Purpose and Need - Sea Duck Joint Venture



Guidelines for Public Policy Engagement and Advocacy for the Sea Duck Joint VentureDraft v4 – October 17, 2016(effective ______________, 2016)1562100185420Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Purpose and Need PAGEREF _Toc464474537 \h 1The Spectrum of Advocacy PAGEREF _Toc464474538 \h 1Principles of Advocacy and Policy Engagement for the Sea Duck Joint Venture PAGEREF _Toc464474539 \h 2Procedures for Identifying, Assessing and Acting on Policy Issues PAGEREF _Toc464474540 \h 4Identifying Relevant Policy Issues PAGEREF _Toc464474541 \h 4Structure and Procedures to Address Policy Issues PAGEREF _Toc464474542 \h 4Policy Committee PAGEREF _Toc464474543 \h 4Criteria to evaluate engagement PAGEREF _Toc464474544 \h 4Disposition and Actions on Policy Issues PAGEREF _Toc464474545 \h 5Public Policy Issues Relevant to the Sea Duck Joint Venture PAGEREF _Toc464474546 \h 6Guidelines for Public Policy Engagement and Advocacy for the Sea Duck Joint VenturePurpose and NeedThe Sea Duck Joint Venture (SDJV) was formally established under the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) in 1998. Its primary purpose is to promote the conservation of North American sea ducks through partnerships by providing greater knowledge and understanding for effective management.The importance of proactive engagement in public policy to advance bird conservation is recognized by all of the Joint Ventures under NAWMP, as well as conservation partner organizations. A 2012 report prepared for the North American Waterfowl Management Plan Committee, White Paper on Policy Advocacy for Joint Ventures, provides an in-depth review of the issues around joint ventures and advocacy from both a U.S. and Canadian perspective. The report noted the increasing importance of policy as a means to help achieve joint venture goals and cited the North American plan committee’s recent Continental Progress Assessment’s recommendation that joint ventures and their partners assume a more active policy advocacy role.In drafting the first SDJV Strategic Plan in 2001, the SDJV Management Board agreed that the joint venture should engage in some level of proactive conservation—that is, go beyond a basic research and inventory program and get involved in some of the pressing challenges to sea ducks caused by the impact of human activities on sea ducks and sea duck habitats. The principal values of policy engagement are to: (1) proactively support policy alternatives that avoid or prevent impacts to sea ducks and their habitats; (2) promote positive management decisions that enhance sea duck conservation; and (3) to maintain relevant public conservation goals and allocation of resources to sustain conservation programs.The experience of the SDJV since 2001 has shown that not only has the provision of sea duck science and information been very important particularly to the users of this information, but that the SDJV may have a beneficial role in conservation by proactively addressing policy issues that affect sea ducks and providing advice to decision-makers.The Spectrum of AdvocacyIn the broadest sense, joint ventures, their members and associates and their partners advocate for bird and habitat conservation as a primary part of their mission—indeed, joint ventures were created to widen and diversify the community of agencies and organizations that develop, advocate for and deliver conservation programs.The NAWMP committee report and other analyses of appropriate policy engagement describe advocacy as a continuum of activities, ranging from information/education (providing non-partisan perspectives, scientific information, objective analyses) to the public and decision makers, to lobbying (influencing legislation) and to political activity (influencing elections and elected officials).The application of influence in policy matters simply embodies “speaking to” and “standing up for” conservation goals—and in the case of joint ventures, in strictly impartial manners through non-partisan processes. Thus, the SDJV will approach policy engagement on the basis of accurate and sound science, balanced and objective analyses, and offering non-partisan contributions to resolving issues and promoting opportunities affecting sea ducks and their habitats.By nature, engagement in policy issues may involve differences of professional opinions, diverse policy positions among member organizations and conflicting roles that members play (e.g., scientific and regulatory roles of agencies). The SDJV, therefore, will recognize the differences in member views and conduct business in a manner that serves sea duck conservation and preserves the effective collaboration of the joint venture.The goal of these guidelines is to ensure that the products and actions of the SDJV related to policy engagement are compliant with relevant laws and regulations in the U.S. and Canada, that they are consistent with the highest standards of science-based conservation and management and that there are clear procedures to address proper conduct and avoidance of conflicts of interest for effective policy work.Principles of Advocacy and Policy Engagement for the Sea Duck Joint VentureThe SDJV, as a partnership of government agencies and non-governmental organizations in Canada and the U.S., must be aware of legal and ethical limitations on advocacy activities as they apply to both the joint venture as a whole, members of the Board and Continental Technical Team (CTT) and staff, and ensure compliance in carrying out its policy agenda. There are two particularly important types of constraints:Organizational – In the U.S., federal laws and Internal Revenue Service code establish explicit limitations on political activity and lobbying by non-profit organizations that qualify as tax-exempt for charitable, scientific educational purposes (see OMB Circular A-122 prohibiting non-profits from using federal funds for lobbying). In addition, organizations that receive federal grants or contracts are prohibited under Federal Acquisition Regulations from using those funds for lobbying. Note that organizations may engage in lobbying to some extent, provided that they use non-federal funds. Though the SDJV is not a formal non-profit organization, the partnership entity functions like one and should be guided by similar rules. Since its inception, the SDJV has operated almost entirely on U.S. and Canadian federal funds that are subject to federal limits on political and lobbying activity and use of federal funds. In addition, partner organizations that receive SDJV funds are also subject to restrictions attached to grants and other provided funds.Actions of Board and CTT members – For the most part, government members are prohibited from partisan political activity during the performance of their duties (e.g., U.S. federal employees under the Hatch Act; most state and local officials are subject to similar restrictions). Other laws (e.g., federal Anti-Lobbying Act in the U.S. and Lobbying Act in Canada) also place restrictions on lobbying (influencing legislation) by government officials. In the U.S., these restrictions extend also to federal contractors and non-federal personnel of entities that receive federal funds. Thus, government members of the SDJV and member organizations that receive federal funds are subject to specific limits on their advocacy roles for the joint venture.The Sea Duck Joint Venture will adhere to the following principles in conducting advocacy and public policy activities:The Sea Duck Joint Venture will not engage in political activities, including campaign fund-raising, supporting candidates or engaging in partisan political issues.The Sea Duck Joint Venture, as an organization, may engage in some non-partisan lobbying on specific issues to promote bird habitat conservation or prevent bird habitat degradation, but only as allowed through the use of non-federal funds and only by members that are not prohibited from the necessary advocacy activities.The Sea Duck Joint Venture, in accordance with its approved policy agenda, may engage in non-legislative advocacy on issues related to bird and habitat conservation, including developing technical analyses, recommendations and position statements on proposed actions by executive, judicial and administrative bodies; commercial entities; public interest organizations and other appropriate entities. The Sea Duck Joint Venture will actively engage in advocacy through providing a wide variety of non-partisan information to the public, commercial entities and government officials to promote the conservation mission of the joint venture, provide perspectives and recommendations on particular actions and decisions that affect sea ducks and their habitats and to enhance conservation programs that are essential to the welfare of birds. These efforts include general public education on the value and status of sea ducks, the exchange of information during conservation planning, scientific information that bears on policy decisions, objective analyses of proposed actions and policies and invited statements and testimony to decision-makers on sea duck conservation issues.The Sea Duck Joint Venture acknowledges and respects that individual partner organizations may engage in advocacy on their own behalf.Policy actions approved by the Sea Duck Joint Venture are actions of the joint venture as an organization and do not reflect positions of individual members.Procedures for Identifying, Assessing and Acting on Policy IssuesIdentifying Relevant Policy IssuesThe Sea Duck Joint Venture is open to receive information on policy concerns about bird conservation issues and proposals for joint venture policy actions from the public, partner organizations and other entities engaged in bird conservation.The Sea Duck Joint Venture will establish an annual set of priority policy issues that are particularly relevant to the joint venture’s work, strategic objectives and enhancement of conservation programs. This policy agenda will reflect organizational consensus around the most important issues for the joint venture to address—issues that affect the core values and essential functions of the Sea Duck Joint Venture. The policy agenda also will be flexible and adaptive to address proactive opportunities and changing priorities.Structure and Procedures to Address Policy IssuesPolicy CommitteeThe Sea Duck Joint Venture Management Board has established a standing Policy Committee made up of the Board Co-chairs (presiding) and ______ other members drawn from the Board, CTT, staff and others with experience in policy and advocacy. Members are appointed by the Board and serve terms of two years. Committee functions include:Drafting an organizational policy agendaEstablishing criteria for determining when and how to engage in advocacyReviewing proposed policy-advocacy actions and developing evaluationsRecommending advocacy and policy actions to the BoardDeveloping effective implementation strategies for policy actionsCoordinate the delivery of implementation strategies and ensure their inclusion in annual work plans.Criteria to evaluate engagementThe Sea Duck Joint Venture will apply criteria for determining whether to engage in advocacy on a particular issue. These criteria provide sideboards intended to ensure that the issue is relevant and important to the joint venture mission, and that the organizational benefits of engagement outweigh the risks. The Sea Duck Joint Venture will apply the following basic evaluation criteria, subject to further adaption by the Policy Committee:Does the issue fit squarely within our mission and strategic goals?Does the issue relate to our business model, the public perception of our organization, or the long-term sustainability of our partners’ efforts?Is the issue consistent with our policy agenda and engagement guidelines?Does the Sea Duck Joint Venture bring unique information, perspectives or resources to the table?Is the issue likely to be resolved without our involvement?How important are the pros and cons on the issue to our strategic goals?Are there practical and effective solutions and outcomes?Are there significant risks to our reputation, effectiveness and capabilities as a result of engaging or not engaging?Disposition and Actions on Policy IssuesThe Sea Duck Joint Venture engagement in advocacy and policy issues is directed by the Management Board through direct actions, charges to the Policy Committee and delegations to the staff. All policy actions are subject to Board approval. The primary process for consideration of policy issues is through the Policy Committee to ensure thorough technical vetting of proposals, relevance to the current policy agenda, analysis of criteria to evaluate potential actions and development of specific recommendations to the Board.The Policy Committee and the Board will explicitly consider whether proposed actions are compliant with laws and regulations limiting the advocacy activities of the joint venture and restrictions on the use of various funds for proposed actions.In addition, the Policy Committee and Board will conduct business in a manner that promotes unified support of the Sea Duck Joint Venture mission, but recognizes that individual members may be constrained in engaging on certain policy issues. In order to address legal limitations that apply to some members and conflicts of interest that may arise from issues related to the organizations of members, the following procedures will be applied:Any member that perceives a conflict of interest on an issue is obliged to declare the conflict or appearance of conflict before consideration of an issue. If necessary, members of the Policy Committee and Board may vote to declare a conflict of their respective members.The appropriate response by a conflicted member is recusal—disqualification on the grounds of prejudice or personal involvement in the issue. A recused member should not participate in consideration of the issue and is no longer counted in the quorum of members present during consideration. The issue at hand is decided by a majority of the remaining members.In some cases, if a member is not inclined to cast a vote, usually as a result of being inadequately informed on the issue, the member may participate in consideration but abstain from voting. Abstentions do not affect the quorum and have the effect of deferring to the prevailing majority voting on the issue.Decisions on policy issues by the Policy Committee and Board will not include a record of individual votes, except that recusals and abstentions will be noted. Final decisions will be considered positions of the Policy Committee or the Board as whole bodies on behalf of the Sea Duck Joint Venture organization.Public Policy Issues Relevant to the Sea Duck Joint VentureThe primary goal of policy engagement by the SDJV is to develop a body of relevant scientific and educational information on sea ducks and their habitats, and to diligently ensure that this information is effectively applied to management of human activities and processes that affect sea ducks.Throughout its evolving mission, the SDJV has recognized particularly important policy areas of sea duck conservation concern, outlined in Strategic Plans, considered in development of research and management work plans and identified as subjects for collaborative discussion in workshops and dialogue with industries and regulatory agencies. These high priority areas of concern serve as a starting point for the Policy Committee to work toward an agenda of policy and advocacy objectives.Coastal habitat conversion and impingementAquaculture development and depredationCoastal wind energyOffshore oil and gas development and productionPetrochemical facilities and marine transportation ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download