Federal Women’s Program Talking Points

Federal Women’s Program Talking Points


Glenn Eugster -- Assistant Regional Director, Partnerships Office, NPS, National Capital Region

20 min. presentation – 10 min. Q and A. == 30 min total

NCR Partnerships Office Purpose: To find ways to use

partnerships to help National Park Service (NPS) park and

program managers, and community leaders meet National, State and

local goals and objectives within the Potomac River watershed

and metropolitan Washington region.



I. Big picture: PARTNERSHIPS: ARE THEY essential to your work OR JUST ANOTHER FLAVOR OF THE MONTH?

PARTNERSHIPS, PARTNERSHIPS, PARTNERSHIPS…
LAST YEAR THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR SAID MANY TIMES THAT “THE FOUR C’S IS A GUIDE TO HOW I WANT INTERIOR TO MOVE FORWARD. THEY STAND FOR COMMUNICATION, CONSULTATION AND COOPERATION, ALL IN THE SERVICE OF CONSERVATION”. SHE GOES FURTHER TO SAY, “. THAT FOR CONSERVATION TO BE SUCCESSFUL, WE MUST INVOLVE THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE ON, WORK, ON, AND LOVE THE LAND.”

SHE HAS SAID, “WE ARE ON THE CUTTING EDGE (NOT A BUDGET JOKE) OF USING COLLABORATIVE AND COMMUNITY-BASED APPROACHES TO LAND MANAGEMENT”.

LAST MONTH DIRECTOR MAINELLA SENT A LETTER TO ALL NPS EMPLOYEES ON PARTNERSHIPS. SHE SAID, “PARTNERSHIPS ARE AN IMPORTANT TECHNIQUE USED IN PARKS, AND IN THE STATES, TERRIROTIES, TRIBAL LANDS, COMMUNITIES AND SPECIAL PLACES NATIONWIDE. THEY ARE INTEGRAL IN HOW WE PROVIDE SERVICES IN OUR NATURAL, CULTURAL AND RECREATIONAL PROGRAMS’.

YOU are, I BELIEVE, key to the long-term success of the PARK SERVICE. the question i’d like you to pONDER IS, ARE PARTNERSHIPS SOMETHING NEW, OR SOMETHING WE’VE ALWAYS RELIED ON? ARE THEY AN ENDURING APPROACH, OR SIMPLY A POLITICAL AGENDA OF THE TIMES? DO THEY HELP YOU OR ARE THEY AN ENERGY AND MONEY ZAPPER?

LET’S WAIT BEFORE WE ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS.

FIRST, WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT WHEN WE SAY PARTNERSHIPS?
If you saw the recent movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” you know

that the word partnership came from…..

CONTRARY TO WHAT THE GREEKS TELL YOU, “Partnership” ACTUALLY

comes from the Romans. Partnership in Latin is “Consortio” or

“Societas”, and it means “to enter into with a person”.

Partner in Latin is “Socius” OR “Particeps” and it

means “in marriage”.


But Glenn, what do the Greeks say, you ask? The Greek word for

partnership means “bond, collaboration, go into”

The Greek word for partner means “companion, dance, cards,

game”. Greeks enjoy life a little bit more than the rest of us,

right?


So what did we do to this fairly simple word here in the USA?

Let’s first break the word in half. In America, partner means:

Portion, group, subgroup, constituent.

Ship, the second part of the word, means: Quality, condition,

office, STATUS, period, tenure, individuals

of a group, and skill in a certain capacity.


Okay, so we put them together and what does partnership mean in

America, she asks? Partnership means:

Alliance, association, arrangement, affiliation,

bloc, connection, collaboration, company, cartel, co-op,

contract, compact, deal, fellowship, friendship,

federation, good-feeling, interest, mutual, pact, pool, sharing,

union, understanding, transaction and trust.


Partnerships are obviously a INHERNETLY LEAKY TERM THAT REMINDS

ME OF A PAPER ON LANDSCAPE INTERPRETATION BY D.W.MEINING.

MEINING WROTE,”THE BEHOLDING EYE: TEN VERSIONS OF THE SAME

SCENE” AND SAID, “THAT EVEN THOUGH WE GATHER TOGETHER AND LOOK

IN THE SAME DIRECTION AT THE SAME INSTANT, WE WILL NOT—WE

CANNOT—SEE THE SAME LANDSCAPE. WE WILL SEE MANY OF THE SAME

ELEMENTS, BUT SUCH FACTS TAKE ON MEANING ONLY THROUGH

ASSOCIATION; THEY MUST BE FITTED TOGETHER ACCORDING TO SOME

COHERENT BODY OF IDEAS”.

MEINING WENT FURTHER TO SAY, “ANY LANDSCAPE IS COMPOSED NOT
ONLY OF WHAT LIES BEFORE YOUR EYES BUT WHAT LIES WITHIN OUR
HEADS”. INTERESTING PAPER. IT COMPARES TEN SCENES OF THE SAME VIEW OF THE LANDSCAPE.

THE PERSPECTIVE IS RELEVANT FOR PARKS, PROGRAMS AND
PARTNERSHIPS. PARTNERSHIPS, LIKE THE SCENE THAT MEINING SPOKE OF WILL BE VIEWED DIFFERENTLY BY DIFFERENT PEOPLE, ORGANIZATIONS, GROUPS, AND INTERESTS.
WHEN YOU TALK WITH NPS PEOPLE THEY CONSTANTLY REFER TALK ABOUT M AND M'S RIGHT? MISSION AND MONEY? IT IS AN INCREDIBLY SIMPLE AND CREATIVE FORUMULA TO USE.

OUR JOB IS ALWAYS ABOUT MONEY RIGHT? OBVIOULSY MONEY IS IMPORTANT BUT FRANKLY IT'S NEVER ABOUT MONEY. HOWEVER, IT IS ALWAYS ABOUT PEOPLE, INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF NPS, AGREEING ON WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE, HOW IT'S TO BE DONE, AND WHEN.
IT'S INTERESTING HOW WHEN PEOPLE GET ON THE SAME PAGE, THE MONEY ALWAYS IS THERE.

NPS RECENTLY CREATED A NATIONAL PARTNERSHIP COUNCIL, TO HELP OUR LEADERS. IT IS FOUNDED ON SEVERAL KEY PRINCIPALS.
PARTNERSHIPS ARE A TECHNIQUE, NOT A PROGRAM.
THEY ARE A WAY THAT WE DO BUSINESS, NOT A BOX IN THE ORGANIZATION CHART.
THEY ARE RIGHT FOR SOME SITUATIONS, AND NOT APPROPRIATE FOR OTHERS.

PURPOSE: TO ADVISE THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, RESPONSIBLE
FOR PARTNERSHIPS, ON THE CREATION, DELIVERY AND EFFICIENT
USE OF PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMS, TOOLS AND IDEAS ACROSS

PROGRAM AND GEOGRAPHIC LINES.
MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ON TOPICS AND ISSUES
FACILITATE OPEN COMMUNICATION AND DIALOGUE AMONG THE FIELD, REGIONS, DIRECTORATE, NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION, AND OTHER PARK SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS.
GENERALLY WILL DEAL WITH EXISTING AND FUTURE POLICY OR ACTIONS THAT NEED TO BE IMPLEMENTED THROUGH THE LINE STRUCTURE OF THE NPS.
CONSISTS OF 24 MEMBERS, REPRESENTING ALL LEVELS OF THE ORGANIZATION—AND THE NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION, AND TWO EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS.
LEAD BY TWO CO-CHAIRS—ONE FROM THE REGIONS AND ONE FROM THE ASSOCIATES.
DECISION-MAKING BY CONSENSUS.

CURRENTLY LOOKING AT:
DEFINITION OF PARTNERSHIPS: THE COUNCIL DEVELOPED THE DIRECTOR’S LETTER DEFINTION “voluntary relationships that advance our respective missions by doing work collaboratively.”

DIRECTOR MAINELLA WENT FURTHER TO SAY---“In short, partnerships must be viewed in the context of “win-win”; they must be mutually beneficial to all participants. Truly effective partnerships are created not by control, but by an equal sharing of resources and common interests”.
THE COUNCIL IS ALSO LOOKING AT:
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
COMMUICATION STRATEGY
CAPACITY BUILDING, INCLUDING TRAINING, EDUCATION
RESOURCING PARTNERSHIP ACTIVITIES
PARTNERING WITH OUR PARTNERS
DIRECTOR’S ORDER 21 ON FUNDRAISING

YOU WILL HEAR A LOT MORE ABOUT PARTNERSHIPS AS THE DIRECTOR ADVOCATES THE ‘SEAMLESS SYSTEM OF PARKS AND SPECIAL PLACES IDEA, AND AS WE MAKE PLANS FOR THE NOVEMBER 17-21, 2003 NATIONAL PARTERNSHIPS CONFERENCE IN LOS ANGELES, CA. SEE INSIDE NPS.

THE COUNCIL HAS A THREE-YEAR SUNSET PROVISION.

NEXT MEETING IS MAY 2003. SEE YOUR REPRESENTATIVES FOR MORE INFORMATION.

ARE PARTNERSHIPS THE MEANS OR THE END? ALL DEPENDS ON YOUR VIEW AND WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH

What is it you want to do and how can partnership help?
Partnership is the tool, but what is the outcome you are using partners for? Where do you want to go and why? What does success LOOKS like? Partnerships are in the eyes of the beholder. Different people create partnerships for different reasons: money, political support, get new ideas, get help…etc.

USING A PARTNERSHIP REQUIRES that you know about the place you are interested in and the people who USE, MANAGE, ENJOY OR HAVE AN INTEREST within that place. Successful PARTNERSHIPS are almost always based on some type of planning--a formula for YOUR DECISION-MAKING.

How do you think decisions are made? What are the ingredients
of a good decision? What is your role in the decision making
process? How do you think things work? These are all questions
that are important to consider as you DECIDE WHETHER YOU WANT TO
PARTNER, AND IF SO, HOW YOU design your PARTNERSHIP.

Successful PARTNERSHIPS need a way--call it a model or a decision-making formula, for linking public desires, government policies, science and management. The formula is for understanding how a place, or a culture, works. It's a way to understand people's relationship with nature. It's a way to better understand a PARK, COMMUNITY, Watershed, OR REGION SO that you can ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS.

What formula do you use when you think about a strategy for YOUR AREA? Whether you know it or not, you have one. Whether you've written it down on paper or have it rambling around inside your head, you have a personal strategy or model that you use to do whatever you do. It's the way you think things work--or should work. It's the way you make decisions and get things done. Most of all it's an important part of your involvement in this effort.

Everyone WORKING IN PARKS, RECREATION OR CONSERVATION has their own approach. BE SURE TO BE ABLE TO ARTICULATE YOUR APPROACH AND ASK OTHERS TO SHARE THEIRS—IT’S A KEY IF YOU WANT TO PARTNER!


III. Framework: What works and does not work in partnerships?

FROM A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK CALLED RECONSTRUCTING CONSERVATION WITH ROLF DIAMANT, MARSH-BILLINGS-ROCK NHS; AND NORA MITCHELL, CONSERVATION STUDY INSTITUTE.

1. PARTNERSHIPS ARE always about people.

2. PARTNERSHIPS require good civics, as well as good information.

3. PARTNERSHIPS create a framework to integrate programs, interests, and points of view.

4. Multi-disciplinary approaches are used to understand landscapes and communities.

5. PARTNERS think one size larger.

6. Leadership is AT ALL LEVELS AND IS ALWAYS about collaboration.

7. PARTNERSHIP action is never just about money.

8. PARTNERSHIPS RELY ON BOTH design and discovery.

9. SUCCESS RESTS ON RESULTS

LET ME CLOSE BY SAYING THAT PERHAPS THERE ARE AS MANY VIEWS
OF PARTNERSHIPS AS THERE ARE VIEWS OF THE LANDSCAPE. PARTNERSHIPS AREN’T RIGHT FOR EVERY SITUATION. BUT THEIR WILL BE TIMES WHEN YOU LOOK AT A PROBLEM, AN OPPORTUNITY, OR A TASK AND SEE THAT:
1. PARTNERSHIPS ARE FUNDING
2. PARTNERSHIPS ARE COMMUNICATION
PARTNERSHIPS ARE INFORMATION
4. PARTNERSHIPS ARE PROJECTS
5. PARTNERSHIPS ARE LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS

THESE ARE BUT SOME THE VIEWS OF PARTNERSHIPS. ADD YOUR OWN
VIEWS AND MAY YOU HAVE CONTINUED SUCCESS IN YOUR WORK!
MOST IMPORTANTLY, WHEN YOU THINK OF PARTNERSHIPS remember THAT

THE KEY IS TO LISTEN AND BE HEARD. LET ME LEAVE YOU WITH A QUOTE THAT CAPTURES THIS BEST:
STUART COWAN, IN A BOOK CALLED “ECOLOGICAL DESIGN” WRITES, “LISTEN TO EVERY VOICE IN THE DECISIONMAKING PROCESS. NO ONE IS A PARTICIPANT ONLY OR A DECISIONMAKER ONLY. EVERYONE IS A PARTICIPANT-DECISIONMAKER. HONOR THE SPECIAL KNOWLEDGE THAT EACH PERSON BRINGS”.

CONTINUED SUCCESS IN YOUR WORK AND PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF THERE IS ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO HELP YOU.

THANK YOU!