Introduction

The National Applied Resource Sciences Center (NARSC) was created by a Secretarial Order signed on November 8, 1994. This order fundamentally changed how both Headquarters and the national support functions in Denver would operate. It abolished the Service Center and created three separate National Centers with distinct mission responsibilities. It was expected that this change would allow for closer ties between various Associate Directors' strategic program objectives and work being performed by the Centers. It was also expected that each Center would more easily meet their respective customer requirements without having to trade off priorities between functional areas assigned to other Centers. Based on customer feedback received this year, NARSC believes that this strategy has been successful.

NARSC's work primarily focuses on augmenting or otherwise supporting field offices,

usually by providing unique or specialized skills and/or equipment. In order to meet two of the Corporate Agenda goals--maintaining healthy ecosystems and serving current and future publics--NARSC was created as an organization that would deliver requested products and services to the field on time, within budget, and at quality standards required by the customer.

To implement this business philosophy, NARSC adopted an organization based on a private-sector model of a consulting firm. To accomplish this, skills were vested in NARSC as a whole and not in individual organizational units. This has allowed for the allocation of skills to a project no matter where they exist within NARSC. In addition, business systems were established to ensure a specific accounting of all tasks requested of NARSC and the tracking of all operating funds to support these tasks. Again, a private-sector model was used to implement this philosophy. The model chosen was an "unlimited quantities contract," where all work is attached to a task order. This allowed for the assignment of personnel and the identification and tracking of operating dollars specific to each task order.

NARSC decided that, to be successful, an effective customer feedback instrument was needed. A customer feedback form is sent to each client at the completion of each project or the delivery of a specific service. The feedback we have received is discussed later in this report. Finally, it was recognized that it was important for NARSC to continue to seek opportunities to realize efficiencies, improve and streamline work processes, and develop partnerships and collaborative relationships with other entities for the benefit of the Bureau. Our accomplishments during the past year are discussed later in this report.

This report looks at the effectiveness of the business systems that have been implemented, the work that has been accomplished by NARSC, the level of customer satisfaction, efficiencies that have been realized, and partnerships and collaborative relationships that have been established. The report concludes with some commentary on initiatives for fiscal year 1997 that will continue to make NARSC an organization that supports the Director's strategic objectives and provides field offices with the products and services they need.

Business Systems
The NARSC family of business systems is the foundation for the delivery of products and services that provide accountability and fiscal integrity. NARSC has developed and implemented the Projects and Services Tracking System (PSTS). This system was created to emphasize accountability by individuals and the Center, customer service in terms of communications and documentation of customer requirements, and efficiency through documenting and evaluating performance. Simply stated, the PSTS answers the questions of who, what, where, when, and how much regarding the products and services provided by NARSC. The PSTS consists of two data bases linked by a common project number. Project numbers are assigned to all projects or services requiring operational funds or more than 40 hours of labor. The PSTS is summarized in figure 1.
	Figure 1. NARSC Projects and Services Tracking System
The Projects/Services Data Base documents six elements for each project or service provided by NARSC. The first element is the customer and is defined as the individual requesting the product or service. No project or service is initiated until an individual customer is identified. The second element identifies the NARSC Lead who manages the project or service and is the customer's point of contact. The third element specifies the deliverables, i.e., the products or services that will be provided to the customer. The fourth element sets the due dates for each deliverable identified in the third element. Element number five indicates the estimated costs, for both NARSC and the customer, needed to provide the requested assistance. The final element of this data base assigns NARSC employees to the project or service and includes an estimate of the time necessary to complete their assigned tasks. The information pertaining to the six elements is communicated to the customer for every project or service. This information is summarized in a report (Appendix A) that is sent to the customer when a project or service is initiated and completed. In addition, the customer is given the opportunity to comment on the product or service provided by NARSC via a customer service feedback questionnaire (Appendix B). This questionnaire is sent to every customer when a project or service is completed. The Operations Budget Data Base is used to perform three functions. The first is to allocate operations funds to individual projects or services from specific agency activity accounts. The second is to track all operations funds expended on a specific project or service. The third is to establish revolving accounts that identify unused funds available for future customer requests. Implementation of this system has reduced the unit cost of providing products and services to our customers by ensuring that only the funds needed to fulfill a customer's request are expended. The system has also increased the Center's efficiency in providing assistance to field offices by quickly making unused funds allocated to a project or service available for future customer requests. During this year, NARSC was able to fund 201 additional projects out of base that were not planned at the beginning of the fiscal year. Future additions to the system will focus on tracking of labor and linking the system to the Federal Financial System. The PSTS documents the responsibilities of NARSC employees' in serving their customers and the performance of the Center in meeting its commitment to help those who manage the land.

Work Accomplishments - FY 96
The NARSC mission is to provide valuable products and services to field offices and Head-quarters in support of the Corporate Agenda. The projected number of projects and services completed for BLM customers in FY 96 is 319. This number includes all assistance provided to customers that required more than 40 hours of labor. The distribution of projects and services completed is 11% for headquarters and 89% for field offices. The distribution of projects by office is depicted in figure 2.
		Figure 2. Projects and Services Completed in FY 96
		Most projects and services provided by NARSC were in Natural Resource Sciences (NS) where 35% of the projects were completed, followed by Resource Analysis and Assessment (RA) with 19%, Architecture and Engineering (AE) with 18%, Geographic Sciences (GS) with 17%, and Information and Communications (IC) with 11%. It should be noted that a large percentage of projects or services completed in the functional areas of RA, AE, and GS required extensive assistance from the IC function. The distribution of services by function is displayed in figure 3.
Figure 3. Percent of Projects Completed by Function
The Information and Communication Group is in a special situation at NARSC. The formal tracking system (PSTS) does not track projects of less than 40 hours duration, yet much of the work done by the graphics, editorial, library, and micrographics staffs is of short duration. The following are estimates of the number of these services provided in FY 96: Editorial Tasks: 119 documents Graphics Tasks: 224 projects Microfiche Orders: 298 (approximately 900 fiche) Survey Note Filming: 20,000 pages 500 plats Library: 43,200 responses This represents a significant workload for these IC functions that provide critical support to our customers.		When looking at all of the work requests acted upon during the year, including existing work at the start of FY 96 and all work requests received during the year, distribution by type of work is as follows: HAZMAT Related Projects: 18% User Rep. (Automated Systems): 6% Publications/Graphics/Video: 14% Training Related: 5% Spatial Data Projects: 13% A&E (New Construction) 4% National Lead of Teams: 12% Other: 4% Resource Analysis: 10% A&E (Design): 3% Other Field Assistance: 8% A&E (Building Redesign): 2%. Again, this does not include those requests that involved less that 40 hours of effort by NARSC employees. During FY 96, over 100 BLM offices requested assistance from NARSC. These customers ranged from employees stationed in resource area offices to the Acting BLM Director. Appendix C lists BLM offices that requested and were provided assistance in FY 96.

Customer Satisfaction Levels
Customer comments are the best indicators of how well we are doing in meeting our business philosophy, i.e., providing quality products and services on time and within budget. A customer feedback form was sent to all customers at the completion of a project or delivery of a service. To date, about 50% of the customer feedback forms have been returned. We encouraged each customer to provide any additional comments they thought would be helpful. Additionally, many customers have volunteered comments outside of the formal customer feedback forms. Following is a summary of the customer feedback and comments received. Appendix D is a copy of the unsolicited comments that NARSC has received during the year. A total of 91 customer surveys were received on completed projects. These surveys asked NARSC customers eight questions and provided space for written comments. The following charts display the results of the survey:
To what degree did the NARSC product or service meet your needs?	To what degree did the NARSC product or service meet your expectations?
How well was the project/service defined?	To what degree were you kept informed on the status of your project?
How would you rate the overall quality of the assistance or product you received?	Was the work completed within agreed to time frames?
Was the work completed within agreed-to costs?	OVERALL, how satisfied are you with your experience with NARSC?
Written comments were also analyzed to provide a qualitative rating system: Positive, Negative, or Neutral. A total of 68 NARSC customers took the time to provide unsolicited comments.
OVERALL, how satisfied are you with your experience with NARSC?	Following are just a few of the many positive comments: "I hope to use Dennis Grevel's and Tom Rutledge's services again. I also plan to recommend their services to others in BLM." "As always the NARSC HAZMAT staff were most professional and most valuable! We could not fulfill our mission without these dedicated and outstanding individuals." "You guys were on target." "I showed the video today at the all employees meeting. It was an outstanding success!" "Excellent service and cooperation--listened to our needs." "The technical reference should be extremely useful to all participating agencies. Good job!" "NARSC staff were a key reason we were able to resolve problems so the course could be held as scheduled." "Excellent overall service and product." We also received some negative comments, including negative feedback concerning personality issues. For example: "Much of the fault can be directed to our field personnel. However, this is manifested by the COR [NARSC employee] dealing with only a field rep and not me."
No written comments = 23
NARSC works with both the employee and the customer whenever negative comments are received. We continue to improve our performance and, in one instance, we significantly modified our internal procedures to help better serve one customer. Interestingly, even the few negative comments have generally been accompanied by 4's and 5's on the eight ratings questions. Overall, customers seem to be very pleased with NARSC's products, services, and employee performance.

Efficiency Initiatives

Since its inception, NARSC has searched for ways to improve the way work is done. Sound analysis has contributed to making good business decisions and infrastructure investments. Streamlining management and work processes has not only empowered employees and provided better skills, methods, tools, and technology; it has also allowed NARSC to work more efficiently and effectively. The mapping science and micrographics evaluation conducted in 1995 by a team lead by ESO Director Pete Culp provided several recommendations for efficiencies. The implementation of some of those recommendations is reflected below. Several recent business decisions that should increase efficiency and effectiveness are also discussed below.

A. Photo Lab Co-location with U.S. Forest Service

The USFS Photo Lab and BLM NARSC Cartographic Photo Lab perform similar work. The two agencies are now finalizing discussions to co-locate their operations at the NARSC facility in Building 46 on the Denver Federal Center. This co-location is a result of study recommendation from the Culp Report. The two agencies will share many pieces of specialized equipment, and, as demonstrated in a past shared-work environment, can assist one another on an as-available basis. The co-location will save BLM about $13,000 per year in space lease costs because USFS will contribute 1/3 of the lease cost. USFS will also contribute $2,000 per year for equipment maintenance and chemicals. And USFS will no longer need to lease separate photo lab space, for a savings of $32,000. USFS was also able to reduce their FTE by one, for an additional savings of $45,000.

B. EPA/BLM Training/Work Assistance

In an effort to foster increased understanding and working relationships with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a NARSC management analyst who is a former attorney was detailed to work two days a week at EPA's Region VIII office. Emphasis during the 1-year detail was on Superfund sites and potentially responsible party (PRP) issues in and around Central City, Colorado. Work was centered on negotiation of voluntary clean-up agreements instead of more costly and time-consuming litigation through the courts. An estimated savings to the government of $50,000 plus court costs was realized. This highly successful partnership between two agencies has benefitted everyone. EPA, the regulator, benefitted by getting assistance with their sometimes overwhelming caseload and by gaining a perspective on how BLM, the regulated, sees things. BLM benefitted by getting very thorough training on Superfund and PRP issues. Both agencies benefitted by building a bridge, a bridge that might prove very useful the next time the two agencies don't agree on the resolution of an environmental issue.

C. BLM Library Study and Decision

A study of BLM libraries and potential cost savings was completed in response to a request from the executive Leadership Team. A comprehensive study done in late 1991 was updated by conducting telephone interviews with a random sampling of Bureau employees. The results of the study, which was submitted to the Field Committee for consideration, indicate that the most cost-effective alternative for the Bureau is to continue to emphasize the BLM Library in Denver. Indications are that the Field Committee will report "favorably" on a professional, centralized, Denver-based library. By operating a centralized library, BLM avoids duplicating professional staff who can cover several areas of specialization. Resource professionals benefit by being able to use the research capabilities of the professional librarians in the central BLM Library. And field offices can eliminate or reduce their local collections. Savings in personnel and space can then be allocated to other programs. The central BLM Library needs to continue efforts to ensure that services are provided in the most cost-effective manner possible. No increase in budget has occurred in the last 4 years, and efficient management should ensure that none is needed in the immediate future. One example of efficient management is the Monthly Alert service, which keeps field technical people up to date with current information on forestry, minerals, fire, land management, management techniques, and other related topics. As additional electronic data sources become available, the library staff can use new techniques and data sources to distribute information even more efficiently. No negative comments were received in either study regarding the BLM Library in Denver. The most critical comment was that the library is not adequately publicized to reach all employees. It is important to note that elimination or reduction of field libraries has already taken place to a large extent, increasing both the importance of, and workload for, the BLM Library.

D. Space Consolidation

All NARSC employees, with the exception of three photo lab personnel in Building 46, are now located in Building 50. The move of the Architecture and Engineering (A&E) Group from leased space was completed during the first quarter of FY 96. This resulted in a rental savings in excess of $100,000 per year. Even more important was the bringing together of all NARSC employees to allow for the interaction among disciplines that is essential to the success of an organization. Co-location made specialized equipment available to all NARSC employees, in some cases enhancing the productivity of persons not directly associated with the A&E function.

E. Responsiveness to Changing Customer Demands

The primary focus for FY 96 was developing mechanisms for tracking NARSC project work and budgets, enabling the Center to more readily make informed decisions in response to changing customer demands. Changes were made in work priorities, retaining efficiency in operation while still being responsive to customer needs. When unplanned or un-programmed work requests are made, NARSC Workflow Coordinators and Group Supervisors are able to immediately assess what impact the request will have on work in progress. When additional resources, both fiscal and human, are required for an ongoing project, the tracking systems can provide the necessary information to make an informed decision. NARSC has support contracts in place that allow for acceptance of unprogrammed work, provided the customer has the necessary funding available. Task orders are written and contract oversight is provided by NARSC staff. NARSC also has developed partnerships with other Federal agencies that can provide another source of scarce skills on short notice. Work is traded with these other agencies, or agreements that are already in place allow for transfer of funding for work provided. Through these strategies, NARSC has been able to respond to many unprogrammed projects with extremely short timeframes. Two most recent examples are the Utah Wilderness Inventory Review Photo Interpretation and the Grand Staircase-Escalante Map Production projects.

Collaborative Relationships

NARSC has expanded the Bureau's capabilities by aggressively entering into collaborative relationships with other Federal agencies. The objective of these collaborative relationships is to take advantage of the synergy of working together. During the year, NARSC had maintained or initiated several collaborative relationships. These include:

A. Club Fed

Club Fed consists of architecture and engineering representatives of both Interior and Forest Service offices in the Denver area. The purpose of the group is to work together to share resources, scarce skills, and technology. L. J. Porter, Architecture and Engineering Group Supervisor, is the NARSC representative to Club Fed.

B. BLM/AEC

In the summer of 1996, NARSC leadership met with Army Environmental Center (AEC) officials at Aberdeen, Maryland, as a follow-on to the national-level Memorandum of Understanding. The AEC provides technical assistance and resource expertise to Army bases, much as NARSC supports BLM field offices. However, Army installations do not have full-time natural resource managers or specialists in the various natural resources, so they are seeking expertise among other agencies in local areas. The AEC deals with land management issues, including hazardous material site cleanups and ecosystem management planning, but AEC does not have the full array of specialists needed by the field. AEC also supports the Army Corps of Engineers in technical mapping and natural resource research. And AEC is heavily involved in noxious weed control. NARSC can assist the AEC with library services, since they have no comprehensive resource-based literature search service. The AEC is also interested in assistance in developing the equivalent to BLM's resource management plans. Discussions are continuing on NARSC's reimbursed support to the AEC. Lee Barkow and Mike Kirby are working with the AEC, and Shelley Smith, a BLM archaeologist on detail, is serving as a liaison to the AEC.

C. BLM/EPA Initiative

As an outgrowth of a NARSC employee's training/work assistance detail with EPA Region VIII, doors of communication and cooperation have been opened in other resource management areas. Two meetings have been organized and led by Janet Youngdahl in an effort to improve communication between BLM and EPA. The first meeting involved only NARSC and Region VIII employees to explore possibilities for cooperation, sharing of data, and mutual agreement on using modeling software. The second meeting included representatives from the Colorado State Office and two Wyoming field offices that have heavy interaction with EPA Region VIII. Discussions focused on increasing BLM employees' awareness of EPA regulations and requirements, and EPA reviewers' awareness of field situations and the impacts of other regulators. NARSC plans to continue to facilitate meetings with EPA as long as it appears that a better understanding of each agency's position and constraints is achieved.

D. BLM/GS Initiative (DEM production)

For the past several years, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and BLM have maintained a very productive workshare agreement to jointly produce digital elevation model (DEM) data for BLM lands. This agreement has provided data to various BLM state offices and has increased national coverage of DEMs. Under this agreement, BLM produces DEMs at the request of BLM state offices, with the data being furnished to USGS without charge. The USGS then produces and makes available to the Bureau, free of charge, an equal number of DEMs over an area also requested by BLM. This agreement has resulted in production of an additional $50,000 worth of DEMs each year that are needed for BLM-managed lands. NARSC's goal is to utilize the USGS workshare agreement to complete the DEM coverage over areas of BLM interest. The levels of future production under the interagency workshare cannot be specifically predicted but will continue as BLM's and USGS's capability allows.

E. BLM/NBS Initiative

NARSC is assisting NBS in publishing a second status and trends report entitled Status and Trends of the Nation's Biological Resources. This effort has been identified by NBS as one of their agency's highest priorities. NARSC's responsibilities include visual design, graphics production, page layout, coordination of prepress and printing, and file preparation for electronic publishing (CD-ROM and Internet). Costs are reimbursed by NBS. Estimates indicate that this three-part, two-volume, 1,400-page publication will be finished in the first quarter of calendar year 1997. Peter Doran of NARSC's Information and Communications Group is the lead on this project.

F. NARSC Editorial and Graphic Support for Headquarters

With the decreasing editorial and graphic production capability at the Washington Office, NARSC has been increasingly called upon to help out. Most of the requests are from high-level officials and come with very short deadlines. Much of the work previously done by the two "graphics" positions in Headquarters has shifted to NARSC, often on a "rush" timeframe. Approximately 30 projects of this type have been completed by NARSC this year. Priorities were adjusted as necessary to accommodate this work. In some instances, other projects were not accepted or were delayed to meet the Headquarters' requests. By utilizing NARSC capabilities instead of contracting the work out, the Bureau and Department realized significant savings. Current estimates indicate that contracting costs can run 100% higher than loaded BLM labor costs and up to 400% higher for rush jobs (Costs are for labor only with government-furnished equipment). Responses to Headquarters requests often test NARSC's ability to be responsive to changing customer demands.

G. NARSC/NTC Collaboration

Implementation of the Corporate Team decision to combine NARSC and National Training Center (NTC) video production functions occurred during FY 96. Discussions with management of the NTC resulted in agreement that the two NARSC video specialist positions would be transferred to NTC's table of organization but that the incumbents would remain in Denver, housed and supported by NARSC. Funding for salaries after FY 96 would be provided by NTC, while all operations costs for specific projects would be provided by the customer. Work requests would be approved by NTC and processed and tracked using the established NARSC systems This decreases NARSC's FTE by two positions. NARSC supplies technical support and numerous instructors for the National Training Center in Phoenix. In addition, NARSC supplies classroom facilities and logistical support as requested for classes in the Denver area.

NARSC Future Initiatives

NARSC is looking to the future to find ways to further increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the Center. After one year in existence, NARSC has shown a marked increase in productivity over former Service Center standards. This has been accomplished through better definition of the work requested, identification of specific customers, specification of deliverables and deadlines, and an assigned budget for each requested product or service. Personal accountability by employees for products and services and for the expenditures of associated funds has shown that our employees are committed to doing a good job and can do so when they fully know and understand what is expected of them. By changing the way we do business, we have realized significant savings in both time and money. This becomes the basis for the future in implementing new systems and processes in NARSC.

Throughout the year, NARSC has identified additional opportunities and initiatives that will be initiated in fiscal year 1997. We have found that in some cases we have surplus staff, such as in Architecture and Engineering. As opportunities present themselves this next year, we will make staff adjustments to balance staffing with work requirements. In other situations, such as the cadastral survey records micrographics projects, we know that the project will be completed during the year. A sunset plan is being prepared for the orderly shutdown of the project and the placement of the assigned personnel, with the hope that a reduction in force action will not be necessary.

The Culp report (1995) recommended that our photogrammetrists could be used more effectively if they were not assigned the technician-level work of digital elevation model (DEM) production. We agree with this recommendation and intend to create a short- term project using stay-in-school students to do this production work. This will not only allow the Bureau to increase its DEM production, which is critical to the Bureau fully utilizing its new GIS capability, but will also allow the professional photogrammetrists to work on higher-priority projects. It will also significantly reduce our cost of DEM production.

The Denver-based Center Directors have entered into an agreement for shared support for all of the National Centers. Money is contributed into a common fund that supports the needs common to all Centers. This includes photocopier support, telephones, vehicles, LAN maintenance and support, and other essentials. Additional areas will be examined to increase efficiency of operation of the Denver Centers.

Skill requirements of the Bureau are in a constant state of flux. We have identified several areas where we are underutilizing existing personnel. While our long-term goal is to adjust those skills, we recognize this takes time. In some instances, the Bureau needs a skill only periodically. NARSC will aggressively try to place those individuals who's skills are no longer needed, as well as marketing, under full-cost reimbursement agreements, skills to other agencies that are needed on a less than full-time basis to meet the Bureau's needs.

The first year of operation for NARSC has taught us many lessons about operating our organization under business parameters. Most of our initiatives have proven to be highly successful. We now have an excellent foundation to build on. And we are confident that there are even more actions that we can undertake to enhance our success in the future.