Empowering Collaborative Stewardship · Day 1--November 15, 2011 . ... citizen engagement, broadens the population we reach, promotes conservation leadership across the landscape

Empowering Collaborative Stewardship

Initial Work Products and Proposed Next Steps

Opening Remarks and Introductions

Leslie Weldon, Regional Forester, R1

Tony Tooke, Director, Ecosystem Management Coordination

Joe Meade, Director, National Partnership Office

Day 1--November 15, 2011

Empowering Collaborative Capacity

DAY 1: Nov. 15, 2011 Opening Remarks

Initial Assessment: Where are we now?

Near-Term Strategy: An Overview

Tools 1 Collaboration Primer

FACA “Easy Button”

Transition Memo

Discussion

Closing Comments

DAY 2: Nov. 16, 2011 Opening Remarks

Tools 2 E-Collaboration tips

After-Action-Review tools

Renovated PRC website

Mapping Collaborative Efforts

Long-Term Strategy A Collaborative Vision

How to Get Involved

Closing Comments

Welcome to the National Forest Foundation Web Conference Room!

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Try out the web chat function.

The session is being recorded, so we’ll be able to provide a web link afterward in case you want to revisit it or share it with someone who wasn’t able to be on the call today.

Please take a few minutes to fill out the anonymous, online evaluation that will appear when the meeting ends.

Empowering Collaborative Stewardship Webinar: Initial Assessment of Collaboration Capacity

Day 1--November 15, 2011

Initial Assessment of Capacity and Challenges to Collaboration

The initial assessment focused on:

How the agency currently uses collaboration.

Limiting and supporting factors of collaboration.

Opportunities to expand collaboration.

Ripple of Collaboration

Current Use of Collaboration

We found 4 ways that the agency engages in collaboration:

Integrated into ways of doing business.

Informal project-level collaboration.

Agency Initiatives.

Convened by others.

Elements of an Agency Vision for Collaboration

The Forest Service uses collaboration, where appropriate, to achieve:

Improvements in the way the agency operates and makes decisions.

Enhanced relationships between the agency and its stakeholders.

Meaningful changes on the ground.

Limiting Factors To Forest Service Use of Collaboration

Limited dispersal of collaboration skills throughout the agency.

Different interpretations of what collaboration means and involves.

Limited time and resources.

Limited awareness of available resources.

Agency structures and procedures that are out of alignment with collaboration processes.

Organizational culture.

Supporting Factors To Forest Service Use of Collaboration

People

Time

Funding

Organizational Systems

Tools

Documents

Technical Assistance

Opportunities for Expanding Collaboration

We believe we could do more in these areas:

Project level

Recreation Planning and OHV

Across Deputy Areas

Large Scale landscape initiatives with other agencies

In the NEPA Process

Working with Tribes

Monitoring

Opportunities for Expanding Collaboration

We believe we could do more in these areas (continued):

Program and Project Evaluation

Performance Indicators for Assessment, Collaboration and Monitoring.

Land Management Planning and Amendments

Partnerships with Community Based Groups

Translating Consensus Agreements into Implementation

On-going Assessment Work 2012

Mapping where collaboration is happening with basic descriptors (more tomorrow).

Describing key attributes of successful collaborative efforts.

Synthesizing the Communities Report which focuses on the long-term role of collaboration in federal land management.

Connecting with others doing similar work to further describe assessment needs.

On-Going Assessment Work

Tapping into the many sources focusing on the role of the Forest Service in collaboration and what makes federal land management collaborative efforts successful.

Communities Report

The Utilization of Collaborative Processes in Forest Planning (Burns/Cheng)

Collaboration Action Team Report (2008)

Initial Assessment

Where is Collaboration Happening?

Coming Soon

Based on this initial assessment, four Dimension Groups have evolved. Their work will be shared today and tomorrow.

Connecting with other practitioners. Tomorrow we’ll explore fostering a community of practice.

Near-Term Strategy for Fostering Forest Service Capacity for Citizen and Civic Engagement

What’s been done so far in response to the assessment results?

Resources for Empowering Collaborative Stewardship

Near-Term Strategy

Builds on assessment results shared at 2011 Workshop

Category: Processes

What approaches are most common?

What existing resources could bolster collaborative capacity?

Category: Skills

What’s the core skill set? (e.g., basic business acumen, active listening, understanding expectations, and relationship-science)

What motivates use of those and other collaborative skills?

Category: Constraints

What gets in the way? (e.g., outcome evaluation, policy constraints, time investment, external expectations, funding)

What gets in the way because it’s a gap or under-utilized opportunity?


Near-Term Strategy

Initial “Pathway to the Future” sets stage for Long-term

Vision: Create immediate momentum and bring already-ripe opportunities to fruition.

Goal: Bring existing efforts “to scale” necessary for “all lands” approach.

Plan: Establish four clustered “dimensions” workgroups

Leadership – Setting the course

Policies and Practices – Reinforcing that course

Relationships – Getting and giving help

Learning – Staying nimble

Leadership

Policies

Relationships

Learning


Near-Term Strategy

Key Points:

“Dimensions” term—Workgroups part of single effort, not a silo

Near-term work would grow “Long-Term” strategy—Only after broader engagement

Even the initial “long-term” FS strategy would have to invite ownership by those beyond the FS

Same tension between traditional leadership and collaborative leadership faced by every other collaborative effort

Today: Introduce products from Near-Term Strategy

Tomorrow: Introduce ideas about Long-Term Strategy


Near-Term Strategy

What did we do?

Dimension workgroups

Self-structured

Coordinating Committee

Reached across agency and out to some partners

Mostly known champions and innovators

Knowing we could never reach everyone, but always listening for how to reach more as we continue

Aim was to seek solid contribution, not consensus or concurrence


Near-Term Strategy

Leadership Dimension

Task: Inspiring, crystallizing, and orchestrating a leadership ethic for the 21st Century that models shared leadership, promotes civic and citizen engagement, broadens the population we reach, promotes conservation leadership across the landscape of interests, and establishes quality measures in support of social engagement.

Short-term actions:

Engaging Associate Chief in framing this effort, connecting others

Increasing inclusiveness with additional Line and Tribal stakeholders

Ensuring work is communicated and shared openly and inclusively

Working with senior-, middle-, and early-leader programs to connect collaboration and this effort with future leadership


Near-Term Strategy

Policy and Practices Dimension

Task: (a) Identify policies, practices, and structures—at multiple levels—that either foster or hinder collaborative capacity with respect to internal and external entities, including tribal relations personnel; (b) Promote or develop actions or strategies to foster collaborative capacity through policy and practices.

Short-term actions:

Develop rollout plan for FACA “Easy Button” (crosses with Learning)

Conduct employee sensing on challenges to collaboration (building on existing efforts where possible) or an assessment of capacity

Explore the possibility of using a GIS map to show and describe existing collaboration

Help complete the Communities Report


Near-Term Strategy

Relationship Dimension

Task: Enable, expand, and cultivate respectful, enduring, and emergent relationships to inspire and co-create collaborative capacity and successful outcomes.

Short-term actions:

Produce and share example of existing “handover” memo guidance

Consult with an expanded group of interested stakeholders and personnel to understand and provide feedback on existing transition management processes.

Refresh the “handover memo” and accompanying guidance.

Document examples of excellence in managing transitions in a way that fosters civic and citizen engagement capacity that may emerge in carrying out these tasks.


Near-Term Strategy

Learning Dimension

Task: Build mechanisms or processes to capture and transmit lessons learned about experiences with civic engagement—including public participation, collaboration, and consultation—to perform the agency mission (e.g., training opportunities, electronic tools, and assessment tools and strategies).

Short-term actions:

Complete renovation of Partnership Resource Center

Deliver After-Action-Review (AAR) tool and guide adapted to collaboration and other public involvement efforts

Deliver a FACA “Easy Button” and work with the Policies and Practices Dimension Group to develop a rollout plan

Produce “tips and guidelines” for using e-Collaboration technology


Near-Term Strategy

We are excited for Dimension Workgroup members to share the work of these amazing people!

And we look forward to continued dialogue on where we might head as an agency and a community in this realm of collaborative capacity.

Collaboration: Getting Started

Orientation to Brief Primer


What is Collaboration?

A process, a way of doing business

People learning AND working together

Bringing people together to find differences—in skills, insights, resources, or power—that can be leveraged on behalf of the community to address challenges

Share and LEVERAGE knowledge, ideas, and resources

Address clearly-defined common goals and objectives.

KEY: Collaboration is pragmatic; it’s about getting things done on the ground


A Collaborative Process

Seeks a shared understanding of challenge and desired outcomes from multiple perspectives

Fosters an appropriate environment to address challenges

Learning: Look to learn what’s appropriate for participants, other stakeholders, and other aspects of the situation

Leveraging: Create capacity to get things done

Living With: Create “willingness to live with”

Long-Term: Establish basis to learn from others and change when appropriate


A Collaborative Process may have…

… multiple goals (e.g., relationship-building to collaborative learning to multiparty monitoring)

… informal or formal activities (i.e., it depends on what’s appropriate for situation and participants)

… activities that are not collaborative (e.g., technical evaluations that inform the larger collaborative effort)

… some stakeholders—maybe even some participants—who still prefer to work in adversarial ways (i.e., its not “all or nothing”)


Why use a collaborative process?

When you need a way forward that builds…

1. … a shared understanding of the challenge,

2. … the community capacity to address it,

3. … a broad willingness to learn by moving forward

When you face a situation no one party can successfully address alone

Doing more together than any of us can do alone


When is a collaborative approach appropriate?

When…

…not working together is riskier than trying,

… a shared understanding of the problem is missing,

… there is agreement that a problem exists, but disagreement about what it is,

… participants could bring new resources needed to get the work done and address the problem,

… the responsible authority lacks sufficient power to implement a decision,

… a willingness to live with the eventual decision is more important than being “right”!


When is collaboration less appropriate?

When…

… potential or needed participants aren’t willing to commit time and energy,

… an immediate crisis exists,

… likely participants are unlikely to help implement a solution,

… there are insufficient resources,

… needed participants are clearly unwilling to learn and, thus, unwilling to negotiate,

… potential participants are too polarized

Although, sometimes that’s the perfect time to try something different!


HOW DOES COLLABORATION WORK?

Planning: Collaboratively design process appropriate for the situation and for participants to get started and then adapt as collaborative learning occurs

Doing: Collaboratively move forward

Legal sideboards and working guidelines

Focus on “power leveraging,” not “power sharing”

Diverse participation and communication

Attention to learning & “big picture”

Adaptive design & empowerment

Invest in trust &relationship

Implementation as important as planning

Substance matters


SOME FINAL THOUGHTS TO CONSIDER:

Collaboration is about doing more together than any of us can do alone!

It’s a way of doing business, not a new job

What about FACA?

Demystifying FACA with a FACA “Easy Button”

FACA – Federal Advisory Committee Act


What about FACA?

Initial assessment confirmed what most of us know…

… the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) is poorly understood and often seen as an obstacle

“Policy and Practices” group and “Learning” group both dug into the issue

Partnering with Office of General Council (OGC)

Partnering with Office of Regulatory and Mgmt. Services (ORMS)

Here’s what we came up with…


What about FACA?

Background

1972 Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) is an important law passed to ensure citizen involvement in federal decisions is equitable, that no one individual or group has undue influence.

FACA applies to citizen involvement, including collaborative efforts, when certain triggers are tripped

Can be confusing, even mysterious…

FACA “Easy Button” to the rescue!

De-mystifying urban myths (…in a single bound!)

Providing links for more help (…to infinity and beyond!)

Partnering with ORMS and OGC (…Superfriend power!)

http://www.gsa.gov/graphics/ogp/with_annotations_R2G-b4T_0Z5RDZ-i34K-pR.doc


What about FACA?

The “Easy Button”

The simplest way is to avoid triggering it:

Host only meetings with non-federal employees that are "open to all" and transparent.

Make clear to all participants that the agency, by law, must value insights from each individual and organization separately and equitably AND must not rely solely on any single individual or group perspective when making agency decisions.

Doing this isn’t always easy, so here are useful principles and best practices related to FACA compliance.


What about FACA?


When Does FACA Apply?

A federal agency must comply with FACA when it (1) establishes, utilizes, controls, or manages (2) a group with non-federal members that (3) provides the agency with consensus advice or recommendations.

KEY POINT: Only groups that meet all three of these legal elements are subject to FACA.


What about FACA?


Best Practices for Avoiding FACA Violations

Help participants understand how to work with FS in a FACA-compliant manner: Make sure you’re all on the same page

Ensure FS staff and external stakeholders understand what constitutes consensus advice or recommendations under FACA;

Individual group members can provide their own personal opinions, advice, or recommendations without implicating FACA.

This is true even if several individual members of a group provide similar or identical opinions, advice, or recommendations.

AND … another 6 tips are waiting for you!

PLUS… a flowchart for diagnosing your own situation!


What about FACA?


You’re Leaving??!

Helping employee transitions sustain collaborative relationships


In a Transition:

What is good for the community is good for employees and vice versa.

People become unsure of their future.

Certain actions and behaviors work better than others in sustaining relationships.

More than the outgoing and incoming leaders are affected.

Therefore, taking precious time to think through the actions and behaviors best suited for the needs of the outgoing and incoming leaders, employees, their families, and community members is important.


Taking Precious Time in a Transition

Some prefer an organized, structured approach. If this is you, the “Handover Memo” provides a template for documenting existing formal partnerships, informal networks, key contacts, and work priorities.

Others prefer a less structured approach. For you, a list of guiding principles was developed to empower those affected to proactively manage the transition for successful outcomes.

When these two approaches are used together, they provide a comprehensive tool for sustaining collaborative relationships through day-to-day interactions, short-term activities, and long-range planning efforts.


“Handover Memo”

Communicates formal and informal agreements and commitments from the outgoing to the incoming leader.

Informs and involves agency staff, superiors, and key community leaders.

Covers four areas:

Current partnership and collaborative efforts underway.

Commitments or schedules associated with current partnership and collaborative efforts.

Current working agreements or procedures.

Strategies for meeting and getting to know the community.


Guiding Principles for Incoming Leaders

Let your employees’ help you get up to speed, especially those who’ve been in place a long-time: they’ll feel appreciated.

Don’t assume your employees are on the same page: they span generations, experience, and knowledge. The same goes for your partners and stakeholders.

Pay attention to the budget process, it’s linked to employee and community morale: for employees it’s about respect and empowerment, for the community it’s about trust.

Build on you predecessor’s successes: those involved will feel valued for their past contributions.


Guiding Principles for Outgoing Leaders

Don’t forget where you’ve been: it helped you get where you’re going.

Include the community in outreach efforts for your replacement (this includes “actings”): it improves the chances they’ll continue to communicate with the Forest Service.

Have your leadership team develop a “30/60/90 day” list of priority actions in advance of your departure: the change will be less stressful for those you leave behind.

Direct communication is better than indirect in a transition process: there’s less room for rumor and misunderstanding.


Guiding Principles for Forest Service Staff and Communities of Place, Interest, and Culture

Make time to introduce yourself to the new leader: they’ll remember you faster.

Volunteer: you’ll broaden your perspective and gain valuable insight into how your expertise contributes to your unit’s and your community’s success.

Leverage people in your existing informal networks to establish new contacts: you’ll be more efficient and expand your knowledge base.

When interacting, ask questions to find commonalities: common ground is more likely to exist in why someone wants something, less so in what they want.

Discussion

Are there other tools or services that would help?