Partner Assessments for the Urban Wildlife Conservation Program and Urban Bird treaty Cities

OMB Control Number 1090-0011
Expires: 08/31/2018

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Urban Programs’ Partner Assessment
Welcome to the Partner Assessment for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Urban Wildlife Conservation
Program (UWCP) which includes Urban National Wildlife Refuges, Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnerships,
and Urban Bird Treaty Program Cities! Thank you in advance for this important input. It will help us as
partners to address any concerns, build on strengths, and increase understanding of our shared goals
and commitment to reaching them.
Some things to know:
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You can save your progress and resume the assessment later by saving the document to your
computer.
Groups or organizations may have multiple individuals complete separate assessments, or you
may have one or more individuals submit a single assessment.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to your local Service contact or the national
program coordinators:
Urban National Wildlife Refuges and Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnerships: Angelina Yost,
[email protected], 703-358-2432
Urban Bird Treaty Program: Roxanne Bogart, [email protected], 413-253-8582

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Return completed assessments as an attachment to the contact listed in the email you received
or to [email protected].

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: We estimate it will take you 30 minutes to complete the
assessment, including time to read instructions, gather information, complete, and submit the
assessment. We will use the information to identify what is going well and what could be improved in
the partnership and program. Your response is voluntary. We may not conduct or sponsor and you are
not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB Control
Number. You may submit comments on any aspect of this information collection to the Information
Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: BPHC, Falls Church,
VA 22041-3803. Please do not send your survey to this address.

Throughout the assessment, consider “we,” “organization,” or “group” to mean the entity that you
represent as a partner, even if you are an individual representing yourself.
Name of your organization/group/other (enter “not applicable” if as a partner you do not represent an
organization or group):
_______________________________________________________
Type of organization/group/other (or enter “individual”):
_______________________________________________________
Are you completing this assessment along with other individuals from your organization?
__ Yes
__ No
Provide just job/position titles for those who contribute to completing the assessment. If you prefer
not to share this information, please enter “decline”:
1.

5.

2.

6.

3.

7.

4.

8.

Throughout the assessment when “Service” appears, consider this the local Service staff you are
working with. Your local Service partner is the Service entity with which you are working. It may be a
National Wildlife Refuge, Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership, Urban Bird Treaty City, Ecological
Services Office, or National Fish Hatchery.
Who is your local U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service partner? ______________________

2

1. When did your collaboration with the Service begin? ________________

2. If applicable, describe the mission of your organization or group?

3. Please describe the nature of your collaboration with the Service and very generally the types of
projects/activities you work on related to the Urban Wildlife Conservation Program (UWCP).

4. Based on your understanding, briefly state one goal and up to three objectives for this
collaboration with the Service. Goals are broad and aspirational, reflective of the desired future
condition. Objectives describe what you intended to do/accomplish in order to achieve the goal.

5. Describe in a few sentences the desired outcome(s) for the activities/projects undertaken in
collaboration with the Service. Outcomes are the benefits and impacts that you hope will result
from activities/projects.

6. Does your work focus on serving a particular community? A community may be a neighborhood,
ethnic population, age group, school district, group that shares a common interest, etc.
__ Yes
__ No
If you answered yes, describe below. If not, skip to question 7.

7. If you identified a focus on a particular community, indicate the extent to which you agree with
the following statements.
Strongly
Disagree

Disagree

Service staff understand the community
being served, including the people,
cultures, and values.
We understand the community being
served, including the people, cultures,
and values.

3

Neutral

Agree

Strongly
Agree

Not
Applicable

8. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements with respect to mutual
understanding of missions and interests?
Strongly
Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly
Agree

Not
Applicable

Service staff understand our mission and
interests.
We understand the Service’s mission and
interests.
We understand the Urban Wildlife
Conservation Program.

9. To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements with respect to the
vision for the collaboration between yourselves and the Service?
Strongly
Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly
Agree

Not
Applicable

Service staff understand why we wish to
work in collaboration with them.
We understand why the Service wishes
to work in collaboration with us.
It is clear what resources/skills we bring
to the collaboration.
It is clear what resources/skills Service
staff bring to the collaboration.
We have a clear vision of the roles and
responsibilities for our collaboration.
We have clearly defined shared goals
and objectives for our collaboration.

10. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements with respect to
communication and trust within the collaboration?
Strongly
Disagree

There is regular communication between
Service staff and us.
There is open and clear communication
between Service staff and us.
Communication is sufficiently effective
between Service staff and us to result in
a successfully functioning relationship.
The perspective we bring to the
collaboration is respected.
There is sufficient trust between those
involved in the collaboration.

4

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly
Agree

Not
Applicable

11. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements with respect to the
commitment and sustainability of the collaboration?
Strongly
Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly
Agree

Not
Applicable

Service staff demonstrate a clear
commitment to the collaboration.
Our staff demonstrate a clear
commitment to the collaboration.
The success of the collaboration does
not solely depend on a few key
individuals.
The collaboration has sufficient staff to
maintain momentum and execute
strategies.
The collaboration has individuals with
the appropriate skills to maintain
momentum and execute strategies.
The collaboration has sufficient
resources to maintain momentum and
execute strategies.
12. Establishing a relationship’s strengths and challenges can serve as a springboard to building a
more effective collaboration. List up to 6 strengths of your relationship with the Service that
facilitate meeting the shared goals and objectives for the collaboration and up to 6 challenges to a
successful relationship with the Service from the perspective of your organization or group.
a. Relationship strengths:
1.

4.

2.

5.

3.

6.

b. Relationship challenges:
1.

4.

2.

5.

3.

6.

5

13. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements with respect to the
challenges within the collaboration?
Strongly
Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly
Agree

Not
Applicable

The principal challenges to a successful
collaboration are known and understood.
We have started discussions with the
Service to strategize on how to minimize
and mitigate challenges to a successful
relationship.
Commitment to the success of the
collaboration is sufficiently robust to
withstand most challenges to its successful
functioning.

14. Please describe how you think your relationship with the Service can improve, if at all.

15. To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements with respect to
assessing how well the collaboration is working?
Strongly
Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly
Agree

Not
Applicable

There are clear guidelines to effectively
monitor and evaluate how the
collaboration is working.
Findings from monitoring and evaluation
are, or will be, widely shared with those
involved in the collaboration.
Findings from monitoring and evaluation
are, or will be, widely shared outside of
the collaboration (e.g., with the
community).
The collaboration is achieving its goals
and objectives.
The collaboration is achieving the
agreed upon outcomes.

16. If you agreed that the collaboration is achieving its goals, objectives, and agreed upon outcomes,
describe any indicators or evidence you have that supports this.

6

Please share any additional comments or thoughts regarding your collaboration with the Service, the
Urban Wildlife Conservation Program, or this assessment.

Thank You!
Return completed assessments as an attachment to the contact listed in the email when you received
the assessment or to [email protected].

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