Partnerships: Downtown DC

Partnerships: Downtown DC
Glenn Eugster, Assistant Regional Director, Partnerships
Program, National Capital Region, National Park Service
Facility Managers Workshop, Ocean City, MD, June 14, 2001

Background: Positions in a variety of local, state and federal government agencies looking at ways to integrate parks, green space, economic development and regeneration and cultural resource conservation and interpretation.
Scranton, PA Metropolitan region
Blackstone Valley, RI and MA
Wheeling, WV
Annapolis, MD
President's Council for Sustainable Development: Metropolitan & Rural Strategies

NPS Mission:
To preserve unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.
To cooperate with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout the country and the world.

Partnerships Office Purpose: to find ways to use partnerships to help NPS park and program managers, and community leaders meet national, state and local goals and objectives within the NCR/ Potomac river watershed.

Definition: Partnerships can be very different collaborations. Rely on the definitions and concepts developed by the management Institute for Environment & Business. A partnership typically refers to any voluntary collaboration among individuals or organizations working toward a common objective.

A partnership builds synergistically on the time, talent, and support of all partners to mutual benefit and interest.
When it works it's a win/ win proposition--everyone contributes and benefits by participating.

In it's simplest form, partnerships are another way to help us help ourselves to accomplish our mission. It's a means to an end and it can result in:

A shared purpose
Increased resources
Shared efficiency
Innovative solutions
Better communication
Increased support from within and outside the agency
Increased organization morale and image

Forms: There are many forms that partnerships can take. For example you can:
Respond to a group you know well
Respond to a group that you have not previously worked with
Target an opportunity and make a proposal to a group
Initiate a proactive opportunity by identifying a task or issue and issuing a call for assistance

Partnership Capital: partnerships bring resources to help accomplish tasks including:
Friends: co-workers, other offices, other agencies, government, corporations, companies and non-profit groups that may be interested in the same goals and objectives we are.

A high profile platform, that is both unique and desirable, to many possible partners--National Parks and the National Park Service and the Greater Washington Area! Our region, parks, expertise and image attract partners that can help us help ourselves.

A way for our managers and knowledge workers to more effectively deal with the pace of change, the constantly increasing demand for information, and the growing complexity of the workplace--forces that are stretching people to their limits.

A tool to manage complex relationships and ensure that our mission, and yours, will be achieved.

Core Ingredients:
Seriousness of purpose on the part of all participants.
An identifiable relationship between partnership goals and each organization's goals.
Joint and full participation of each organization in the partnership's activities.
A sustained level of mutual effort.


NCR Partnership Activities:
Heritage Tourism

Fundraising: Greater Washington National Parks Fund

Alternative Fuel Vehicles: Training, Demonstration and Collaboration

Parks, green space and recreation demonstration project

Specific Park Friends Groups and Actions


NPS Structure:

Regional Director
Deputy for Filed Operations
Deputy for State, Local and Private Sector Activities (Communications; Community Outreach; Risk Management; Partnerships)
US Park Police
White House Liaison
National Capital Support Office (Operations; Lands, Resources & Planning; Natural Resources; Administration)
Parks (14)

Closing:

If you have an interest in working with NPS please let me know.

For Further Information:
Glenn Eugster, NPS-NCR, 1100 Ohio Drive, SW Room 350
Washington, DC 20242
(202) 619-7492 phone
(202) 619-7220 fax
glenn_eugster@nps.gov