WASHINGTON, DC—Partnerships are increasingly essential to accomplishing the Forest Service’s vast mission. But developing new partnerships with outside organizations can take time. When program managers wish to work with partners on projects of mutual interest, they often write lengthy new partnership agreements. Program managers can now use the National Partnership Office’s Master Agreement Library, launched this month, to execute partnership agreements more quickly.

With this new tool, Forest Service employees can easily find an existing master agreement that allows them to complete the anticipated project with an agency partner. A master agreement establishes a general commitment between the Forest Service and a partner to work together on future projects. Program managers can later add supplemental project agreements that outline the financing and scope of work for those specific projects.

Employees can use the Master Agreement Library to sort master agreements by region, project type, cooperator type and expiration date, among other factors. Once program managers have selected an appropriate agreement, they can quickly work with the partner to write a supplemental project agreement.

This resource will improve efficiency and reduce duplicative efforts created by writing new agreements from scratch.

The Master Agreement Library will also aid the Forest Service in implementing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This recent legislation invested $5.5 billion in the agency’s lands and resources. Each agreement included within the Master Agreement Library relates to a provision of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, such as hazardous fuels treatment and ecosystem restoration.

“By connecting program managers with existing agreements, this library will enable the Forest Service to obligate these appropriations and get boots on the ground more quickly,” said National Shared Stewardship Coordinator Keith O’Loughlin, who created this resource. “It will also build the agency’s capacity for partnerships at a time when partnerships are crucial for achieving agency priorities. Given the scale of these new appropriations, the Forest Service cannot accomplish this work alone.”

Forest Service employees can access the Master Agreement Library through SharePoint. More information about partnerships can be found on the National Partnership Office website.