Introduction

The Strategic Plan for the U.S. Geological Survey was designed and developed to provide a statement of direction for the U.S. Geological Survey (the USGS) as an organization. The plan does not focus on any particular organizational unit within the USGS. The plan reflects the Vision of the USGS in 2005 and the refined statement of the Mission of the USGS, found on the second page of this document. An important aspect of the plan is that it highlights the shifts in organizational emphasis that are expected to occur between now and 2005.

The Strategic Plan for the U.S. Geological Survey was developed
between November 1994 and February 1996 by the Strategic Planning
Team, whose membership represented all of the major organizational
and geographic units of the USGS. This team worked closely with the
USGS Policy Council and program managers throughout the USGS.
The strategic planning process included evaluating the current organi-
zation and its activities, considering which future external events might
unfold and how such events would affect the USGS, and developing
the strategic actions presented herein.'

In performing its work, the Strategic Planning Team prepared five
documents in addition to the Strategic Plan, to provide information
to support the conclusions and strategic actions contained in the plan.
These are Workplan, Strengths and Weaknesses of the U.S. Geological
Survey, Profiles of USGS Programs, Managing Opportunities and
Threats Affecting the U.S. Geological Survey, and Scenarios for the
Future of the U.S. Geological Survey. Workplan describes the process
used in developing the Strategic Plan. Strengths and Weaknesses of
the U.S.Geological Survey analyzes strengths and weaknesses and,
together with Profiles of USGS Programs, describes the USGS as
of June 1995. Managing Opportunities and Threats Affecting the
U.S. Geological Survey and Scenarios for the Future of the U.S.
Geological Survey are important tools in describing driving forces
and possible future states for the USGS. Scenarios contains neither
predictions of the future nor strategies, but concepts of possible
future worlds derived partly from the driving forces influencing
today's society. The team developed strategic actions that anticipated
or responded to the implications of these scenarios.

1 In late 1995, Congress mandated the consolidation of the National Biological Service
(NBS) with the USGS. The merger will take place on or before October 1, 1996. The
timing of the congressional directive precluded the integration of the NBS Strategic
Science Plan with the Strategic Plan for the USGS. Although the two plans are being
issued separately, the NBS plan will guide the initial scientific efforts of what will
become the Biological Resources Division of the USGS. Subsequent refinements
of the USGS plan will reflect the new responsibilities of the USGS for biological
resources research and the integration of biological science into the USGS.

The USGS views the Strategic Plan for the U.S. Geological Survey as an umbrella under which all organizational units of the USGS will create their own strategic plans. More important, all organizational units will participate in the implementation of the strategic actions outlined in this plan. Development of a first-year implementation strategy by USGS managers is the next step in the planning process.

Organization of the Text

The text of the plan is divided into three major parts. Part 1 discusses the driving forces that are likely to influence the options and choices for the future direction of the USGS. Part 2 discusses the "core competencies" of the USGS-those attributes that give the USGS its competitive edge. The USGS must excel in all of these competencies in order to succeed by the year 2005. Part 3 describes the "business activities" of the USGS-those scientific and technical efforts currently undertaken by the USGS and those the organization will carry out in the future. These business activities are not defined along traditional program lines. Rather, they represent the key topical areas where one or more USGS organizational units may have interests, as well as the capabilities and skills necessary to pursue the activity. The final section summarizes next steps in the strategic planning process. A glossary of selected terms and concepts contained in the plan is included at the end of the text.

part

Driving Forces:

Political, Economic,
Societal,
and Global

Powerful forces in the world are driving a dynamic, uncertain environment in which society as a whole is evolving. These forces

which both significantly influence and create alternatives for the USGS - will shape the future of the United States, the needs of the public, and the roles of Federal agencies. Of particular importance to the USGS are the following forces:

Devolution of Federal government functions: What will be the appropriate role for a Federal earth science agency if many formerly Federal functions are assumed by State or local governments or by the private sector?

New technologies: How will new scientific and information
technologies be exploited to help solve problems that concern
and affect the public?

Demographic changes: How will a growing population's demand
for resources be met? To what extent can the economic impact
of natural disasters be mitigated when such disasters affect large
population centers?

Public investment in science: What does society expect from
investments in research and technology?

Society's concept of "public good": How can earth science that
is publicly funded demonstrate its value to society?

Economic versus environmental interests: How might society
benefit from impartial and credible earth science information
when dynamic tensions between environment and economy arise?
Global interdependence: How can an understanding of global
earth science issues contribute to U.S. foreign policy, national
and economic security, and environmental quality?

Scarcity and management of natural resources: What can earth
science contribute to the development of sound national public
policy for natural resources?

These driving forces affect the quality of life of all citizens of the United States. Opportunities to help improve the quality of life through relevant work and research depend on how these forces evolve and how the USGS responds to them.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Mergers and acquisitions are a way
of life or death in private industry.
Companies are driven by the global
economy to be leaner and more
efficient. The Federal government
may be poised for consolidation too,
with dynamics both similar to and
different from those of industry.

Public sentiment in this country seems
to favor balancing the Federal budget,
and both the President and Congress
seem intent on achieving this goal.
To some degree, the private industry
model is being viewed as relevant
to government organizations. Some
functions no longer viewed as appro-
priate for the Federal government
are targeted to be devolved to
States, private industry, or individuals.
Remaining functions might be reformed
along business lines to take advan-
tage of the government version of
economies of scale.

Science and technology agencies,
as government enterprises, might be
downsized and consolidated. While
private industry has long sought to
produce products and services that

customers are willing to pay for, government is only beginning to critically evaluate what society wants and is willing to pay for. Reinvention of government (that is, a customer orientation with an eye toward cost efficiency) is a first step toward operating parts of government like a business. It remains to be seen whether such reinvention activities will be sufficient to ensure long-term survival of agencies, when outmoded missions, insufficient leadership, or an unwillingness to change continues to exist.

In private industry, it is typically,
but not always, the larger enterprise
that acquires the smaller. Smaller
businesses that are lean and focused
can perpetuate themselves in larger
groupings by infusing their culture and
efficient business practices into larger
but less efficient organizations. In
government, as in private industry,
Congress ("the Board of Directors")
may base decisions about which
organizations and functions to merge
on public policy considerations, as
well as economic considerations.

Devolution of Federal
Government Functions

New Technologies

The role of the Federal government is changing and will continue to
change. State and local governments, nongovernmental organizations,
and private enterprises are beginning to be asked to provide more
services, while the Federal government is being asked to provide fewer.
The Federal government, including the USGS, needs to find ways to
enhance its ability to work through and with other organizations.
The devolution of traditional Federal governmental functions implies
significant changes for agencies such as the USGS. The trend toward
downsizing, grounded in concerns about balancing the Federal budget,
could result in smaller appropriations for the USGS. Responses to
this changing environment include seeking novel partnerships with
other U.S. and international agencies to take advantage of USGS
scientific expertise for the benefit of society. The Federal government
could reorganize into fewer, but larger, agencies that focus on broader
areas of concern. A consolidated multiscience agency would create
opportunities for new synergism among the sciences. The organization
and scope of activities of such an earth science agency are unclear but
certain to be different, in contrast to today.

Scientific concepts, analytical techniques, resource extraction tech-
nologies, Earth-observing satellites, biotechnology, and information
sciences are evolving rapidly. Demand for information in the global
economy is satisfied by increasingly cost-efficient and responsive new
technologies that allow information to flow freely and quickly across
political, economic, and intellectual borders. New technology first
offers improved means of doing traditional tasks, but it soon enables
people to create products that were never before possible. For example,
satellites first helped improve weather forecasts. Today, data trans-
missions from low Earth-orbit satellites and cellular networks enable
"nowcasting”—the immediate communication of events to emergency
management agencies, farmers, pilots, and the public at large. The
Internet, the World Wide Web (WWW), and cellular technologies have
begun to revolutionize the way that consumers acquire information
and the methods by which entrepreneurs disseminate information.
Unit costs for both technology and information are decreasing.
Information technology also raises customer expectations. Consumers
expect technology to be both fast and cheap, and they expect informa-
tion to be reliable, accessible, and ubiquitous. Furthermore, consumers
expect products to include information that is immediately accessible,
inexpensive, and easy to use. Providers of information who do not live
up to these expectations will find that competitors with better skills
and a better customer orientation will fill the gap quickly. The use of
scientific data will increase dramatically because real-time, high-
capacity data systems are becoming more commonplace. This