The AMS Planning Commission is currently leading an effort with the Executive Committee and the Council to prepare a vision of the Society in ten years. This ten-year vision is intended to provide a guide to the directions the Society should be moving so that it is in a position to serve the changing profession.

At its September meeting, the Council spent considerable time working on the ten-year vision study and came to several broad conclusions:

At this time, the Planning Commission is studying a variety of issues gathering information, assessing trends, and trying to develop some sense of what the future will hold. Under the broad categories listed below are some of the questions the Planning Commission hopes to address. We invite all AMS members to provide additional input to this study. You can help the Planning Commission in its efforts by sending e-mail with your concerns, comments, and suggestions to the following address: AMSVision@ametsoc.org.

Dissemination of scientific information

• Are the current journals adequately covering the subject areas that are shaping the science?
• Should the journals routinely be delivering nonprintable scientific content (animations, etc.) as part of their electronic version?
• Should the AMS create a new publication that is specifically aimed at nonprofessional weather enthusiasts?
• Does the AMS need to create a new publication, which might be quite different than a traditional journal, to serve those providing technical support to the profession (programmers, instrument technicians, etc.)?
• How can the AMS take advantage of electronic dissemination to better serve the goals of scientific meetings (online meetings, satellite conferencing, etc.)?
• How can the AMS foster more interdisciplinary activities at its conferences and meetings?
• Will international meetings become more important?
• Is there a completely new structure for meetings that will better serve the needs of the science?
• What role can meetings play in providing better service to the applied sectors of the Society?
• Can regional meetings be used effectively to serve some sectors?

Structure of the Society

• What new services should be added to better serve the growing private sector professionals in the community?
• What can be done to provide more service to the operational community?
• With the increasing interdisciplinary scope of the research in the earth system, how can the research sector the Society intends to serve by defined?
• Should the certification programs of the Society be expanded or modified?
• What role should the AMS take in continuing education?
• Should the AMS continue to increase its efforts in scholarship and fellowship activities?
• How much effort should the AMS put into career guidance and employment information?
• What role should local chapters of the AMS play in the future?
• How can the Society be as inclusive as possible among the various research, operational, and professional components of the atmospheric, oceanic, and hydrologic sciences and services to maintain broad representation?
• Do the classes of membership in the Society need to be adjusted?
• Can the Society increase its service to oceanography and hydrology?
• Should the AMS seek to lead in the emerging areas of operational oceanography and hydrology?
• Should the AMS actively seek to partner with other earth science societies nationally and internationally?
• Is the present governance structure adequate?
• Does the organizational structure (such as the STAC structure, for example) need to be changed?
• Will volunteers be easier to count on with more retired professionals available or will it become harder to secure volunteer effort as the demands on those currently working increases?
• How will the staff structure of the AMS need to change to carry out its changing activities?

Outreach

• Should the AMS increase or decrease its activities in K-12 education?
• Should the AMS increase or decrease its activities in public and popular education?
• To what extent should the AMS seek to serve weather enthusiasts?
• To what extent should the AMS seek to provide educational services to the government officials in order to help them make informed policy decisions?
• What role should the AMS take in international policy issues related to environmental concerns or data exchange issues?
• Should there be a consortium of earth science societies nationally to provide stronger voice than one society can manage?
• Should there be a international federation of meteorological societies?
• Should the Society proactively seek to engage the providers and the users of weather information in dialogue?
• What can be done to take maximum advantage of the direct link broadcast meteorologists provide between the profession and the public?
• Should local chapters play a more significant role in the Society's outreach activities?

Woven into the Council discussion was recognition that to do more activities requires additional resources. Thus, there was considerable attention to the need to develop priorities among the many activities the Society could pursue in the coming years, as well as looking at mechanisms that would increase revenue, such as changing the dues structure. Input from the membership on this aspect of the study is also especially welcome.