Human Resources Initiatives Date: Thu, 25 Jun 1998 17:25:14 -0400 To: "USGS Employees" From: "Director's Office" Subject: Human Resources Initiatives Supervisors, Managers, and Team Leaders: Please ensure that employees without e-mail receive a copy of this message. In Reply Refer To: Mail Stop 406 #10789 MEMORANDUM June 22, 1998 To: All USGS Employees From: Barbara J. Ryan /s/ Barbara J. Ryan Associate Director for Operations Subject: Human Resources Initiatives The purpose of this memorandum is to familiarize all employees with the Human Resources Initiatives (HRI) Program, describe some changes within the Program that will be effective in fiscal year (FY) 1999, and make employees aware of the potential availability of funding under the HRI. Many U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) employees have already successfully competed for funding under the HRI in previous years. As part of our ongoing focus and commitment to improving the diversity of our workforce, this memorandum is intended to ensure that all employees are knowledgeable of the availability of HRI funding and the process for competing for these funds. In FY 1999, the HRI co-chairs will be Catherine L. Hill, Assistant Chief Hydrologist for Operations, and Robert W. Hosenfeld, Personnel Officer. They are responsible for the overall direction of the program and will be the link to the bureau Operations Council. There are three HRI program categories. These categories and their respective champions are: (1) recruitment and retention - Richard C. Williams, Office of Human Resources; (2) lifelong learning - Carolyn C. Didonato, Office of Outreach; and (3) volunteerism - Susan C. Wells, Office of Human Resources. The HRI champions have been tasked with developing a process for soliciting proposals for HRI funding and communicating the proposal process to all employees. Each champion will form a review panel for their category, comprised of diverse representation from throughout the bureau. We anticipate the call for proposals to be given later this month. Proposals will be selected for funding based on how well they meet the HRI Program objectives. Funding levels for FY 1999 are approximately $1,500,000 for recruitment and retention (including about $630,000 for the familiar Minority Participation in the Earth Sciences (MPES) program, which is being renamed to the USGS Science Internships for Workforce Diversity (SIWD) program and expanded to include the work being done by the Biological Resources Division); $490,000 for lifelong learning; and $184,000 for volunteerism. Funding is also available for specialized equipment and services to support the needs of persons with disabilities and is included in the recruitment and retention category. The funding provided by the HRI Program strengthens our efforts to make the most of our human resources by enhancing the skills and effectiveness of our present and future workforce. Thank you for your interest in and support of these initiatives.