"The Political Arena for NPS Partnerships."

"The Political Arena for NPS Partnerships."  

Glenn Eugster, Assistant Regional Director, Partnerships Office, National Park Service, National Capital Region, and Co-Chair, NPS Partnership Council

I. Background

J.F. Rench, a Republican strategist and old and very experienced precinct hack, once wrote, “While the people who run political campaigns complain most about their shortage of money, the first thing they run out of is time…to listen and to think”.

Often as we work in NPS parks and programs we often lament about we can’t do certain things because we don’t have the funds to hire, maintain, restore, plan, collaborate, partner, build, repair, or travel.  As the world inside and outside NPS becomes more fast-paced and complicated getting our work done in a quality manner presents new and different challenges.  All too often it is not only the work we have to do, but also how we chose to do it, that makes us successful or unsuccessful.

Experience shows us that working with partners, within or outside of NPS, expands our capabilities and challenges us to work better. Often, our most effective work results from this engagement with others, where the collective effort extends our reach and that of our collaborator.   

Time and “timing is everything” according to an old adage.  From the perspective of NPS park and program practice it is a particularly important time to step back and reflect on the recent trends and begin to describe a vision of partnerships for the future.

The new leadership of NPS is a very strong proponent of partnerships and will encourage a high level of outreach and collaborative work to promote our mission.  To achieve that level, we need to continue to hone our skills, learn from our success and evaluate our missteps.  In looking to the future, the Service has great potential to serve the public more effectively–as a steward, educator, environmental leader, and advocate for a nationwide parks, open space, and outdoor recreation network.  Energized by this vision, the NPS believes that the power of the park idea is its larger purpose--to create a citizenry committed to conserving its heritage and its home on earth.

This presentation will highlight the following guidance and principles for partnership work in and on NPS parks and programs.

II. Eight Ways of Working

1. Coalitions of Diverse Interests

2. Local Initiatives for Quality of Life

3. Democracy and Civic Dialogue

4. Recognition of Cultural Landscapes 

5. Place-based Education

6. A Framework for Multiple Objectives 

7. Entrepreneurial Models of Conservation Economics 

8. Measurement of Success

III. Three Cautionary Observations 

1. Tyranny of Small Solutions

2. Undervaluing the Relationship Between People and Their Landscape  

3. Home Rule and Fragmentation

IV. Eight Principles for NPS Park and Program Partnerships

The following principles illustrate four components of an evolving framework for partnerships– people, dialogue, and civil society; place knowledge; leadership; and creativity.

PEOPLE, DIALOGUE, AND CIVIL SOCIETY

1. Park and programs are always about people. 

2. Parks and program partnerships require good civics, as well as good information. 

3.  Park and program partnerships create a framework to integrate programs, interests, and points of view. 

PLACE KNOWLEDGE 

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

5.   Park and program advocates always think one size larger.  

LEADERSHIP

6. Park and program leadership is about collaboration.

7. Park and program action is never just about money

CREATIVITY

8. A Park and program partnership is both design and discovery. 

V. Conclusion

NPS park and program leaders are regularly challenged to continuously broaden their base and encourage an ongoing dialogue among people representing a wide variety of backgrounds and interests.  This dialogue can share conservation experiences working with wild lands and urban neighborhoods; public lands and private lands; tangible and intangible heritage; leisure and working landscapes; and the academy and practice.   Such dialogue will result in timely actions which use our time and money wisely.