›  Mission

›  Goals

›  Program Coordination

›  Economic Analysis

›  International Affairs

›  International Trade

Selected Examples of Current Work:

›  Conservation Grants Coordination

›  The Adaptive Management Working Group

›  E.O. 12866 Guidelines

Mission

The Office of Policy Analysis supports the Secretary, Assistant Secretaries, and bureaus in addressing complex and pressing policy issues, especially those of a cross-cutting and multi-stakeholder nature. The office provides policy officials with a bureau-neutral source of analysis, information, and experience that helps to analyze and define alternatives for effective decision making. This broad-scale, interdisciplinary approach informs top managers in reaching decisions on policies, programs, legislation, and resource allocation. Our staff has analytic expertise in the full spectrum of issues faced by the Department.

 

Goals

 

• Provide the Office of the Secretary with expertise to coordinate issues and policies.
• Aid policy officials in managing a department comprised of diverse agencies that have varied viewpoints. We strive to promote a coherent departmental voice and balance Administrative and Departmental perspectives with competing priorities of the bureaus and their constituents.
• Provide top managers with an independent perspective on multifaceted and cross-jurisdictional issues which are steadily increasing.

 

Program Coordination

 

A major function of the Office of Policy Analysis is to provide program coordination when a bureau-neutral voice is called for in Interior policy development, program implementation, or program review. We receive such assignments from the Secretariat. Our staff is experienced and proactive in identifying and collaboratively solving multi-stakeholder issues.

 

We provide staff time and expertise to broad-reaching Interior programs that involve many stakeholders both within and outside Interior, and issues that have broad-reaching implications for Interior's operations.  An example of such an issue is the streamlining of the hydropower relicensing process, involving five Interior bureaus, several government agencies outside Interior, non-government entities who are concerned about the environmental implications for the land and wildlife affected by the hydropower dams, and hydropower facility operators who are interested in producing power from the hydropower dams.  Other areas of work include the Adaptive Management Working Group (see below), Recreational Fee Program, Land Appraisal Reform (press release), Law Enforcement Reform, and International Trade.

 

We also provide guidance to the Interior bureaus regarding the information collection requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act, and are responsible for Departmental review and clearance of all surveys, forms, and regulations of the bureaus that require information from the public.

 

Economic Analysis

 

The Office of Policy Analysis offers economics expertise to aid Departmental decision makers in policy formation, analysis, and evaluations.  Staff economists typically work on specific projects such as: development of environmental indicators; natural resource damage assessments; hydropower relicensing; reviewing regulatory impact analyses; benefit-cost analysis of particular projects or activities (see implementation of Executive Order 12866 and the Office of Management and Budget’s Circular No. A-4 and Circular No. A-94); or recreation fees.

 

International Affairs

 

International Affairs coordinates and reviews Interior-related agreements with foreign countries, serves as a point of contact for other Federal agencies on Interior-related international issues, coordinates foreign travel of Interior employees, provides reimbursable technical assistance on subjects of Interior expertise for the State Department, and staffs the annual cabinet-level U.S.-Mexico Bi-National Committee meeting.

 

International Trade

 

The Office of Policy Analysis provides analysis and advice to senior management and represents the Department in interagency discussions on trade policy issues relevant to Interior. We supply information and analysis to help craft US trade policies and agreements that take account of relevant Departmental and bureau mandates and responsibilities.

 

Upon request, our staff serve on US delegations to intergovernmental negotiations, providing agency expertise and views to help negotiate beneficial outcomes for the US where negotiations involve issues on which Interior has expertise. We also coordinate Interior’s contribution to environmental reviews of proposed trade agreements, working with experts from the bureaus to analyze potential impact from trade agreements on environmental issues relevant to the Department such as migratory species, endangered species, invasive species and wildlife trade.

 

Selected Examples of Current Work:

Conservation Grants Coordination

 

The Office of Policy Analysis led a review of conservation grant coordination by a workgroup of conservation grant and cooperative agreement experts from Interior’s bureaus and offices. A major product of this review is “Departmental Guidance: Conservation Grant Coordination.”

The Guidance is a brief one and a half page document for Interior bureaus and offices. Supporting the Guidance is a Supplement that identifies key grant and cooperative agreement programs, details their criteria, and provides a list of key conservation priorities around which coordination might occur under the detailed criteria.

The Guidance is a non-prescriptive tool for financial assistance decisionmakers. Its purpose is to help identify synergies among grant and cooperative agreement programs and the key conservation priorities in order to maximize existing funds and achieve better conservation outcomes. The Guidance does not affect any rule and policy relating to grants and cooperative agreements; for example, specific rules for each program and the new policy on grants and cooperative agreements at 505 DM 2 remain in full force.

The Adaptive Management Working Group

 

The Office of Policy Analysis staffs the Assistant Secretary - Policy, Management, and Budget who chairs Interior's Adaptive Management Working Group, which includes representatives of Interior's bureaus and offices, in developing an Adaptive Management guidebook, training programs, and web site.

The Working Group's ongoing products include:

• Identifying the conditions appropriate for using Adaptive Management;
• Identifying legal considerations
• Describing a process for evaluating the effectiveness of Adaptive Management; and
• Providing Adaptive Management case studies and best practices information.

 

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