WAYS TO MAKE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NPS AND NPF WORK MORE EFFECTIVELY

WAYS TO MAKE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NPS AND NPF WORK MORE EFFECTIVELY
Prepared by Glenn Eugster, NPS-NCR 9-17-02


Ongoing Activities
NPS-NCR has developed a positive and productive relationship with the National Park Foundation (NPF). Past activities that have contributed to our working relationship include:

Regular Dialogue: NCR regularly invites NPF to attend
Superintendent Cluster Meetings to discuss new programs, collaborative work, and topics of interest to NPS.

Collaborative Design: Everyone in the NCR fundraising
process is a participant and a designer. NCR and NPF have collaborated to design and create the Greater Washington National Parks Fund. The Fund provides an excellent framework for communication and collaboration, including:

· Parks Fund Council: The four elected superintendents and the Regional Director serve on the Council. The Council works directly with NPF’s designee, the Executive Director of the Fund, on the overall fundraising effort. Individual parks can continue to work with NPF on specific park fundraising initiatives.

· Consensus-building: Both in the design of the Fund, and while working on specific projects, NPF and NPS use a consensus-based approach to make collaborate and make fundraising decisions. The collaborative processes good ideas that are supported by NPS and NPF.

Training: NPS-NCR, NER and SER have worked with the
National Partnership Office and NPF this year to help share information on the art of partnering and fundraising within the National Park Service. The East Coast In-Park Partnership Seminar, held in May 2002, was used by NPS and NPF to share perspectives from the parks, park-partners, Regional Offices, Headquarters and the Hill on best practices and innovations.

· Park-Specific Fundraising: NCR and NPF are collaborating on park specific fundraising efforts related to the C&O Canal; the Monumental Core; NCR’s Tree & Shrub Replacement Fund; and the Georgetown Waterfront Park.





NPS Partnership Council: NCR and NPF, as well as park
superintendents, partnership coordinators, and national program managers, are working together on the newly created NPS Partnership Council. The 24-member Council, which includes all levels of NPS and NPF, is intended:

· To advise and make recommendations to the Associate Director, Partnerships, Volunteers, and Outdoor Recreation, on a range of issues related to partnerships; and

· To facilitate open communication and dialog among the field, regions, directorate, and the National Park Foundation, other foundations, friends groups and partners.

Specifically the Council is using a consensus-based approach to a variety of partnership activities, including the following key ingredients to fundraising.

· To help better define partnership and fundraising roles and responsibilities. Fundraising and partnerships require a strong role for parks, regions, headquarters and the Foundation;

· To revise Director’s Order #21; and

· To increase and improve communications between all levels of the NPS and NPF to help share success, keep people informed, and provide equal access to opportunities.


New Activities
Future activities that are being planned by NPS and NPF include:

Legal Framework: NCR and NPF are planning to discuss NPS
fundraising authorities and policies with the Department of Interior Solicitor’s Office to improve the overall understanding of NPF fundraising activities, the legal framework we work within, and the needs of the agency.

2. Ways to Help: NPF and NCR are planning to develop a brochure that will describe “10 Ways NPS Can Help NPF Fundraising for National Parks”. The pamphlet will outlines things that NPS can and should do to help NPF with fundraising (i.e. Interpreter’s could point visitors to NPF; update web-sites to improve recognition of NPS-NPF relationship; etc.).

3. Questions and Answers: NPS, regionally and nationally, and NPF have discussed developing a set of Questions and Answer (Q&A) handouts for important fundraising topics including the “Proud Partner Program”. Q&A handout of this type would focus on developing answers to frequently asked questions about current fundraising efforts. The answers in the handouts would be illustrated by examples of successful collaboration. This information, which will be widely shared, is likely to clarify existing policies, improve the overall understanding of current programs, and provide park managers and staff with consistent interpretations of what we can and can’t do with park partners.