WAS*IS Government/Private Sector

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WASIS Government/Private Sector Weather
Partnership Project
National Weather Service Partners Meeting AMS
Annual Meeting January 18, 2007
Melissa Tuttle Carr Manager, Weather Information
Distribution The Weather Channel
Kevin Barjenbruch Warning Coordination
Meteorologist National Weather Service, Salt Lake
City
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Todays Presentation

• Introduction
• About WASIS / Project Initiation
• Key Project Messages
• Actions/Progress
• The Future
• VI. Wrap-Up

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II. About WASIS / Project Initiation

• WASIS
• Weather and Society Integrated Studies
• Concepts and Knowledge
• Communication, forecasting, risk assessment, GIS
  tools, qualitative research, decision support
  systems, economics, vulnerability, verification
  and more!

Partnerships Building a passionate and dedicated
community of people for lifelong collaboration
and support
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II. About WASIS / Project Initiation

• Three WASIS workshops
• Original Nov. 2005 / Mar. 2006, Boulder
• Norman, OK April 2006
• Summer July 2006, Boulder
• Upcoming WASIS workshops
• Australia January 2007
• Boulder Summer 2007

Applications now being accepted for Summer
2007! http//www.sip.ucar.edu/wasis/index.jsp
Over 85 participants and growing!
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II. About WASIS / Project Initiation

• WASIS lives on after the workshops!
• Participants continue their WASIS work and
  learning via numerous projects initiated during
  the workshops

A few of the many projects Societal resilience
to weather hazards Social verification of
warnings and this partnership project
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II. About WASIS / Project Initiation

• Project Leads

Melissa Tuttle Carr The Weather Channel
Kevin Barjenbruch NWS, Salt Lake City
Project Team Tanja Fransen, Brent MacAloney,
Ernie Ostuno, Mike Stavish, Greg Stumpf, Britt
Westergard, Ray Wolf And consultation from
Amanda Graning, Pamela Szatanek, Neil
Stuart plus, input and ideas from many others!
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III. Key Project Messages

• Improved communication and collaboration between
  the government and private sectors will be of
  benefit to the entire weather enterprise and to
  the public.
• Examples include
• Enhancing communication between sectors
• Cross-sector collaborative efforts
• Strategic planning of the weather enterprise

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III. Key Project Messages

• A synergistic approach within the weather
  enterprise will lead to improved products and
  services and increased visibility.
• Specifically, this project focuses on
• Advocating full engagement of private sector
  prior
• to and during product development
• Launch of storm-based warnings and functional
• CAP/XML feeds for NWS bulletins

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III. Key Project Messages
The public will benefit by receiving better and
more understandable weather information.
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IV. Actions/Progress

• Project has been presented numerous times
• 9/26/06 NWS Western Region Headquarters
• 11/3/06 NWS National Headquarters
• 11/15/06 The Weather Channel brief
  introduction
• 12/5/06 Storm-Based Warnings Workshop at Texas
  AM
• 1/17/07 AMS Intelligent Transportation
  Systems/Surface Transportation Committee
  Meeting
• In total, approximately 115 people in attendance
  from
• the government and private sectors, academia,
• and other groups

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IV. Actions/Progress

• Progress is being made
• New, productive partnerships are being formed
  between private sector and the NWS via
  face-to-face meetings initiated by project work
• Working with Ron Gird, NWS Outreach Program
  Manager, on NWS Partners Meeting format
  enhancements

First change is in effect as of today, with the
inclusion of the private sector on the agenda for
this meeting
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IV. Actions/Progress

• Progress is being made
• Working with Ken Graham, NWS Service Evolution
  Director

Partnership Project ideas, Kens role with the
NWS, and opportunities for collaboration Startin
g talks about dynamic ideas for strengthening the
weather enterprise
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IV. Actions/Progress

• Progress is being made
• Increased attention to importance of effective
  CAP/XML feeds for NWS bulletins, including
• Discussion at the NDFD Technical Workshop
  (11/2006)
• Strong cross-sector support at the Storm-Based
  Warnings Workshop (12/2006)
• Ongoing work with Bob Bunge, NWS Internet
  Dissemination Officer on potential CAP feed
  improvements

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IV. Actions/Progress

• Progress is being made
• John Ferree, Severe Storm Service Leader
  Storm-Based Warnings and Next Generation Warning
  Tool Implementation
• Pam Heinselman and Daphne LaDue Public/Private
  Sector Partnership Distance Learning module,
  based on a program lead by John Toohey-Morales
  and Ed Johnson (http//www.ncim.org/pppcourse2006
  /)
• NWS Team Partners Registration Site
• 2007 Central Region Headquarters
  Presentation/meetings

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V. The Projects Future

• This project continues to grow!
• We now have a much larger, exciting initiative,
  with momentum and numerous people ready to get
  involved, effecting real change throughout the
  weather enterprise

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V. The Projects Future

• Challenges to address
• Time and resource constraints

• Effective communication with a busy project
  group spread across the country
• Ways to integrate all of the additional people
  who are eager to join the project

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V. The Projects Future

• Some ideas for 2007 and beyond
• Continue to spread the partnership message make
  contact with others who are interested in this
  initiative
• Advisory board concept to communicate with and
  gather ideas from others outside the project
  group
• Interface between Ken Graham (NWS Office of
  Service Evolution) and presentation attendees
  from both sectors

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VI. Wrap-Up

• Melissa Tuttle Carr
• mtuttle_at_weather.com
• Kevin Barjenbruch
• kevin.barjenbruch_at_noaa.gov
• Thank You!