Education and Outreach Aspects of NIDIS

1
Education and Outreach Aspects ofNIDIS

• National Integrated Drought Information System
  Workshop Longmont, CO
• September, 21-22 2006

2
Education and Outreach
Initial thoughts from the breakout

• Marketing of ideas is an essential element of any
  new enterprise
• Outreach is as important as research, monitoring
  and development
• RECOMMENDATION Full time position strictly
  devoted to public outreach and feedback
• For continuing relevancy the user community must
  be fully and actively engaged
• User input should help guide research and
  development agenda
• Impact on social and economic sectors is a
  measure of the effectiveness of our efforts

3
Outreach (discussion highlights)

• To be effective, participation in social,
  economic and policy networks is critical
• Listening and acting more important than telling
  and acting (and then assuming)
• Continuous two way communication essential
• Identify and proactively engage key stakeholders
  and partners
• They carry the message to the vast user community
  and policy makers
• Extension services, emergency managers and media
• State, local and tribal government agencies
• Researchers and the climate change community
• They can break technical language barriers and
  develop trust in local or known partners
• Input from users key to developing metrics for
  success

4
Education (discussion highlights)

• Formal
• Interdisciplinary instruction (to establish
  awareness of complexity of drought as a
  phenomenon)
• K-12
• university students
• teachers/instructors
• promoting peer review of research
• Use what already works as a model (example OK
  Mesonet teacher training)

5
Education (discussion highlights)

• Informal
• Professional public relations i.e. keep it
  simple science
• policy makers (Congress, state legislatures,
  counties and cities)
• The terms NIDIS and Drought should garner
  attention with respect to budget development
• decision makers (business, all levels of
  government)
• federal/state/university extension units
• interdisciplinary peer fields

6
Education and Outreach
Final thoughts from the breakout

• Do not reinvent the wheel
• Many success stories already (RISAs, COMET
  training, etc)
• Take account of successful outreach and feedback
• Interdisciplinary approach to all facets of E O
• Social, economic and physical experts all equal
  and must work closely together
• Do not use a one size fits all approach
• Governments, drought issues, and needs vary
  immensely across the CONUS, efforts must be made
  to make it regionally and locally relevant

7
Education and Outreach
Final thoughts from the breakout

• The public wants information from an national
  authoritative body
• NIDIS should be the official go to place for
  drought information in the public and medias
  mind
• RECOMMENDATION Brand a National Drought Center
• Use National Hurricane Center as a model
• Should have a combined Federal and non-Federal
  presence