Enhancing Public-Private Partnerships to Improve Readiness and Responsiveness for the Public for Catastrophic Events

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has launched a new "Weather-Ready Nation Ambassadors" initiative to formally recognize organizations that are committed to building community resilience in the face of increasing vulnerability to extreme weather and water events. The success of NOAA's "Weather-Ready Nation" Strategic Goal is highly dependent on strong partnerships across government, academia, and the private sector. This initiative is attempting to strengthen existing partnerships while creating new partnerships.

This paper will describe the Weather-Ready Nation Ambassadors initiative, including its objectives, early successes, future plans, and how organizations can become Ambassadors. This paper will try to answer fundamental questions such as "why become an Ambassador", "what does my organization have to do to become an Ambassador", and "what opportunities can be created by becoming an Ambassador".