Evolve NWS and the Program Management Office: Progress on Evolving the National Weather Service

The National Weather Service launched its NWS Evolve effort in 2017, in recognition of increased vulnerability to extreme weather events and the need to provide enhanced Impact-Based Decision Support Services (IDSS). Evolve focused on five objectives to help achieve a Weather-Ready Nation: 1) enhancing quality and consistency of IDSS at all levels of the organization; 2) building a flexible and nimble workforce the NWS needs to deliver science-based services through enhancing skills today and hiring for tomorrow; 3) improving effectiveness of forecasting in support of IDSS through a collaborative process that makes the best use of technology, reduces duplication, and ensures consistency of the forecast; 4) matching workforce to workload across the organization and building a stronger organizational structure to better meet the needs of NWS partners; and 5) supporting the innovation, science, technology, and culture required for NWS to continue improving over time.

The NWS Program Management Office (PMO) has focused on four of these objectives over the past year, and each of these objectives feature specific initiatives to achieve outcomes through a disciplined project management approach. This presentation will summarize the ongoing initiatives, early successes, challenges, and future plans, for the following key areas:

• Workforce Evolution: GS 5-12 initiative
• Collaborative Forecast Process: conceptual 2019 national Demonstration of a Collaborative Forecast Process utilizing the National Blend of Models (NBM)
• Workforce Matching Workload: Regional Operations Centers Initial Operating Capability
• Innovation, Science and Technology: Autolaunchers