NWA Strategic Planning Committee - 2006 Activities

NWA STRATEGIC PLANNING COMMITTEE
2006 Activities

(Helping the Council develop the Annual Plan)

The following recommendation was approved by the NWA Council at the 2005 Annual Meeting.

Proposed NWA Plan Structure

The President for 2006, David I. Knapp, with the consent of the Council developed the Annual Plan for 2006 which was printed in the May 2006 NWA Newsletter.

2006 Annual Plan…

Last year, the Strategic Planning Committee was tasked to develop a detailed long-term Operating Plan with specific recommended actions and focus areas associated with each item in the Strategic Plan. From this Operating Plan master list, the NWA Council has selected specific items to address this year, thus forming the 2006 Annual Plan. I am pleased to present the plan below, noting that many of the items listed are directly related to our 2006 theme: "Working Together to Support Our Customers." An abbreviated version of each Strategic Goal (SG) is listed, with 2006 Annual Plan (AP) action items appearing afterwards. All members are most welcome to comment on these and especially to provide help in accomplishing the actions.

SG 1: Increase size/diversity of NWA membership
AP 1a: Investigate establishing a headquartered Communications Coordinator position to handle publicity, marketing, outreach, internal and external communications, and publications.
AP 1b: Upgrade the NWA Home Page.

SG 2: Forge a leadership role in technical training
AP 2a: Repackage/rename the list of upcoming meetings as Professional Development Opportunities.
AP 2b: Do likewise on the NWA Web site, renaming the link to "Upcoming Meetings and Professional Development Opportunities" and also include a redundant link for "Professional Development Opportunities."
AP 2c: Assign specific committees to take on lead roles in technical training tasks for their respective specialty areas.

SG 3: Become a leader in the development of NWA policy statements
AP 3: Finalize, approve, implement, and publish advocacy and position statement guidelines.

SG 4: Focus on promoting new forecast techniques and technology
AP 4: Target the academic and research communities, including graduate students, to present ‘state of the operational forecast science’ papers in NWA publications and at meetings.

SG 5: Facilitate public-sector and private-sector meteorology interactions
AP 5a: Develop and implement a public-sector and private-sector discussion forum on the NWA Web site
AP 5b: Invite Newsletter articles from the private sector
AP 5c: Assign appropriate committees to foster and report on at least one public-sector/private-sector interaction success during the year.

SG 6: Make Annual Meetings the premier forum for operational meteorology topics
AP 6a: Publicize this meeting and the call for papers in every possible outlet.
AP 6b: Establish liaison and more formal structure for interaction and exchange between the NWA and other professional organizations.

SG 7: Foster increased cooperation between the operational and academic/research communities
AP 7a: Identify and implement incentives to involve students within the organization.
AP 7b: Search outside the NWA domain for collaborative/cooperative opportunities.

SG 8: Improve organizational infrastructure
AP 8a: Document/prioritize volunteer and staff duties.
AP 8b: Review Web site quarterly; continually improve presentation and graphics.

SG 9: Enhance the quality and readership of NWA publications
AP 9a: Publish more National Weather Digest issues this year to eliminate a current backlog of articles and determine a set schedule for the future.
AP 9b: Advertise the Electronic Journal of Operational Meteorology regularly in the Newsletter and through other trade and professional publications.
AP 9c: Hire a part-time Publisher/managing editor for the Digest.

SG 10: Ensure the NWA’s financial stability and planning
AP 10a: Perform a detailed audit of NWA finances, budget, and financial practices as a baseline for future financial decisions.
AP 10b: Develop annual budget for 2007 and receive Council approval by January 2007.

SG 11: Develop leadership and succession planning
AP 11a: Develop a succession plan for the NWA headquarters staff.
AP 11b: Document and prioritize activities/deadlines of NWA operations
AP 11c: Consider expanding the role of the Vice President to include oversight of Annual Meeting planning, publicity, and coordination, working with the local meeting arrangement team.
AP 11d: Review progress on the Strategic Plan annually, and report to the membership in the President’s address at the Annual Meeting.

We realize the Annual Plan is rather extensive and thorough, and our goal was to create an annual plan that included measurable and attainable goals that will move us forward during the year. A few of the annual plan actions have been accomplished, while others are underway or still need to be addressed. We’ll be discussing Annual Plan status during our midyear Council meeting in June, and I plan on reporting on the overall status to the membership at the 2006 Annual Meeting in Cleveland. - Dave Knapp (president@nwas.org)

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