WAS*IS: Building a community for integrating meteorology and social science

Weather and SocietyIntegrated Studies (WASIS) is a grassroots movement to change the weather enterprise by comprehensively and sustainably integrating social science into meteorological research and practice. WASIS is accomplishing this by establishing a framework for a) building an interdisciplinary community of practitioners, researchers, and stakeholders who are dedicated to the integration of meteorology and social science, and b) providing this community with a means to learn and further examine ideas, methods, and examples related to integrated weather-society work. In its first year, WASIS focused on achieving its mission primarily through several workshops. Between July 2005 and August 2006, there were three WASIS workshops with a total of 86 selected participants. The workshops focused on the following: laying the groundwork for conducting interdisciplinary work, teaching basic tools and concepts relevant to integrated weather-society efforts, using real-world examples to learn about effective integrated work, and developing opportunities and relationships for doing WASIS-type work. By emphasizing the importance of developing a lifelong cohort, as well as helping participants learn and apply social science tools and concepts, WASIS can address societal impacts of weather in powerful and sustained ways. This article discusses the need and motivation for creating WASIS; the development, scope, and implementation of WASIS through summer of 2006; and WASIS-related outcomes thus far, as well as future prospects of the WAS*IS movement.