Accomplishments
Core
Those accomplishments achieved through direct expenditure of Forest Service Funds (those funds tied to a specific budget line item (BLI) and designated for a particular program/activities).
Integrated
Those accomplishments achieved using funds from one or more BLIs, not necessarily associated with the resource program tied to that particular measure.
Partnership
Those accomplishments funded through partner contributions received and spent by the agency, or through in-kind efforts of partners and volunteers.
Explaining the Forest Service’s New Business Rules and their Relation to Partnerships
In October 2007, the Forest Service updated its business rules for reporting accomplishments. These updates do not change the overall process for measuring performance. Rather, the new rules allow the Forest Service to identify and report all accomplishments—including those supported by integrated efforts, partnerships and cooperation through volunteer work, in-kind services or donated funding—something that the agency was unable to do in the past. The ability to comprehensively report accomplishment has numerous benefits, including providing greater incentives for partnership work, acknowledgement and value for partnered accomplishments, encouragement of collaborative processes, and greater flexibility in meeting annual targets. In other words, these new rules will help better articulate how the Forest Service and its partners benefit the American people and how the agency uses resources to achieve its mission.
This new structure utilizes unified targets and reports accomplishments as either core, integrated or partnership.
Process for Reporting Partnership Accomplishments
Applying the new business rules to report partnership accomplishments involves a multi-step process that relies on coordination and collaboration among partners,agency partnership coordinators and agency program and database managers. Without purposeful coordination, the accomplishments may not be recorded correctly and the agency and its partners may not be taking or getting enough credit for their full accomplishments. View a diagram that illustrates the process.
The designation of an accomplishment as a ‘partnership’ is rather straight-forward. For those accomplishments achieved through application and expenditure of dollars or in-kind (or volunteer) contributions by partners and cooperators, they are recorded as ‘partnership.’ These accomplishments could be associated with collected partnership funds (CWFS, GBGB, GDGD, etc.), reimbursable agreements (FREX, NFEX, CMEX, etc.), or volunteer agreements. As a rule, accomplishment credit should be based on the Forest Service’s participation in the project. In other words, if the Forest Service’s participation is more than incidental, the accomplishments are recorded 50 percent core or integrated and 50 percent partnership. Otherwise the accomplishment is considered 100 percent partnership. This is known as the 50/50 rule.
Additional Information
PARTNERING WITH THE FOREST SERVICE
