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5 A Path Forward: Priority Areas for Interagency Collaboration
Pages 84-103

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From page 84...
... Thus, a challenge for agencies is determining where best to apply their efforts, both in terms of the relative importance of interconnected issues and the potential effectiveness of processes and practices that can strengthen interagency coordination. This chapter identifies criteria for prioritizing sustainability issues that present significant connections among resource domains and across economic, social, and environmental dimensions.
From page 85...
... At some level, every issue or resource domain is interconnected to others, and agencies and the private sector undertake actions that overlap, intersect, and sometimes compete. Yet some of these interconnected domains can nonetheless be reasonably managed without substantial interagency coordination.
From page 86...
... PRIORITY DOMAINS AND ISSUE AREAS Opportunities to better identify and address sustainability linkages are extensive.2 The committee applied the selection criteria described above to highlight several significant issue clusters. All of these areas are nationally important, require interdisciplinary data and analysis, involve multiple interconnected resource domains, would benefit from greater coordination, have a potential to leverage nongovernmental knowledge and resources, and would result in positive returns on investment.
From page 87...
... Likewise, some fossil fuel production, nuclear energy facilities, and renewable energy sources require water for production, processing, cooling, and other purposes. A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO)
From page 88...
... The National Response Framework discussed below clarifies roles and responsibilities across multiple agencies that need to coordinate actions in the wake of disasters and other emergencies. However, as its title suggests, the framework is focused on after-event responses rather than long-term infrastructure assessment and coordinated strategies to enhance resilience, reduce vulnerabilities, and meet infrastructure needs.
From page 89...
... Sustainability efforts may affect each of these outcomes, and human health and well-being more generally, in complex, crosscutting ways. Agricultural practices affect the nutritional content and contaminant levels in food, as well as its availability and price.
From page 90...
... Information provided by agencies, scholars, and research literature points to several ways to enhance agency capacity to operate with an interdisciplinary, cross-agency approach. In addition, examples presented to the committee illustrated ways to facilitate interagency coordination to address interconnected issues.
From page 91...
... . To this end, the Office of Personnel Management has added collaborative skills to its leadership competencies for senior executive service managers.3 Legislative Tools As illustrated by many of the case studies assessed by the committee, federal agencies have access to several legislative and administrative tools that provide support for addressing interconnected issues and enhancing decisionmaking linkages among agencies.
From page 92...
... The committee supports the use of sustainability linkage metrics reflected in the GPRA Modernization Act guidance and urges the agencies to think more broadly in crafting their metrics. Program Planning Our case studies highlight several examples of resource connections and governance linkages in coastal, urban, and nonurban settings.
From page 93...
... A NATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY POLICY Sustainability linkages are by their nature extraordinarily complex, involving multiple domains, multiple locations, and multiple time frames. The evidence-based studies described in this report highlight the national importance of sustainability efforts in urban, nonurban, and coastal environments.
From page 94...
... Several models exist for developing such a National Sustainability Policy, as discussed below: The National Oceans Policy (NOP) : Two recent reports that have galvanized presidential focus and action provide insights and recommendations on ocean policy.
From page 95...
... The DRECP will provide long-term endangered species permit assurances to renewable energy developers and provide a process for conservation funding to implement the plan. It will also serve as the basis for one or more Habitat Conservation Plans under the Federal Endangered Species Act.
From page 96...
... national policy. More than 100 countries have established national sustainable development strategies and have reported on them to the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development.5 In the committee's opinion, some of the best models can be seen 5 The United Nations Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform.
From page 97...
... Most importantly, each of these policy and strategy instruments are living documents with clear provisions and processes for updating, refocusing, and evolving based on new knowledge and changing times. RECOMMENDATIONS This chapter has described criteria for prioritizing sustainability issues that present significant connections among resource domains and across economic, social, and environmental dimensions, and it highlights several priority issues that would benefit from the decision processes envisioned by this report's decision framework.
From page 98...
... The committee also believes it would be useful to clearly define the need for an initiative to enhance the ability of the federal government to address sustainability linkage issues; prepare an "initiative" communications kit to document the need for the initiative, its structure, goals, participants, etc.; and identify and communicate with key stakeholders and other audiences. As discussed in Chapter 3, sustainability solutions need to be communicated in a way that clearly identifies both the costs and benefits of action and inaction.
From page 99...
... It will also be critical to develop training for leadership and staff that includes both scientific and management aspects of sustainability issues and that addresses the system and agency linkages needed to achieve sustainability outcomes. Similar training should be incorporated into entry-level programs such as the Presidential Management Fellows program and into senior-level training such as the Senior Executive Service program.
From page 100...
... DRECP (Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan)
From page 101...
... 2011. Obama Administration's National Ocean Council Names State, Local and Tribal Representa tives to Coordinating Body.
From page 102...
... 2012. National Reports by Topic: National Sustainable Development Strategies (NSDS)
From page 103...
... 2012. National Oceans Policy.


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