NPS Partnership Council: Suggestions for Associate Director

NPS Partnership Council: Suggestions for Associate Director

October 3, 2003  Glenn Eugster, Partnerships Office, National Capital Region, National Park Service

1. Issues: State of Partnerships and Partnership Council(PC, Council)

• The Director’s interest in partnerships is appreciated and highly valued.

--Creating the Council 

--National conference

--Encouragement agency-wide

• Many priorities in NPS. 

--Joint Ventures dominates

--Other efforts

• Council not a priority for WASO and many members

--National program manager interest

--Fading regional and park interest

--WASO staff invisible.  No real partnership between regions and WASO.

--Joint Ventures and PC disconnected. No role for PC at the Joint Ventures Conference.

• Council members have limited time to pursue PC and their 

normal activities

--PC was envisioned to be in partnership with WASO.  Over the year the headquarters assistance has disappeared.  

• Parks, regions and service centers have expectations/ 

hopes for their investment of partnership money 

and time.  Partnerships, within the WASO Office and the Partnerships Council, need to do more to help these offices help themselves.

• Modest accomplishments with Partnership Council 

--No WASO support for the Near-term Action Strategy approved in April

--Past Associate commitments unkept and expectations unmet.

--No WASO support on the FY 2004-05 budget for partnerships

--No progress to make NPF effective in helping the parks and regions with fundraising for NPS priorities.

• Pressing problems and great opportunities for NPS partnerships.

--NPF is redesigning their assistance to NPS.

--Significant NPS park-partner interest being shown

II. Suggestions for WASO

• Follow-up on commitments in time, words and deeds

--Near-term Action Strategy

--Associate Director’s List

--Budget Workgroup for 04-05

• Provide staff to the Partnership Council

--Dedicate staff to help the Council.  Don’t make us beg for help.

--Make the twice a year meetings a priority with your staff

• National Partnership Office: It’s broke, fix it!

--Fill the Office position with an Acting immediately (this was done for Tourism, why not Partnerships?)

--Find the best person you can for the Office Director job and get them on quickly.

--Make the office functional with a clear list of what you can do and can’t do.  Eliminate so much trial and error.

--Create a better image with a webpage and some information on NPS Partnerships—see the draft paper the Council did 11/2 years ago and hasn’t been used.

--Do periodic communications on substance of what you do, either on the web or through conference calls, once a month.