December 7, 2004
- Update from WASO - Chris Jarvi
- Opening Remarks - Chris thanked Marty Sterkel and Diana Boger for their work chairing the Council over the last year. Chris had met with Marty, John Piltzecker and Glenn Eugster recently to "pass-the-baton".
- Funding - 05 funding for partnerships was the same as 04. Chris Jarvis' office received funds for Peggy Halderman to assist the Building Better Partnership Projects effort until the end of December 1994. He is working with Peggy and John on another strategy and will go to the regions for assistance. He is hoping for additional funds in 06 to bolster Building Better Partnerships and he will talk to the Director about funding.
- National Partnership Office
- Chris Niewold accepted a position with the National Capital region as the new Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program Manager. Chris will stay with NPO until early January. Chris noted that he has options for temporary details to help his office.
- John Piltzecker said that Building Better Partnerships was taking up a lot of his staff's time. In addition, Karyn Ferro continues to work on DO-21 and Wendy O'Sullivan is working on NPF grant reviews. He added that Wendy is meeting with Unilever--a new Proud Partner of NPS. A letter of intent has been signed.
- Chris noted that NPO is continuing to work on VAFO to allow the project to proceed.
- Interagency Roundtable - The agency-head Roundtable was to be created at a meeting on Dec. 15. Chris Jarvi said that the meeting would feature the Southern NV Inter-Agency Partnership case study. The partnership has $1 billion to spend and can't spend it fast enough. Chris noted that there is an effort to find a way to give the partnership special flexibility to better co-mingle and use the funds.
- Message Card - Interagency Working Group seeks input from the Partnership Council on the "Partnership Message Card". Chris asked the group for initial comments and to send him any other comments. John Piltzecker noted that NPS will do a limited run of these cards and they are intended for NPS people to give to people outside the agency to let them know how we work with others. He said that the information would be posted on Inside NPS and ready for the George Wright Society meeting coming up.
- Friends Alliance Meeting - Chris Jarvi and John Plitzecker briefed the Friends Alliance on DO-21 and the Building Better Partnership Project effort. There was a positive dialogue and spirit of trust during this discussion and a lively discussion about donor recognition.
- NPS-NPF Superintendents Council Meeting - Chris Jarvi and other members of the Partnership Council attended the Superintendents Council Meeting on November 15. He noted that there was a full day of visioning between NPS and NPF and concrete steps were suggested. John Piltzecker and Julia Washburn are working on follow-up. Other attendees confirmed the value of the meeting.
- National Park Foundation - The NPF Board is in the final stages of selecting a new President. The final decision is close to being made.
- Questions and Answer Session - Ray Murray asked about the 2006 budget process. Chris Jarvi indicated that he was not able to share that information at this time.
He prepared a snapshot of the status of the 2004 Partnership Council Action Plan that would be shared with the Council.
- Considerable progress is being made to revise DO-21. She is discussing the revisions with Chris Jarvi and the Solicitors Office. She is hoping to have a document out in March 2005. She is unsure of how donor recognition will be handled and how corporate cause-related marketing donations will be addressed. She proposes to spend additional time on these items with assistance from the National Park Advisory Council.
- Overall, Karyn said that DO-21 would come out with guidance similar to what we have now.
- Someone asked about the timetable for the revisions. Karyn said that there is no firm schedule. She is waiting for the Advisory Council comments. The Council understands that this is a big issue and embraces it.
Chris was asked about the status of the Partnership Role and Functions Report. He noted that it might be appropriate to re-evaluate the work of the workgroup. He thought it would be useful to bring it out for discussion purposes. Marty Sterkel noted that the report needs to reflect the Building Better Partnership Projects effort and the NPF Standard Operating Procedure revisions. Celeste Bernardo noted that the document needs to reflect the Partnership Council 2004 Vision.
- She saw great results coming out of the Agreements training that was done earlier this year. She said there is a need to clarify discrepancies between DO-21 and the Fundraising Handbook. DO-21 Training was being developed and that she would send the objectives for that training to the Co-Chairs for distribution.
- APPL was planning training on grants on August 10-12, 2005. On April 10 the MWR's Superintendent's Meeting was being held and they might include a "partnerships theme".
- Clemson University was conducting a training needs assessment. The assessment will survey every employee through a web-based format.
- Videotape of the Agreements training was available from her office and she thanked Rich McCollough, Ray Murray, Jeff Bernstein and Karyn Ferro for their assistance.
Described plans for the January 25-27, 2005 Partnership Council Meeting in Washington, DC. Lucia Bragan is going to facilitate the meeting. A workgroup was formed to assist the meeting planning and Marty Sterkel volunteered. A draft agenda will be provided to the Council for review and comment in early January.
Chris feels good about where we are and believes that the Council is in a position to do positive things. John Piltzecker said that he appreciates the group's help, patience and will miss Chris Niewold.