Strategies to Evolve the National Weather Service

The NWS is informed by a number of strategic documents and plans, including the NOAA Next Generation Strategic Plan (2010), the DOC “Open for Business Strategic Plan (2014), and the NWS Weather-Ready Nation Strategic Plan (2011).  These official plans are in addition to the various internal strategic initiatives currently in progress including the Operations and Workforce Analysis (OWA) with McKinsey and Company.  While all of these strategies are underpinned by a common theme - the provision of Impact-Based Decision Support Services - each are slightly different in their focus and application.  

The new Office of Organizational Excellence (OOE) within the NWS will help provide strategic thinking for the organization, particularly over longer time horizons, and will undertake neutral strategic assessments and evaluations.  First, the presentation will analyze the effectiveness of existing strategic plans to direct the investments and priorities of the NWS in recent years. It will also discuss the current strategy landscape in the NWS, including the applicability of the various strategic plans to current NWS strategic priorities, including those generated through the OWA.  Finally, it will assess current strategic priorities through the lens of organizational culture and external drivers, two other areas of focus for OOE.  Robust, clear strategies and visions are critical for direction setting, resource allocation, and generating support for change internally and externally to the NWS.  One of the goals of this presentation is to provide clarity and understanding across these multiple strategic plans and initiatives.