Enhancing Cultural Diversity
in the National Park Service
Recommendations from the National Parks Conservation Association Community Partners Program
The Director of the National Park Service (NPS) should implement an expanded and formalized national diversity initiative with a dedicated budget of not less than $3 million, designed to enhance diversity throughout all levels and aspects of NPS and including:
- A Director's order mandating cultural diversity in recruitment, hiring, interpretation and visitation.
- The appointment of a cultural diversity director in the Director's office and in each of the seven regional offices, who would work in pursuit of mutual goals with agencies and programs such as National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), the National Hispanic Environmental Council, the Roundtable Associates,Inc., the National Parks Community Partners and others.
- Creation of a media-relations panel that would review NPS literature and brochures and make recommendations for enhancing the relevancy of such materials for a broader audience, including bilingual text and materials for the visually impaired.
- Assignment of a dedicated and trained community outreach officer/liason in each park.
- Creation of an outreach and diversity advisory board upon which the NPS could rely to review its progress and initiatives.
- A Government Performance and Results Act goal for increasing NPS work force diversity (including leadership ranks) by 25 percent within the next five years.
- A pledge to simplify NPS published materials such as policies, guidelines, agreements, permits and interpretive literature so that the average lay person can understand them.
- A revision of the annual park visitor's survey form to include information about cultural diversity in the parks in addition to the other information sought by NPS.
- Authorization for NPS to give career appointments to Americorps participants, as it does to Vista and Peace Corps participants, in combination with a more fully - funded Student Career Employment Program.
- Establishment of a task force to explore responses to Native American requests for access to and use of parklands and resources for traditional, ceremonial activities such as hunting, fishing and gathering.
- Opportunities and requirements for employees at all staff levels and volunteers to participate in diversity / sensitivity training facilitated by outside, professional, experienced trainers.
- A mandate that the Public Affairs Office and Office of Interpretation take an active and measurable role in ensuring that internal and external communications support the National diversity initiatives.
back to top
in the National Park Service
Recommendations from the National Parks Conservation Association Community Partners Program
The Director of the National Park Service (NPS) should implement an expanded and formalized national diversity initiative with a dedicated budget of not less than $3 million, designed to enhance diversity throughout all levels and aspects of NPS and including:
- A Director's order mandating cultural diversity in recruitment, hiring, interpretation and visitation.
- The appointment of a cultural diversity director in the Director's office and in each of the seven regional offices, who would work in pursuit of mutual goals with agencies and programs such as National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), the National Hispanic Environmental Council, the Roundtable Associates,Inc., the National Parks Community Partners and others.
- Creation of a media-relations panel that would review NPS literature and brochures and make recommendations for enhancing the relevancy of such materials for a broader audience, including bilingual text and materials for the visually impaired.
- Assignment of a dedicated and trained community outreach officer/liason in each park.
- Creation of an outreach and diversity advisory board upon which the NPS could rely to review its progress and initiatives.
- A Government Performance and Results Act goal for increasing NPS work force diversity (including leadership ranks) by 25 percent within the next five years.
- A pledge to simplify NPS published materials such as policies, guidelines, agreements, permits and interpretive literature so that the average lay person can understand them.
- A revision of the annual park visitor's survey form to include information about cultural diversity in the parks in addition to the other information sought by NPS.
- Authorization for NPS to give career appointments to Americorps participants, as it does to Vista and Peace Corps participants, in combination with a more fully - funded Student Career Employment Program.
- Establishment of a task force to explore responses to Native American requests for access to and use of parklands and resources for traditional, ceremonial activities such as hunting, fishing and gathering.
- Opportunities and requirements for employees at all staff levels and volunteers to participate in diversity / sensitivity training facilitated by outside, professional, experienced trainers.
- A mandate that the Public Affairs Office and Office of Interpretation take an active and measurable role in ensuring that internal and external communications support the National diversity initiatives.
|