Examining the Complexities of Partnership Administration: Insight into the Programmatic Capacity of the USDA Forest Service

Abstract

Partnerships significantly augment the capacity of the USDA Forest Service to care for its lands and serve people using those lands. As part of the agency’s recreation program, partners perform diverse services such as trail building, interpretive programming, grant writing, monitoring, and general maintenance. However, the increasingly formal nature of agency partnerships has added administrative complexity to relationships that were once solidified by handshakes. This paper explores the programmatic capacity of recreation partnerships using data from a multi-phased study conducted with agency personnel. The study found that dedicated leadership cultivates vibrant partnership programs. However, agency personnel expressed concern for declining programmatic capacity due to staff turnover, job compression, and outsourcing. Strategies for building programmatic capacity are discussed, including formalizing work with partnerships as an accountable job duty. As reliance on agency partnerships are predicted to increase, the implications section addresses the specific administrative challenges of partnering.