Collaborative Program on the Societal Impacts and Economic Benefits of Weather Information

Recent Highlights!
	The NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory and NCAR Societal Impacts Program/WAS*IS Seminar Series will host a talk by SIP scientist Rebecca Morss entitled "Communicating Uncertainty in Weather Forecasts: Results from a Survey of the U.S. Public," on Monday, April 21, 2008 in NOAA's David Skaggs Research Center in Boulder, Colo. from 2-3 p.m. A discussion will follow. For more information, please see the program pdf by clicking here.
	Check out the newly updated flood data on the Extreme Weather Sourcebook Web site. Tornado and Hurricane data have also been updated recently. Please check out all the new data, and check back periodically as SIP researchers continue to update additional data.
	The Societal Impacts Program (SIP) and NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory will begin a joint seminar series with a talk on SIP and the Weather and Society*Integrated Studies (WAS*IS) program on Monday Feb. 25, 2008, from 2-3 p.m. at NOAA's David Skaggs Research Center in Boulder, Colo., in Room GC402. For more information about the talk, please click here.
	The January 2008 edition of Weather and Society Watch is now available! If you aren't receiving this informative newsletter, please click here to subscribe.
	An article about WAS*IS, authored by NCAR's Julie Demuth, Rebecca Morss and Jeff Lazo; Eve Gruntfest of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs; and Sheldon Drobot of the Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research was published in the November 2007 edition of BAMS. Please click here to read the article.
	Eve Gruntfest and Julie Demuth organized the fifth Weather and Society*Integrated Studies (WAS*IS) workshop in Boulder from July 12 to July 20, 2007. 29 enthusiastic participants from social science and meteorology backgrounds attended the workshop.
	New! The WxSoc Weather and Weather Forecasting Newsgroup The WxSoc newsgroup allows members to exchange societal impacts research questions and information, as well as send notices of related journal or news articles, conferences, jobs, educational opportunities, and other opportunities. Click here to join the newsgroup.
	Check out the new look of the Societal Aspects of Weather (SOCASP) web site. This site contains a database of valuable links related to the societals aspects of weather and is a service of the Societal Impacts Program (SIP), a collaborative program on the societal impacts and economic benefits of weather information.
	SIP researchers have been involved in Developing a Social Science Research Agenda on the Hurricane Forecast and Warning System. Please click on a link below for more information. View related white papers, the workshop report, or sessions at the CU Natural Hazards Workshop in Boulder, Colo.

About SIP
All economic sectors, regions, and individuals are affected by weather. There are many application areas in which improved weather forecasts—and improved use of current forecasts—could enhance personal safety, reduce property damage, and increase economic efficiency, saving multiple lives and millions of dollars each year. If we are to realize the potential benefits associated with improved weather forecasts, we must understand how individuals and socioeconomic sectors do and could use different types of weather information. Yet, few assessments of the benefits of weather information have been performed, and much of the knowledge available on the use and value of weather information is difficult to locate and utilize.

To address this need, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, with funding from the U.S. Weather Research Program, established the Collaborative Program on the Societal Impacts and Economic Benefits of Weather Information (SIP) to create a dedicated focal point for assembling, coordinating, developing, and synthesizing research and information on the societal impacts and economic benefits of weather information.

At NCAR, the SIP is a joint effort of the Institute for the Study of Society and Environment and the Research Applications Laboratory. NCAR is sponsored by the National Science Foundation and is managed by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research.

The program's overarching goal is to help society benefit from current and emerging weather forecasting capabilities by integrating social sciences knowledge and methods into the weather research and policy-making communities. More specifically, the program conducts research, develops infrastructure and outreach programs, and leads workshops aimed at

• developing and synthesizing knowledge on the use and value of current and improved weather forecast information;
• building a community of researchers and practitioners engaged in developing knowledge on societal aspects of weather forecast information;
• applying the knowledge developed to enhance weather policy-making, weather research, weather information development, and weather forecast information use.

To learn more about SIP, view the presentation at the NCAR directors' meeting.