Midwest Natural Resources Group

Operations Guide

Revised Sept. 3, 2004 (PDF version, 4pp, 61K)

See also: Charter

Operations
Roles and Responsibilities

Operations

The MNRG senior executives will meet twice per year: first through an Executive Business Meeting in the spring and second, through an MNRG Executive Forum in the fall. The Chair of the MNRG may call for additional special meetings and/or teleconferences as needed. Proceedings from these meetings will be placed on the MNRG website by the lead agency through the Communications Committee.

A standing Planning Committee will be established to coordinate MNRG meetings, develop agendas, and serve the needs of the MNRG. Each MNRG agency will have a representative on the Planning Committee. The Chair of the Planning Committee will be appointed by the MNRG Chair.

A standing Communications Committee will be established to coordinate and disseminate MNRG produced information and material to the membership and interested publics. Each MNRG agency will have a representative on the Communications Committee. The Chair of the Communications Committee will be appointed by the MNRG Vice-Chair. In order to facilitate communication both internally and externally, agency points-of-contact will be designated for each watershed identified below.

The MNRG's spring Executive Business Meeting is intended for senior executives and selected agency staff to share agency priority initiatives, discuss relevant policy and issues, identify agency needs, and determine future courses of action.

The MNRG fall Executive Forum is intended to involve a broader audience of agency professionals. This is the opportunity for MNRG agencies to share information on their programmed projects for both the current year and for future project funding cycles. It also will provide an opportunity for agency program leaders to meet and share common interests through technical sessions and/or poster sessions, with the objective of achieving economies of scale by working collaboratively to achieve common goals.

The MNRG will focus on natural resource projects within Midwestern watersheds that members determine to be critical as MNRG cooperative work. These watersheds, listed below, provide a useful framework for coordinating and reporting agency interactions:

Revised 9/3/04

to top of page

Roles and Responsibilities

MNRG Organizational Roles and Responsibilities

  1. Provide a forum for member agencies, their partners, and other interested parties to further the federal partnership's purpose in: promoting sustainable resource stewardship; development of effective relationships; fostering economies of scale with undertakings between agencies and partners; enhancing communications, coordination and collaboration on mutually recognized resource issues; provision of timely interagency assistance on natural resource issues where needed; and through discussions of policy, programmatic and budgetary issues as they relate to agency activities and to achieving the MNRG's organizational goal.
  2. Identify and communicate the federal partnership's policy and perspectives on agencies' activities related to the MNRG's purpose and organizational goal to Congress, partners, the public, and internally within each agency.
  3. Seek to achieve the MNRG's organizational goal through the identification of science and resource stewardship needs, tools, methodologies and opportunities at both the strategic regional and tactical local scales while encouraging collaboration among partners and stakeholders, particularly within the organization's areas of special focus.
  4. Support watershed-focused and special initiative-oriented teams, as well as agency leads, in activities that serve both the MNRG's purpose and contribute to meeting its organizational goal.
  5. Foster coordination between MNRG agencies, partners and other stakeholders.
  6. Recommend reporting procedures regarding fiscal performance, project implementation, results and other key measures of performance in accordance with member agency Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) goals.

Agency Roles and Responsibilities

  1. Commit to participating in all MNRG meetings, particularly at the senior executive level, and, to the extent practical or appropriate for that agency, in MNRG-sponsored activities or initiatives.
  2. Arrange for and commit to the participation of that agency’s highest level deputy senior executive to stand in for the agency’s lead senior executive when the latter is unable to attend or participate in MNRG meetings or deliberations.
  3. Commit agency personnel and resources, as appropriate and feasible, for participation in and contributions to MNRG activities or initiatives, as sanctioned by the organization’s senior executive leadership. These undertakings, which ideally should include representation from each interested agency, include working together at the regional or local watershed scale and with projects having a special focus. These special initiatives will select a chairperson from among participating agency personnel who will report to the MNRG’s senior leadership.
  4. Ensure that appropriate agency mid-level and program managers remain informed about MNRG deliberations, decisions and actions, particularly as they relate to potential commitments of agency funds, resources and/or the participation of personnel.
  5. Support agency leads on these special teams in furthering the purpose and overarching goal of the MNRG.

Special Initiative Team Roles and Responsibilities

  1. Actively include stakeholder (states, tribes, communities, etc .) participation through networking and appropriate collaborative activities.
  2. Foster an understanding of natural resources stewardship issues, problems and activities within special action initiatives, together with appropriate or applicable environmental stewardship tools, methods and opportunities.
  3. Coordinate data collection and management, as appropriate.
  4. Coordinate reporting and publication of results with the Communications Committee.

Committee Roles and Responsibilities

Planning Committee:

The Planning Committee coordinates MNRG meetings, develops agendas, and provides appropriate information and guidance to agencies and special teams regarding the organization's initiatives for achieving its goal. A representative from each of the MNRG member agency will appoint a member to the Planning Committee. The Chair of the Planning Committee is appointed by the sitting Chair of the MNRG. The Chair of the Planning Committee will attend all meetings of the MNRG and will: lead the Committee in the identification of agenda directions and topics; coordinate development of an appropriate meeting format; coordinate reporting on progress of MNRG projects or undertakings; arrange for meetings to be recorded; distribute meeting notes to the MNRG membership and arrange for them to be posted to the organization's website through the Communications Committee; and facilitate overall and ongoing continuity to the MNRG's work.

Communications Committee:

The Communications Committee produces the overall Communications Plan for the MNRG, which focuses on integrated communication involving all MRNG agencies and projects. The overall purpose of the Committee is to leverage the positive results of MNRG projects and foster a broader base of support, understanding and recognition of key natural resource issues, opportunities, challenges and accomplishments. Each MNRG member agency will appoint a representative to serve on the Communications Committee. The MNRG Vice-Chair will appoint the Chair of the Communications Committee.

Revised 9/3/04

to top of page