Status: Approved
Project Code: L-EPA-USA-20
| Project Title | Help Create a Knowledge Management Culture at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency |
|---|---|
| Project Summary | Foster a strong knowledge management culture at EPA's Regulatory Support Division by creating the tools and best practices for improving decision making, reducing duplication of effort and rediscovery of knowledge, and empowering our staff to be innovative members of a services organization. |
| Country | United States |
| Agency | Environmental Protection Agency |
| DoS Office | N/A |
| Post | N/A |
| Section | N/A |
| Number of Interns | 2 |
Silo breakers and connectors sought to help institutionalize knowledge management and collaboration across the three staffs that make up EPA’s Regulatory Support Division! Our Division manages EPA’s Docket Center and Information Collection Request (ICR) program activities and is responsible for the following functions:
• Providing leadership and management for the Agency’s Docket Center, including developing and maintaining docketing procedures and guidance.
• Overseeing operations and support of related information system.
• Leading the Agency's ICR and burden reduction efforts under the Paperwork Reduction Act, including developing and maintaining ICR procedures and guidance, operating related information system and participating in regulatory development and burden reduction efforts.
• Implementing oversight for the review and approval process for all external forms generated by EPA process prior their use to ensure economic and efficient use of forms in the collection, analysis, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information.
Our VSFS Knowledge Management Leads (2) would be responsible for the following activities and products:
• Interviewing staff members to create Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), staff function directories, and onboarding tools
• Creating a knowledge management channel or other collaboration tool(s) to share and grow our division’s information assets
• Researching existing knowledge management best practices at EPA and across federal agencies and presenting summary findings and recommended strategy for RSD
• Creating and documenting RSD staff transition templates to maintain for future deprovisioning and onboarding of staff
• Providing recommendations on how to facilitate the shift to a knowledge-centered services organization over time.
• Creating ongoing learning mechanisms and resources such as weekly “learn 1 new thing” posts and videos, common templates for RSD to reuse and share across staffs, etc.
A background or broad understanding/interest in business process improvement, organizational change, creating learning materials, culture change, problem solving, collaboration, and knowledge management is recommended, but not required.
| Skill(s) |
|---|
| Analytical writing |
| Design thinking |
| Editing and proofreading |
| Educational design |
| Research |
| Writing |
The Office of Mission Support (OMS) leads the agency’s core mission support functions to improve efficiency, coordination, and customer experience for internal customers, stakeholders, and the public, including protection of EPA's facilities and other critical assets nationwide, acquisition activities (contracts), grants management, human capital, information technology, and information management activities.
Within OMS, the Office of Enterprise Information Programs (OEIP) ensures the proper use, release, and management of Agency information resources by leading the development, implementation, and coordination of Agency-wide programs that govern eDiscovery, information quality, the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), and records management. OEIP’s Regulatory Support Division (RSD) provides policy direction and oversight of implementation of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) and processing of the Information Collection Requests (ICRs), manages the Agency's administration of the burden reduction provisions of the PRA, and
promotes innovative alternatives to standard, paper-based recordkeeping and reporting by the public. Its new External Forms Program seeks to modernize and streamline the means by which EPA collects information from the public.