How to Ace your EPA Performance Evaluation

1. How to Ace your EPA Performance Evaluation Tampa Bay Estuary Program Lindsay Cross, Environmental Scientist Photo: Donna Bollenbach

2. It’s OK to freak out, but then get busy! • This process will take several weeks • Don’t leave it to the last moment! • Being prepared and organized will ensure a smoother process

3. Proposed steps • Hold a staff meeting to discuss packet and deadlines • Divide and conquer among the staff • Develop organizational strategy • Reference effectively with supporting documentation • Be aware of formatting • Allow time for collation (~1 week)

4. Key pieces: Core elements • Divided into 7 sub-elements • Performance Measures • Checklist (Fully Performing, Good, Excellent) of Performance Measures • Evidence/Workplan Citation: Reference Attachments • Clarifying Comments • Additional narrative explanation of worksheet and/or evidence • Narrative Summaries • Workplan (and CCMP) goals: Focus on Activities, Outputs, and Outcomes

5. Other key pieces • Habitat Goals • Info already uploaded to NEPORT (Acreage vs. Habitat Category) • CCMP Matrix • Actions initiated by year • Budget • EPA funding and leveraging • CWA Implementation • Projects that specifically support CWA

6. Work together to divide and conquer Tracking/ Reporting • Get all staff involved in process • Set main goals for the program: e.g., TBEP worked from the bottom up (Fully Performing Good Excellent) • Assign sections or items to the relevant staff • Set deadlines for information, including reference attachments • Submit all information to the “organizer” Financial Management Research Assessment and Monitoring, Program Planning Outreach and Public Involvement Reporting

7. Develop an organizational strategy • Set up folders on computer files for hard copies • Core Elements Worksheets by Sub-elements • Performance Measures • Clarifying Comments • Narrative Summaries • Budget • Habitat • CCMP Goals • CWA Implementation • Attachments

8. Effective organization is vital • If you can’t find or understand it, EPA can’t either! • Develop labeling strategy between performance measures worksheet and clarifying comments • TBEP labeled Clarifying Comments as “A, B, C” within each Level • Then used numbers were sub-items

9. Be consistent with references • Use consistent Reference #s based on the first time you reference a document (evidence) • TBEP abbreviated sub-elements: FM-1 for Financial Management • Used same Attachment # throughout all sections • All attachments labeled clearly in subfolders within CD and binder

10. The “evidence” • Bylaws • CCMPs • Workplans • EPA Quarterly Reports • State of the Bay reports • Technical publications • Board meeting agendas • Technical committee reports • Web site updates • Press releases • Outreach materials

11. Include partner projects • Get creative – focus on big projects or reports, but don’t forget about partner projects or other activities • Partnerships important for Narrative Summaries of CCMP goals • Important for Leveraging Ratios • Useful as funding justification to other partners

12. Formatting is frustrating! • Performance Measures Worksheet • Keep comments brief so they stay within page limit • Clarifying Comments • Be aware of text boxes, headers and footers, numbers, and page breaks

13. Allow 1+ week to collate • Develop materials for hard and electronic versions • Use colored tabs or other organizational method • Use Illustrator, Publisher, etc. for Table of Contents • Provide copy of each referenced material • Scan in older documents • Save screen shots from websites • Include hard copies of outreach materials in clear sleeves

14. PE is a good tool for future work • Assess where your program can improve or expand • Encourages alternative explanation of program activities (e.g., outputs and outcomes) • Prioritizes future work • TBEP’s TAC accomplished all of it’s top-ranked research priorities) • Next step: TAC will prioritize new research goals at upcoming meeting

15. Enjoy the site visit • Highlight favorite projects or those in need of support • Provide hands-on experience to reviewers – good excuse for a field day! • Encourage individual time for staff members and EPA • Expect additional questions, based on PE evaluation • Great opportunity for feedback from EPA • Program overall • Problem areas EPA site visit in beautiful Tampa Bay

16. Suggestions to EPA for future PEs • Limit last-minute changes to the packet • Eliminate headers, text boxes, and other formatting issues • Try a single page for the Performance Measure, Evidence, and Clarifying Comments • Limit redundancy throughout categories (e.g., explanations for Narrative Summaries similar to Performance Measures worksheets)

17. Good Luck! • Start early • Stay organized • Stay positive! Photos: Bryon Chamberlin