Expanding the UFS Community through the Unifying Innovations in Forecasting Capabilities Workshop (UIFCW)

The Unifying Innovations in Forecasting Capabilities Workshop is an annual event that brings together the public, private, government and academic sectors from within the Weather Enterprise around the shared goal of advancing the Unified Forecast System (UFS). This workshop serves as a key event for fostering enhanced communication and collaboration between sectors and highlights the importance of community building. It offers a unique venue where participants can explore how the Weather Enterprise can unite effectively, thereby boosting forecasting capabilities, spurring innovation, and achieving success more efficiently.

The Third Annual Unifying Innovations in Forecasting Capabilities Workshop, co-hosted by EPIC and Jackson State University (JSU), was held at JSU on July 22-26th, 2024. This event marked a significant milestone as the first UIFCW hosted at a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) and a NOAA Cooperative Science Center (CSC). EPIC’s initiative to bring UIFCW to an HBCU underscores NOAA’s commitment to fostering inclusivity and broadening participation within the Weather, water, and climate enterprise.

The theme of UIFCW 2024 was “Collaborative Progress in Earth System Modeling”. Talks covered updates on the UFS, the latest Earth system research findings, and discussions of challenges, successes and future progress. Sessions were designed to encourage the open exchange of ideas among participants. This year, discussions highlighted the needs of the modeling community to nurture a sense of community, build stronger collaborations within the weather enterprise, and better connect federal research to the broader modeling community.

Nearly 700 people registered, 170 abstracts for oral and poster sessions were received, and three training sessions were hosted. Highlights included a session on Google's GraphCast AI model that drew over 190 people, reflecting the growing interest in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning; a keynote talk by Michael Morgan, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction; a roundtable discussion on community modeling; and exploration of the future of modeling and data assimilation.

Notably, this year the UIFCW 2024 saw a 10% increase in both student and overall academic attendance compared to the previous year. As part of these efforts, EPIC offered a student travel grant opportunity to attend UIFCW. This travel grant received over 40 student applications from across the globe, emphasizing both the growth in the event but also the academic interest in the UFS.

This presentation will highlight UIFCW 2024 successes, areas to improve, key outcomes and recommendations for UIFCW 2025. This presentation will also feature information from a 3-year assessment of the UIFCW (from 2022-2024). This assessment is a comparative analysis of metrics related to logistics planning, workshop attendance, presentations, and survey responses. The report from the UFS’s Community Engagement Specialist, Alison Gregory, will be used in the future planning of the UIFCW.