The goal of the Social Science Strategic Plan for Weather and Water is creating a stronger, more distributed, and coordinated social science capability that is integrated with programs and decision systems in support of improved decision-making. The Plan is an outgrowth of several years of effort by the NOAA Research Council, the NOAA Executive Council, and the Office of Program Planning and Integration in cooperation with the NOAA Mission Goal Teams and line offices to stimulate the use of social science in planning and decision-making. Discussions within NOAA included meetings with the National Weather Service (NWS) leadership, the Office of Atmospheric Research (OAR), the Social Science Committee of the NOAA Research Council and with other Mission Goal Teams. Many individuals contributed valuable comments.

A starting point is the recognition that Weather and Water has a social science gap. Despite the importance of social science in addressing critical questions, Weather and Water has lagged behind other NOAA mission goals in the use of social science. Weather and water programs will have to serve in an environment of extensive change. NOAA and its weather and water programs will face increasing demands for program budget justification and a need to communicate priorities and decision criteria to an increasingly involved and diverse set of constituents. Social science can enhance the value of physical and natural sciences by improving the ability of programs to assess, understand and meet customer needs and demonstrate and articulate the value they create.

The paper describes the process of plan development and the main ideas of the plan. Long term and short term strategies to develop and integrate social science into weather and water programs are detailed. Key analytic priorities are discussed and steps required for implementation are indicated. Recommendations for increased interaction with external organizations and individuals for capacity building, exchange of ideas and information and infusion of social science thinking and research into NOAA weather and water programs are described.