The MOU also establishes an Interagency Knowledge Management (IKM) Team comprised of qualified employees from both agencies, to design and implement partnership projects to help achieve the aforementioned mutual benefits in support of the President’s Management Agenda, the Office of Personnel Management’s Human Capital Scorecard, as well as the collaborative approach of Service First.

Knowledge Management (KM) is a way of doing business that values the sharing and retaining of essential information, data, and experience for better informed decisions and actions, now and in the future.  KM is a means of networking and maintaining the intellectual capabilities of an organization to learn from the lessons of the past, to better understand the present, and to achieve continual improvement.

 The work of the IKM Team shall be focused primarily on identifying the unique knowledge assets of both agencies and ways to share access to them across organizational boundaries and across employee generations.  KM project proposals can come from any source, including those recommended by Team members, as well as ones suggested by interested employees, managers, and other users.  The Team is accountable for delivering results in accordance with approved project plans to both theUSDA-FS Deputy Chief, Programs, Legislation, and Communication, and the USDI-BLM Assistant Director, Human Resources.

 
"Working Together is How We Do Business" - Moving Beyond Service First

Representatives of the Service First Steering Committee met with Forest Service and BLM leadership in Washington DC on May 6, 2003 to discuss the outlook and future approach for BLM and FS collaboration, commonly referred to as “Service First.”  

The Director and the Chief were firm in their commitment that working together will improve our service and stewardship.  Kathleen Clark, Director of the BLM, said, “working together is how we’ll do business.”   Dale Bosworth, Chief of the Forest Service said, “If the BLM and the FS have different standards for no good reason, we need to pick one and move on.”   Sally Collins, Associate Deputy Chief of the Forest Service said, “Pilots aren’t an effective way to institutionalize change and it’s time to make this way of working together permanent.”

Out of that discussion came an agreement to refocus the Service First Initiative as described below. 

Decision: 

The BLM and Forest Service share similar missions, partners, issues and constituents.  To improve stewardship and service, the Chief and the Director intend to drop the idea of Service First as an initiative and/or a pilot.  They expect the agencies to work together at all levels on a regular and routine basis. The results will be better stewardship, public service and more cost-effective government.  This move compliments and enhances President Bush’s Management Initiative; requiring agencies to respond in new ways to deliver enhance management and provide better service. 

 Actions Required:

1.   Hold a joint NLT/ELT in October 2003.  The Chief and Director will articulate their leadership commitment to the desired outcome of improved service and stewardship. They will describe their expectations that actions at all levels will be coordinated with the other agency, and their expectation that managers at all levels will be accountable to identify and implement all reasonable opportunities to work together.

2.   Coordinate WO level policy development and national initiatives between the appropriate Assistant Director and Deputy Chief and their staffs at the earliest stages of development.  The goal is to issue the same guidance, direction, standards, policy and legislative initiatives within the two agencies whenever possible.

3.   Hold regular meetings between the various Deputy Chiefs, Assistant Directors and their staffs to build relationships and enhance sharing, learning, and issue resolution.

4.   Include a representative from the other agency on standing teams (e.g. the BLM ELT, the USFS NLT, the BLM Field Committee, the USFS IREMCG, the USFS AMC) to ensure coordination, collaboration and accomplishment of collective goals.  Hold annual joint ELT/NLT meetings.  Consider an annual Field Committee/ Deputy Regional Forester meeting.

5.   Include BLM and FS representation on national and/or regional ad hoc teams formed to address issues of mutual interest.

6.   Schedule time on each NLT, ELT agenda to discuss issues of mutual importance. 

7.   Coordinate legislative initiatives and proposed legislation likely to impact both agencies; seek change in legislative authorities that hinder stewardship and/or service.

8.   Implement the BLM/FS collocation plan, emphasizing integration of operations.

9.   Identify opportunities to collaborate, share services, and integrate operations even if collocation is not warranted.  Implement them.

10. Evaluate intergovernmental achievements in leadership performance appraisals.

Decision:

The Service First Steering Committee was chartered primarily with field members to address and resolve field issues.  The current Committee has had some success addressing and influencing actions needed at the national level.  Yet a wide variety of different processes, systems, standards, authorities, policies, program management, cultures and beliefs remain continuing impediments to interagency collaboration.  To accelerate progress toward removing these agency barriers, the Service First Committee will be rechartered and the committee membership will be changed to give the Committee more authority to lead, make and honor multi-agency commitments

Actions Required:

1.   Revise the Steering Committee charter.

2.   Revise the Steering Committee membership

3.   Change the name of the Steering Committee