REINVENTION EXPRESS

Aug. 15, 1997, Vol. 3, No. 8

An Information Sheet for Federal Communicators, Managers, Workers, and Their Partners
Pass It On

Four Federal Agencies Are Among 25 Finalists in Prestigious Innovations in American Government Award Program

Four federal programs are among the 25 finalists selected from 1,540 entries in this year's Ford Foundation's Innovations in Government Award program. Federal finalists are:

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms's Disarming the Criminal program tracks down the nation's most violent criminals and significantly reduces gun trafficking with computer technology and aggressive enforcement. Call Dale Armstrong at (202) 927-7770.
Food and Drug Administration's Reform of the Drug Approval Process created a more comprehensive drug review process that gets life-saving drugs on the market faster. Call Bill Hubbard at (301) 827-3360.
Internal Revenue Service's Telefile program is a new file-by telephone system that reduces paperwork, and saves time and millions of taxpayer dollars. Call Bob Hare at (202) 622-9665.
Environmental Protection Agency's 33/50 Program encouraged voluntary cooperation by over 1,300 businesses to reduce toxic waste. Call David Sarokin at (202) 260-6396.

A local government finalist is Miami International Airport Reinvention Lab, which uses a public/private partnership (including the Customs Service, Agriculture, Immigration and Naturalization, Public Health Service, and the Passport Office) to speed up passenger processing at one of the country's busiest international airports. Call Connie Bischoff at (305) 876-7296. Also, the Army Corps of Engineers was a key partner in Arlington, Texas's Trinity River Commmon Vision Program to reduce the risk of losses from flooding. Call John Promise at (817) 695-9210.

Finalists get a $20,000 grant from the Ford Foundation. Ten winners--to be named in October following site visits--will each receive $100,000. The Awards Program is administered by Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government in partnership with the Council for Excellence in Government. The 1998 Innovations in American Government application will be available in the fall and due in early 1998. For more information, call Trudy Schafer at (617) 495-0557 or visit www.ksg.harvard.edu/innovations/.

U.S. Army Infantry School and Center at Fort Benning Wins the 1997 Presidential Award for Quality

Army's Infantry School and Center at Fort Benning, GA, received the 1997 Presidential Award for Quality at the 10th Annual Conference on Federal Quality in July. Over the past seven years, Fort Benning has sustained excellence in all missions while reducing personnel by 30 percent and saving more than $33 million. Among its many achievements, it has reduced soldier in and out processing time from five to two days.

Eight Quality Achievement Award recipients are:

GSA Federal Supply Schedule, Northeast and Caribbean Region, New York, NY
VA medical and Regional Office Center, Togus, ME
Army CECOM Acquisitions Center, Forth Monmouth, NJ
Contract Management Command Long Island, Defense Logistics Agency, Garden City, NY
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
Army Communications-Electronics Command, CECOM Logistics and Readiness Center, Forth Monmouth, NY
Army Rock Island Arsenal, Rock Island, IL

President's Quality Award Applications Are Due October 6
Applications for the President's Quality Award Program, administered by the Office of Personnel Management, are due October 6. To get the criteria and application package in its paper version, call Coleen Kenney or Clint Sidwell at (202) 606- 3609. The package is on the Web at www.opm.gov/quality/.

GSA's Tom Walker Receives Prestigious Private Sector Award for His Partnership Activities

Tom Walker, Assistant Regional Administrator for the General Services Administration's Public Buildings Service in Kansas, MO, received the 1997 President's Award from the Building Owners and Managers Association on June 22. Walker is the first government worker to receive this award--one of the most prized in the commercial real estate industry.

BOMA International President G.A. Julin III praised Walker for being "the driving force" behind a partnership that "helped both sides realize how a strong public/private partnership can benefit all." The partnership has significant benefits to GSA's operations, the agency's relationship with its business partners, and to more than 100 federal agencies. BOMA is one of the largest commercial real estate associations in the world. Its members own or manage more than six billion square feet of downtown and suburban commercial properties in North America and abroad. Contact Kimberly Henderson at GSA, (202) 501-9164.

Government Writing Wins Plain English Award

Two legal documents written or promoted by the federal government are among the 1997 winners of the Sixth Annual Clarity Awards presented by the State Bar of Michigan. These winners are:

a federal rule concerning leasing of solid minerals, written by the Bureau of Land Management and promoted by the National Performance Review.
a Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus from Bell Atlantic NYNEX, promoted by Arthur Levitt, Jr., chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

For information, contact Annetta Cheek at (202) 632-0181 or annetta.cheek@npr.gsa.gov. For more about Plain English Regulations, visit www.blm.gov/nhp/NPR/plaineng.html.

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