Values

Documents/DOI2011-2016/Values

Ensuring High Ethical Standards -- Key to maintaining public trust and confidence in the integrity of government is adherence to high ethical standards and ensuring that government business is conducted with impartiality and integrity. The Department will embody this principle and will follow the law and hold people accountable. Accountability is a key theme - we expect to be held accountable. Interior will not tolerate the types of lapses that detract and distract from the good, honest service to the American people that this Department provides every day. The Department's decisions will be based on sound science and the best interest of the public. The Department will promote and support transparency, accountability, and efficiency.

Make Interior the Best and Most Inclusive Place to Work in America -- The Department's workforce should be reflective of the Nation's diversity of cultures and talents. The Department will foster an environment that is open and accepting of individual differences and that encourages employees to maximize their potential and to exhibit a commitment to provide quality service. The Department will confront challenges to ensure that policies, practices, and systems do not benefit any one group over another and that the differences that each employee brings to the Department are respected and can enhance the organization's capacity, service, and adaptability.

Financial Integrity and Transparency -- The Department will uphold its responsibilities for effective fi nancial operations and accountability including high quality and timely reporting, robust internal controls, clean audits without material weaknesses, and effective follow-up on audit and internal control findings. Interior will effectively utilize the Financial and Business Management System, optimizing functionality and minimizing risk, to consistently and efficiently manage the execution of budgets, reconcile budgetary and financial information, and maintain accountability for resources. Throughout these processes, transparency will be a core value. In conjunction with the Strategic Plan and Priority Goals, the Department will utilize budgetary, financial, and performance information to ensure high performing programs and cost effective and efficient program delivery.

Safety, Security, and Preparedness -- One of the Department's top priorities is safety, security, and preparedness. Interior will uphold its responsibilities for protecting, lives, resources, and property through a wide variety of program areas, including law enforcement, health and safety, security, and emergency management. Interior has the third largest contingent of Federal law enforcement offi cers in the Executive Branch. These 3,500 offi cers patrol vast acres of public lands, national parks, wildlife refuges, and Indian communities and protect natural, cultural, and heritage resources from illegal activities. The Department is responsible for protecting critical infrastructure including dams and national monuments, and icons. The Department also coordinates with law enforcement partners to assist in the protection of assets that Interior does not own including infrastructure in the Outer Continental Shelf, the Trans-Alaska pipeline, and gas transmission lines. Lastly, the Department supports the National Response Framework and other requirements maintaining a robust capability to monitor, respond to, and recover from human-caused and natural catastrophic disasters and other emergencies. The Department's all-hazards preparedness and recovery programs ensure that employees are trained and equipped to respond and provide assistance to communities, protect natural and cultural resources, and provide leadership in restoration activities.

Promoting Small and Disadvantaged Business -- The Department promotes the use of small and disadvantaged businesses in its execution of a $2.7 billion annual portfolio of contracting and as a result is able to contract with small business for over 50 percent of this amount. The Department's program managers, acquisition specialists, and small business advocates promote the use of small businesses; conduct outreach with small businesses to inform them of upcoming contracting opportunities; and provide advice and counseling about the contracting process.

Respect Indian Cultures -- The Department's new Strategic Plan recognizes the importance of the government-to-government relationship with tribes with the creation of a new mission goal to focus on Indian-related issues and programs. The Department will continue to encourage tribal management of resources and self-determination; consultation and support for effective management of the tribal trust; and the need to uphold commitments to tribes and Indian communities. Building cooperation will be an important aspect of these principles, including respect for Indian cultures of the 565 Indian tribes, the importance of the subsistence lifestyle practiced by Indians, and the need to consider and incorporate traditional knowledge in decision making. Consultation is a key component of respecting Indian cultures and supporting the government-to-government relationship. The Department upholds the President's Executive Order 13175 Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments. All of the Department's bureaus and offices will operate under a policy consistent with the Executive Order that considers the impacts of policies, processes, rulemaking, and legislation regarding tribes and tribal communities. Implementation of a robust policy will strengthen the government-to-government relationship with tribes and help to achieve the Strategic Plan goal.

Empowering Native Hawaiian Communities -- For almost 100 years the Department has been involved in Native Hawaiian issues. Two Public Laws, 108-199 and 104-42, shape the Department's relationship with Native Hawaiians and Hawaiian matters, which are coordinated by the Office of Hawaiian Relations. Interior upholds principles that are relevant to Hawaii in three areas: preservation of Native Hawaiian culture and cultural resources; support for self-governance and self-determination; and promotion of homestead opportunities, economic self-sufficiency, and social well being.

International Engagement and Leadership -- Interior participates in the United States' eff orts to address climate change; protect biodiversity; sustainably manage energy, water, and natural resources; empower indigenous communities; protect cultural heritage; and ensure sound science as the basis for decision making. The resources for which Interior is responsible cross jurisdictional boundaries and Interior is a key player in the international community confronting the exploitation of natural resources, trade in wildlife, spread of invasive species, and in a multiplicity of scientific issues. The Department is committed to maintaining its relevance and will engage in international efforts as a core mission responsibility, consistent with its unique expertise and mandate.