The Impact-based Decision Support Services Professional Development Series: Unique Training to Improve Support to a Diverse Set of Partners (198)

Megan Taylor, University of Oklahoma-CIMMS/NWS Training Center, Kansas City, MO

Jeff Zeltwanger, National Weather Service Training Center

 

Abstract:

 

IDSS is key to building a Weather-Ready Nation and evolving the NWS. As the IDSS movement grew, the need arose for training to ensure NWS services were effective and consistent.

The NWS Learning Office spent the past couple years creating a comprehensive training program designed to help employees provide better IDSS to our partners remotely and onsite.

The training needed to be diverse in delivery to meet the educational needs of all employees who would complete it. The training needed to focus on a variety of communication techniques to accomplish the most effective weather and water messaging. Lastly, the training needed to focus on customized support services for a diverse group of partners.

The final curriculum is a three-tiered approach. The first tier is baseline IDSS training. This tier captures the diversity in partnerships across the agency and provides numerous skills to meet the needs of those partners. The second tier is for employees who wish to deploy onsite to support partners. This tier is highly experiential and includes the IDSS Deployment Boot Camp. The final tier (in development) will focus on specialized deployment experience.

Creating this training required exploring educational diversity - not everyone learns the same way, but everyone needed to walk away with the same skills. The team also had to consider diversity in communication both in how the trainees learned and in what tools they use to communicate with partners. Lastly, the IDSS training helps NWS employees provide effective support services to a diverse group of partners with a variety of needs and goals.

Numerous NWS employees report success using the tools from the training. The NWS Learning Office's IDSS Professional Development Series is a unique, comprehensive training program that helps NWS employees provide better IDSS, accomplish the NWS mission, and build a Weather-Ready Nation.