| Field Management Council Secretariat |
| In 1999, the Deputy Secretary directed that all staff office policy and guidance which impacted the field be vetted through an electronic review process run by a Secretariat located in the Office of Management. Actions were subjected to a 5 day review, followed by a 2 week issue resolution period. At the end of the process actions were presented to the Deputy Secretary for final approval. This is a quick turn around process that is substantially quicker than any previous DOE coordination processes.
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| Actions that are subject to an FMC review |
The process is currently being utilized to coordinate:
- Procurement's Acquisition and Assistance Letters
- Data calls across organizations
- Preliminary rule-makings
- Expedited Directives, such as Policies and Notices
- Policy papers for the signature of the Secretary or Deputy Secretary
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| FMC review process |
Initiation of Review: FMC reviews are initiated by the OPI electronically (e mail: "field management council secretariat" or fmcs@hq.doe.gov) sending ME 43 the following:
- Cover memo from a DAS requesting the FMC Review. The memo should briefly outline the actions background, and list the organizations and individuals that have been involved in its development and clearance;
- Final draft of the action.
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| Distribution: ME 43 circulates the action, accompanied by a cover memorandum providing background information and commenting instructions. The Action is distributed through the FMC mailbox to a designated mailing list of FMC Points of Contact. The POCs are in the front offices of all HQ LPSOs and major staff organizations at major field organizations. |
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| Commenting Instructions: Recipients have 5 working days to review and provide comments to the FMC mailbox. Except for the field, comments are sent directly to the Secretariat. Field comments are sent to the LPSO for consolidation, validation, and transmittal to the FMC mailbox. Comments are passed to the OPI as they are received by ME 43.
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| Comment Resolution: Comments must be resolved within 10 working days. If agreement cannot be reached, disagreements should be elevated until a decision is reached. The ME 43 staff will be available to assist in the process. If the issue(s) cannot be resolved within that time the ME 43 will request the preparation of a decision paper identifying the unresolved issues, and the fairly stated positions of the involved organizations. ME 43 will elevate the decision to the Deputy Secretary. When all comments are resolved the OPI will provide the ME 43 with: A revised document, a redline/strikeout version of the original submittal to show changes, and the comment resolution document. |
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| Approval: After all issues are resolved, ME 43 will prepare a request to the Deputy Secretary summarizing the key issues and asking for approval to release the item. Once approved ME 43 will notify all participating organizations via e mail.
Questions about the FMC should be directed to the FMC Secretariat. The Secretariat can be contacted in the following ways:
- Phone: Virginia Bitler, (202) 586-1619
- Internet address: fmcs@hq.doe.gov
- Location: Rm. 4B 222/FORS
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