A Survey of Innovative Contracting for Quality Jobs and Ecosystem Management

This survey identifies and defines innovative contracting mechanisms developed in the Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region and northern California. A survey of nine case studies reveals that several new mechanisms have facilitated ecosystem management, quality jobs, and administrative efficiencies, but at times innovation was hampered by Forest Service institutional structures and downsizing. The simultaneous downsizing of federal land management agencies, the shift toward ecosystem-based management, and renewed attention to rural community well-being have spurred reform of service and timber sale contracting in the Forest Service. Contracting mechanisms were created with an industrial forestry model in mind and need adaptation to implement new management objectives. The Forest Service in conjunction with nongovernmental organizations and rural communities has begun to experiment with new ways to shape contracts that meet the goals of ecological and community well-being. Innovations began in the mid-1990s in ranger districts and national forests. Specifically, innovators began to think about contracting new types of work, bundling tasks, trading goods for services, creating end-results contracts, and inserting new skills and knowledge requirements. • Identifies and defines innovative contract mechanisms and components that have been tried over the past several years in Oregon, Washington, and northern California. • Offers project profiles to illustrate how these mechanisms have been developed and used in practice. • Considers how these mechanisms affect ecosystem management (especially ecological restoration and quality jobs) and administrative efficiency. This study considers contracting efforts that sought to increase the ability of the Forest Service to implement the multiple goals of ecosystem management, especially ecological restoration and fostering quality jobs in rural forest communities. The study describes nine contracting innovations based on 32 telephone interviews and review of contracts and other documents about contracting innovation. It presents definitions of key contract components and approaches such as bundling, best value, requests for proposal, and HUB zone set-asides. In addition, it distinguishes between timber sales and service contracts and discusses contracts that combine procurement of services and disposal of timber. The study profiles the contracting innovations of nine examples: Abstract Executive Summary