National Park Service Partnerships

National Park Service Partnerships
Draft
Prepared by the Partnerships Paper Workgroup
January 26, 2003

Background: This paper is a summary of discussions that have gone on since October 2001 regarding the use of partnerships within the National Park Service (NPS). NPS managers and staff, at all levels of the agency within the parks, regional offices, service centers, and headquarters, use partnerships to carryout the agency Mission and its related responsibilities. Partnerships are an important technique that are used in parks, and in the states, territories, Tribal lands, communities and special places nationwide--and globally, that we provide services to through our natural, cultural and recreational programs.

Last year a NPS regional partnership leader proposed that the Regional Office Partnership Coordinators, National Program Offices, and the National Partnership Office work more as a functional service-wide team to help outline what needs to be done to advance partnerships within NPS and how to do it.

The regional proposal stressed that it is an appropriate time to share ideas about partnership activities. For example, over the last year NPS has gotten good insights from the recent Office of Management & Budget inventories on partnership activities; has begun dialogue on partnership training priorities; and several regions and program offices are working on related initiatives. It is believed that partnership offices, and programs that rely on partnerships, are separately doing good things but are not working together, nor sharing best practices and opportunities the way they could be.

It is important to note that this draft paper is for discussion purposes and is intended for internal purposes only. The draft paper is viewed as a way to facilitate dialogue about partnerships and set an appropriate direction for the future use of this approach. The paper has not had broad-based input or review from inside or outside NPS at this time.


Introduction: National parks, and the special places managed by Tribal, state and local entities and non-profit friends, together as a system of parks and conservation areas protect nature and culture, provide recreational opportunities, and preserve our heritage. In doing so, parks and conservation areas provide context and meaning to our lives as citizens. They instill a sense of appreciation for our democracy, stimulate pride in our country, and strengthen our connections to the natural world and our history in that world. Thus, parks and conservation areas contribute greatly to the quality of life on which our individual and collective health and well being depend.

Despite the diversity of conservation assistance and land management activities it conducts, NPS can not protect parks and conserve special places alone. The Service relies on a strategy that recognizes that park protection and conservation is a shared responsibility. NPS and our local, Tribal, state, federal, and private sector partners understand that it is only through our combined efforts that we can help our society to succeed in passing on unimpaired to future generations the national system of parks and special places we together manage and enjoy. Our most effective work results from engagement with others, where the collective effort extends the reach of all.

NPS leadership strongly encourages a new level of outreach and collaborative work to promote our collective local, state, and federal mission--"The NPS preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education and inspiration of this and future generations. The NPS cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout the country and the world".

By continuing collaboration and partnerships, the Service can strive to serve the public more effectively as a steward, educator, environmental leader, and advocate for a visionary nationwide system of local, state, and federal parks and conservation areas. Such as system can link parks, open space, outdoor recreation areas, communities and other special places and organize them through cooperation, consultation, and communication into a vibrant park and conservation network. Energized by this vision, NPS believes that the power of the park and conservation idea lies in its larger purpose--to create a citizenry that understands and serves as a steward of our heritage and our home on earth.


Existing NPS Policy on Partnerships: NPS has adopted a policy statement on partnerships. The policy, described in Section 1.9 of the NPS "Management Policies 2001", applies only to the management of the National Park System.

Other guidance documents address the many NPS partnership activities that extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world. Other partnership guidance documents are being summarized in the long-anticipated Part 2 of the Management Policies titled "Management of National Park Service Programs." Part 2 will focus on program activities such as Rivers and Trails, National Register of Historic Places, and the Land and Water Conservation Fund Program.


NPS Partnership Definition: The NPS Partnership Paper Workgroup describes partnerships as “voluntary relationships through which each member of the relationship advances its own mission by working collaboratively with others to achieve congruent and overlapping objectives”.

Workgroup members believe that partnerships are created and used to:

Improve and, or, sustain resource conditions.

Improve service to the community by developing programs,
providing new opportunities to experience the parks, and other important places in communities.

Encourage collaboration among park and recreation systems
at every level--international, federal, regional, state, local--to make the nations park, open space, historic place and outdoor recreation network accessible to all.

Supplement funds appropriated by Congress, through the
assistance of the National Park Foundation, friends groups and other public and private sources.

Build the capacity of all partners to shape their own futures.

Recognize parks as unique places for research and learning.

Communicate to residents and visitors alike about the
extensive system of State, local, National parks and conservation areas and how those resources directly impact the quality of their life.

Inform and motivate the public to help ensure long-term
protection of resources under the care of the parks in this local, state, Tribal, and federal system of parks and conservation areas.

Assist communities with the preservation of historic
places, open space, natural areas, and recreation resources outside of the national parks through a variety of partnership-based programs.


Action: NPS is working through park, community, Tribal, state, regional, national and international partnerships to achieve this collective vision for the parks and special places of America and the world. NPS expects to expand the number and circle of friends working with us to:

Care for the special places of the National Park System.

Care for the special places managed by Tribal, state and local entities and non-profit friends that complement, and are complemented by, our resources.

Share our inspiring stories through education, interpretation and dialogue.

Use these stories and their context to help people feel more connected to these special places.

Engage people in the preservation of important places in their communities, including parks, historic places, open spaces, natural areas, and recreation resources.

Engender communities that feel responsibility for helping shape the future of parks and that, at the same time, draws on the experiences available in parks to help shape their futures as communities.


By working in partnerships, National Park Service park, regional, and Washington office personnel will encourage the network of park and partner organizations to:

Provide the best possible service to citizens who use, live within, visit, and benefit from these parks and special places.

Collaborate with international, federal, state, Tribal, and local governments, private organizations, and businesses to preserve the nation's natural and cultural heritage and provide for outdoor recreation.

Reach-out to citizens and find ways to involve them in the decisions and actions needed to keep this system of parks and special places unimpaired for the enjoyment of present and future generations of people.

Share technical information and expertise both within the system of parks and with the network of public and private land managers in the broader landscapes within which the parks occur.


Why Partnerships? There are many reasons why NPS staff and managers and their partners choose to work together to accomplish overlapping goals. In many cases partnerships will:

Improve Effectiveness: Each partner will be better able to achieve its mission by working with a variety of other organizations and agencies to solve problems, share ideas, pool resources, and share responsibilities.

Increase Efficiency: Partnerships can help share information and intentions to reduce the timeframe needed to implement critical plans, lower execution costs, and reduce expected resistance by affected stakeholders.

Enhance Equity: Higher levels of participation through partnerships tend to improve the equity inherent in collaboration and enhance the perception of fairness and impartiality.

Fulfill Missions More Effectively: Partnerships offer unique access to organizations that have similar interests.

Gain Access to a Larger Resource Base: Working through partnerships gives each organization expanded access to resources of other partner organizations.

Increase Predictability: Partnerships help avoid surprises and disputes that delay core operations or lead to litigation.

Increase Public Support: When partnerships expand participation to include others, the process and the partners tend to have more credibility with the public.

Improve Employee Morale and Public Attitudes:
Partnerships that involve employees and employees, stakeholders, and other members of the public in the decision-making process enhance skills and morale of all participants, thus improving the performance of individuals, groups and agencies.


Future of Partnerships: NPS park, regional, service center, and headquarter offices will explore further use of partnerships to:

Create a NPS Partnership Council and charge them with
making recommendations to the Associate Director, Cultural Resource Stewardship & Partnerships on the creation, delivery and efficient use of partnership programs, tools, and ideas across NPS program and geographic lines;

Facilitate regional and national dialogue and the
exchange of ideas about the art of partnering, friends-raising, and fundraising to help achieve the protection of parks and other special places;

Develop, agree on, approve and publicize a NPS Management
Policy on partnerships.

Clarify, agree on, approve and publicize the
partnership roles and responsibilities at every level of the organization.

Refine and enhance the current management structure that
supports park employees in their partnership relationship building and managing activities; and

Prepare a partnership “direction-setting” document that
will be used to guide partnership activities, define the next “plateau” for the NPS to reach for in the realm of partnerships, and inspire action at all levels of the agency and from park and program partners.

Provide an “action plan” and schedule, with broad-based
agency input and support, for increasing Federal and non-Federal partnerships. This could include, but is not limited to, options such as partnering with: business schools to create business plans and enhance park management entrepreneurial skills; private sector organizations to broaden the housing program; science researchers in academia, US Geological Survey, and Fish & Wildlife Service to increase the usable knowledge available to park managers throughout the state, local, Tribal, and federal network; other countries to arrange for international exchanges; private and non-profit organizations to expand the cooperative use of historic and other structures through leasing arrangements; and education organizations to provide interpretive and educational materials and programs to learners of all ages and in every place.

Deepen the understanding of our park employees and
program managers about how to develop, maintain, and effectively use these types of relationships in park and community settings through training, dialogue, information and peer exchanges;

Assess the most cost and time-effective way to measure
the success of partnerships by assembling information about selected existing partnerships, financial benefits they generate, other intangible benefits they generate, and what partners they benefit. Develop a partnership reporting system starting with the FY 2003 budget process, assess the results, and determine future reporting activities.


For Further Information: For more information about NPS partnership activity contact:

National Partnership Office:

Chris Niewold, NPS-National Partnership Office (202) 354-2188
By e-mail: Christopher_Niewold@nps.gov


NPS Partnership Council Contacts:

J. Glenn Eugster, Regional Co-Chair (202)619-7492
By e-mail: Glenn_Eugster@nps.gov

Brian O’Neill, Co-Chair (202)208-4829
By e-mail: Brian_O’Neill@nps.gov