawing on experience at SIDC/STCE at the Royal Observatory of Belgium and within the ESA Space Weather Service Network, this keynote will discuss when and how research capabilities become ready for operational use. It will examine the role of scientific software and data infrastructure in meeting requirements for robustness, real-time availability, interoperability, traceability and long-term maintenance. Particular attention will be given to assessing performance under operational conditions, using the data available at the time of forecasting. The presentation will address both research-to-operations (R2O) and operations-to-research (O2R). Operational experience, forecaster feedback and user needs should inform research priorities, data provision and software development from the outset. These exchanges offer practical opportunities for researchers, software developers, data providers and operational centres to work together towards reliable and useful space weather services.