Workforce Planning and Organizational Efficiency In 2010 the GAO found that the BIA, like most other Bureaus in the Department of the Interior, failed to link workforce planning with strategic plans, desired outcomes, or budgets (United States GAO, 2010). The lack of integrated planning and absence of a workforce gap analysis continues to be an issue. Recently, the BIA Deputy Director for Trust Services began a strategic workforce planning process. However, this was an internal
biggest identified need for both technicians and seasonal workers. Lack of adequate recurring funding (see Task A) at both the Bureau and tribal level is the single largest cause of staffing shortages. The inadequacy of programmatic funds frequently leads tribal programs to enter an increasingly complex process of grant writing to other federal agencies, non-profit organizations, and foundations. This often results in the extensive investment of staff time in finding, applying for, managing, and reporting on grants. In a significant number of field visits, tribal foresters and other natural resource managers reported that activities connected to grant funding consumed 50-70% of an FTE. Reliance on grant funding, which is temporary by nature, also increases the difficulty of hiring permanent staff. One recent and innovative solution to the lack of tribal capacity in certain key skill areas is the creation of the BIA Timber Team. This team, located out of Billings, MT has been in place since 2019 and has helped multiple tribes and agencies by providing short term assistance in executing projects such as laying out green and salvage timber sales, and assisting with issues such as trespass, CFI, and stand exams. Such a model provides targeted assistance to tribes with smaller holdings that may not have the funding, even under ideal circumstances, to retain a large staff with specialized capabilities, and also to larger tribes that may have a sudden increased short-term need, as is often seen with salvage layout after major fire or wind events.
process to the BIA that did not include consideration of tribal staffing needs. The workforce planning process itself is still being formulated several years after initiation. In 2018, the Intertribal Timber Council launched its own, independent four-year strategic workforce plan (ITC, 2018). In this plan, ITC identified the need for funding to onboard their own workforce development coordinator and also recommended that the BIA should “work with tribes to develop a strategic plan to recruit,
Seedling processing at the Hoopa Valley Tribe, California. PHOTO CREDIT: VINCENT CORRAO
Task Findings and Recommendations 103
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