Interagency Working Group on Coordination of Federal Stewardship

Interagency Working Group on Coordination of Federal Stewardship
Name	Interagency Working Group on Coordination of Federal Stewardship
Formed	2010s
Jurisdiction	United States
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Parent agency	Executive Office of the President

Interagency Working Group on Coordination of Federal Stewardship The Interagency Working Group on Coordination of Federal Stewardship is a multi-agency forum created to harmonize stewardship responsibilities across federal agencies. It convenes senior officials from departments and independent agencies to align policies on asset management, cultural resource protection, and long-term program sustainability. The group draws participants from executive branch entities and liaises with legislative committees, judicial bodies, and nongovernmental partners to implement coherent stewardship strategies.

Background and Establishment

The Working Group was established amid interagency initiatives led by the Executive Office of the President and shaped by policy reviews from the Office of Management and Budget, the Council on Environmental Quality, and the General Services Administration. Its creation followed high-profile reviews such as the Presidential Memorandum processes and congressional hearings in the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. Influences include precedents set by the Interagency Working Group on Climate Change and Health and the Federal Real Property Council, drawing on frameworks used in the Office of the Federal Coordinator and interagency task forces convened after major events like Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Mandate and Objectives

The group's mandate is defined by executive directives and interagency agreements originating in the White House and codified through instruments associated with the National Environmental Policy Act and federal stewardship statutes administered by agencies including the National Park Service, the Department of the Interior, and the Department of Defense. Objectives include harmonizing stewardship standards across the Smithsonian Institution, the Library of Congress, and the National Archives and Records Administration; advancing asset lifecycle policies used by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Transportation; and integrating conservation priorities prominent in the Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

Organizational Structure and Membership

Membership is cross-cutting, comprising senior representatives from cabinet-level departments such as the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Homeland Security, along with leaders from independent agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The chair is typically a senior official drawn from the Executive Office of the President or the Office of Management and Budget, coordinated with designated leads in offices such as the Council on Environmental Quality and the Office of Personnel Management. Ex officio participants have included officials from the Government Accountability Office, the Office of Management and Budget's Chief Financial Officers Council, and congressional staff from the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

Key Programs and Initiatives

Initiatives have targeted federal property stewardship exemplified by partnerships with the General Services Administration and programmatic pilots involving the National Park Service and the Department of Defense Base Realignment and Closure process. Cultural stewardship projects have engaged the Smithsonian Institution, the National Archives and Records Administration, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services to standardize preservation protocols. Other efforts include green infrastructure pilots linked to the Environmental Protection Agency's climate resilience grants, historic preservation guidelines coordinated with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and workforce development programs aligned with the Merit Systems Protection Board and the Office of Personnel Management.

Interagency Coordination Mechanisms

Coordination mechanisms used by the group include memorandum-based agreements modeled after frameworks used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and interagency councils such as the National Security Council Principals Committee. The group employs working-level technical committees mirroring structures in the Federal Real Property Council and the Interagency Council on Homelessness, as well as shared data platforms and inventories developed with support from the General Services Administration and the Office of Management and Budget's Federal Data Strategy offices. Joint exercises and tabletop simulations have been conducted in collaboration with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security to test stewardship continuity during crises.

Policy Impact and Outcomes

The Working Group’s outputs have informed executive orders and guidance documents influencing agencies such as the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture. Outcomes include consolidated asset inventories inspired by the Federal Real Property Profile, improved preservation standards adopted by the National Park Service and the Smithsonian Institution, and integrated resilience planning referenced by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy. Congressional oversight hearings in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate have cited the group's reports when shaping appropriation and authorization legislation.

Challenges and Criticisms

Critics point to persistent issues documented by the Government Accountability Office and academic analyses from institutions such as Harvard University and Yale University, noting uneven implementation across the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and smaller agencies like the National Endowment for the Arts. Challenges include resource constraints highlighted by the Office of Management and Budget, jurisdictional overlap with entities such as the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and the difficulty of standardizing practices across legacy systems maintained by agencies including the Library of Congress and the National Archives and Records Administration. Stakeholders in the nonprofit sector and advocacy groups tied to the National Trust for Historic Preservation have pressed for clearer accountability, while congressional committees have debated statutory authorities and appropriation priorities.

Category:United States federal interagency committees