DOIU Leadership Institute

The DOIU Leadership Institute is tasked with developing the Department's leaders for today and tomorrow. This challenge is met through several ongoing programs: the Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program, the Team Leadership Program, the Governmentwide Acquisition Management Intern Program, the Office of the Secretary Management Intern Program, and the Financial Management Career Intern Program. The Leadership Institute provides the participants in its programs with intensive training, developmental challenges, and experiential learning opportunities to develop both their technical and their leadership competencies. The services of the Leadership Institute may be obtained as fee-for-service by both civilian and defense agencies.

For more information, contact the Director of the Leadership Institute, contact Allen_R_Naranjo@nbc.gov

DOIU Learning and Performance Centers

The Department of the Interior University Learning and Performance Centers form the foundation for nationwide delivery of instructor-led training courses. The Centers are strategically located in Anchorage, Alaska; Denver, Colorado; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Washington, DC. These cities represent large populations of Department of the Interior employees.

Our training and education programs are competency-based and align with the Department’s Strategic Human Capital Plan and the Agency’s mission and strategic goals. We strive to embrace the diversity of our employees across the country by designing and delivering specialized courses to meet their individual needs. Each Center offers customer-driven products and services linking learning and performance to support the unique and diverse missions of our customers. In addition to instructor-led training, we are expanding our use of technology supported learning to reach a wider audience of DOI employees.

The Learning and Performance Centers now offer an innovative and more strategic approach to determine organizational and employee development needs. As performance consultants, we help managers determine the business needs, performance needs, and the capabilities required for specific jobs. We can, then, recommend a training program, or in some cases, a different type of performance solution or intervention. Special learning events can be designed to meet a single or recurring need. For example, our Anchorage Learning and Performance Center designs and presents award winning seminars on the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation ACT (ANILCA) and Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) that have helped DOI and other federal land managers understand the new Alaska Federal land use legislation. We also offer Workforce Planning courses for managers and supervisors who are responsible for developing workforce plans in their organizations.

The DOIU Learning and Performance Centers are introducing academic and nonacademic certificate programs to enhance employee performance. Professors from our partnering colleges and universities will conduct for credit courses on site or, in some instances, on-line. We offer the Executive Assistant Certificate Program, a nonacademic certificate program that awards continuing education units, twice a year in different locations. Our most recent certificate program, which was launched in September 2002 in Washington ,D.C., is the Human Resources Management Certificate Program. This is an academic certificate program presented through our partnership with the University of Virginia. Please don’t hesitate to contact any of our Learning and Performance Center staff with questions or comments. Our goal is to remain on the forefront of innovative and customer-focused learning solutions.

For more information, contact Lynn_A_McPheeters@nbc.gov

DOIU Online Learning

DOI University's Online Learning Team provides a variety of online learning solutions, primarily for use by Department of the Interior employees and managers. We welcome suggestions for providing additional online learning services or for enhancing our existing online resources. Our services include, but are not limited to:

• Online Courses: DOIU provides over 1,700 courses from NETg, Karta Technologies and SkillSoft, covering computer skills, such as word processing, computer programming, web site development, LAN management, Information Technology Security, and other computer technologies, as well as general skills, such as communications, interviewing, preventing sexual harassment, diversity, team skills, managing work and employees, and many other topics relevant to improving the way we work together. Courses are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week from any location with Internet access. Certificates are available online for successfully completed courses. See www.doi.gov/training/online.html for more information and to sign up for online licenses. (Available to Interior employees only.)

  
  

• Modified SkillSoft Courses: DOIU will modify existing SkillSoft courses to include information specific to Interior organizations. For example, we are working on including information about bureau-specific procedures and contacts, as well as graphics that outdoor field employees can relate better to, for a course on sexual harassment. (Available to Interior organizations only.)

  
  

• New Course Development: DOIU will convert existing classroom courses or create new courses for online delivery, helping to replace or enhance more expensive traditional classroom training with cost-effective online training solutions. Depending on the circumstances, online training can be more effective in meeting just-in-time training needs while reducing costs. (Available Governmentwide.)

  
  

• Department of the Interior Orientation: Department of the Interior Orientation (www.doi.gov/orientation) provides an orientation to the Department for new employees and the general public. Discover what the Department does and the missions of our eight bureaus in the Big Picture section. Continue to Learning the Ropes to learn about benefits, key employee policies, and opportunities. Information on Interior employment opportunities can be found in the Career Management page of this web site. This site includes:

  
  

  • Mission statements for the Department and its bureaus
  • Brief descriptions of Interior organizations with links to their web sites
  • A history of the Department
  • The most up-to-date "Quick Facts" about Interior programs
  • Information on policies affecting Interior employees and their work
  • Holiday, leave, insurance, benefits and retirement information
  • Links to a wide variety of resources available to Interior employees and the general public

• Career Manager: Career Manager (www.doi.gov/octc) helps employees manage their careers with personality and career assessment instruments; Federal government, State government, and private sector job listings; information and instruction on job hunting tools such as networking, job fairs, resumes cover letters, interview tips, and information on relocating; plus resources for persons with disabilities, basic and advanced instruction on using the Internet, and links to other career sites. (Available Governmentwide and to the public.)

  
  

• Personnel Manager: Personnel Manager (www.doi.gov/hrm/pmanager) is an electronic handbook designed to provide information and routine guidance to employees, personnelists and supervisors in all areas on personnel management. It allows users to search using common personnel terms or explore topics on general management, EEO, classification, labor relations, employee relations, staffing, or employee development. Personnel Manager is written in plain English and takes the mystery out of personnel-related information. (Available Governmentwide and to the public.)

• Firefighter and Law Enforcement Special Retirement: The Firefighter and Law Enforcement Official Special Retirement Resource Center (www.doi.gov/training/flert) assists Firefighters, Law Enforcement Officers and Human Resource Personnel in the process of properly preparing and processing Special Retirement benefits. This web site is designed to help you quickly find information about the special retirement program's procedures, requirements and benefits. You can browse through all sections of the site or use the side bar or the site map to quickly locate specific information. Finally, this site provides information about a Department of the Interior online training course that is available free of charge to all Interior employees. It is designed primarily for use by fire fighters and law enforcement employees with questions about the special retirement program and personnel officers who process special retirements.

  
  

• Web-Based Training-Related Services: Information and online registration web sites for conferences, training surveys, and other training-related online database services are available. (Available Governmentwide.)

DOIU Speaker Forums and Other Special Projects

Department of the Interior University Special Projects provide Interior and government wide audiences opportunities to hear important new ideas from experts and apply the ideas to their work and personal lives.

• The Executive Forum/Speaker Series features award winning authors, renowned academics and proven business leaders in a 4-hour round table session with Interior executives. Executives discuss how the new ideas and perspectives apply to Interior situations. Employees and the public attend a late afternoon presentation by the same author. Authors have included nationally known gender communications expert, Deborah Tannen, Pulitzer Prize winner, Jared Diamond, and former Mayor of Indianapolis, Stephen Goldsmith. Coming up for 2003 are two events commemorating anniversaries significant to the Department of the Interior: commemorating the 200th anniversary of the exploration that led to Lewis and Clark Trail, is Jim Ronda, author of Lewis and Clark Among the Indians; commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Wildlife Refuge System is Karen Hollingsworth, photographer and co-author of National Wildlife Refuges. See www.doi.gov/training/forums for more information.

• The Government Wide Forums: Career, Balance and Diversity feature award winning authors, impressive academics and a variety of other experts. These sessions held in Washington, DC, engage entry and mid-level Federal audiences on quality of work and home life topics. Current partners are the Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Personnel Management, and the Departments of Labor and Justice as well as seven Interior bureaus: Minerals Management Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, US Geological Survey, Office of Surface Mining, Bureau of Reclamation and Bureau of Indian Affairs. Authors have included Harvard professor, Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, and Pulitzer Prize winner, Ron Suskind. Coming up for 2003 are Pulitzer Prize winner, Diane McWhorter, author of Carry Me Home and essayist from the Jim Lehrer NewsHour, Richard Rodriguez, author of Brown. These Forums are created in partnership with the local independent bookstore, Politics and Prose. See www.doi.gov/cbd for more information.

• The Government Wide Forums: Growth, Leadership and Transitions feature local and nationally known authors that present their ideas in Denver, Colorado, to large Federal audiences at all levels of the organization. Partners for the second year are: the Environmental Protection Agency, US Forest Service, Department of Labor, Minerals Management Service, Office of the Inspector General, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Business Center and US Geological Survey. New partners for the 2003 events are: Department of Energy, Food and Nutrition Service, VA Regional Office, VA Healthcare System and the Office of Personnel Management. Authors have included the Yorkshire born poet, David Whyte, and generations expert, Claire Raines. Coming up for 2003 are martial arts instructor, Thomas Crum, author of the Magic of Conflict: Turning a Life of Work into a Work of Art, and worldwide transitions expert, William Bridges, author of The Way of Transitions. These Forums are created in partnership with the Denver independent bookstore, The Tattered Cover. See www.doi.gov/training/cbd/denver.html for more information.

• Other Special Projects include hosting author, Lynne V. Cheney, author of America: A Patriotic Primer. On June 17, 2002, Mrs. Cheney spoke to 500 Federal employees and schoolchildren as a special guest in DOI University’s series of author events. The event was presented in partnership with Politics and Prose Bookstore and the Office of Educational Partnerships. Guests will included more than 300 children from the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts in the Washington Metro area and at least four Washington, D.C. schools. Watch www.doi.gov/training for 2003 special events.

  For more information, contact Susan_E_Leonard@nbc.gov