Branching Out: Introducing the New Social and Behavioral Sciences Branch within a NOAA Research Laboratory

The NOAA Global Systems Laboratory (GSL) Weather Informatics and Decision Support (WIDS) Division recently formed its Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS) Branch, which leads and coordinates SBS weather research in support of WIDS and GSL missions. Rationale for the formation and integration of this branch within WIDS includes the need to focus on understanding how key users, such as forecasters, public safety officials, and members of the public make decisions using weather information and where gaps in information and service exist. Doing so will help to ensure that research and development of products and services created within WIDS, and within the broader weather enterprise, are user-centered and optimized to aid in decision making. This presentation will provide a brief background of the SBS Branch, along with examples of completed, current, and planned research and evaluation activities pertaining to decision support. Using a convergence science approach, these projects center around end-user decision-making and information needs as it pertains to communicating uncertainty and confidence. The examples presented will demonstrate how social and behavioral science approaches can be used to (i) evaluate products and services (ii) advance knowledge of the types of decisions our core partners must make in the context of extreme weather, and (iii) better understand and meet the information needs of end-users and publics we serve. This presentation will be situated within a broader discussion about the imperative for social and behavioral science integration to create decision support products and services that are useful, usable, and user-informed.