308.69.1 – Facilities Investment Review Subcommittee

Issuance Number:     308.69.1

Subject:                           Facilities Investment Review Subcommittee

Expiration Date:        8/31/2027

Responsible Office:   Office of Administration

Instruction: This updates Survey Manual (SM) chapter 308.69.1, dated July 25, 2022, to reflect changes to membership, member terms, and investment review threshold; provide policy clarification; and better align with the Department of the Interior (DOI) Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) guidance.

Approving Official:     /s/ Jim Anderton

                                        Associate Director for Administration

1.    Purpose.

A.  The purpose of the Facilities Investment Review Subcommittee (FIRS) is to establish a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) process for the review of facilities investments below the Facilities Investment Review Board (IRB) threshold of 5,000,000 dollars.

B.  The FIRS review ensures that facility investments between 500,000 dollars and the IRB threshold receive enterprise-level oversight, are managed as strategic business resources with efficient/effective program delivery, and support Bureau/DOI priorities.

2.    Authority.

A.  DOI CPIC for Construction and Leased Space, v 3.0, August 2020

B.  DOI Annual Lifecycle Investment Planning Guidance

C.  SM 308.69, Facilities Investment Review Board

D.  OMB Circular A-11 – Preparation, Submission, and Execution of the Budget

E.  Executive Order 13327 – Federal Real Property Asset Management

3.    Roles and Responsibilities.

A.  The FIRS is responsible for the following activities:

(1)  Evaluating and approving all acquisitions of space (General Services Administration occupancy agreements, cooperative agreements that provide space to USGS, interagency/co-location agreements, commercial leases, and transfer of real property) with an initial or average total annual cost between 500,000 and 1,000,000 dollars.  This applies to both new agreements/leases and renewals or replacements of existing agreements.  The multi-year nature of agreements represents a significant bureau financial obligation over the term of the agreement; therefore, IRB approval is required for investments with average total annual costs that exceed 1,000,000 dollars.

(2)  Evaluating space consolidation opportunities below the Facilities IRB threshold with a one-time cost between 500,000 and 5,000,000 dollars.

(3)  Evaluating and approving all construction, repairs, renovations, tenant improvements, and other facilities’ infrastructure investments, excluding routine cyclic maintenance and life cycle replacements, with a one-time cost between 500,000 and 5,000,000 dollars.

(4)  Ensuring that proposed investments align with USGS and DOI missions, strategic goals, and business priorities.

(5)  Ensuring adherence to DOI/USGS space utilization standards, policies, and plans.

(6)  Reviewing projects previously approved by the FIRS that have major changes to scope, schedule, cost, or risk.  The purpose is to ensure that project status, progress, and outlook are satisfactory and consistent with project plans and the original proposed investment.

(7)  Referring projects whose costs have increased above the IRB threshold to the IRB for continued oversight.

B.  The FIRS is not responsible for initial review of investments that require Facilities IRB approval or review of investments considered routine cyclic maintenance and life cycle replacement of building systems and components regardless of estimated cost.

4.    Membership.

A.  FIRS membership is as follows:

(1)  The Chief, Office of Management Services (OMS), who serves as Chair

(2)  Two Executive Leadership Team (ELT) level representatives, at least one of whom must be a Regional Director

(3)  One Deputy Associate Director (AD) 

(4)  Two Deputy Regional Directors

(5)  Two Regional/Senior Management Officers

(6)  Two Science Center Directors

(7)  The Office of Budget, Planning, and Integration (OBPI) Deputy AD

(8)  One OMS staff member serves as Secretary and is a non-voting member

At the discretion of the FIRS, other members may be named to provide specialized expertise and advice.

5.    Term and Appointments.  The Chair and the OBPI Deputy AD are permanent positions.  The remaining positions, which serve 3-year terms with the possibility of annual extensions up to 5 years, will be filled based on requests for new members made to the USGS ELT, the Joint Business and Field Leaders Team, and other personnel groups with positions represented on the FIRS.  Positions will be filled in a manner that best ensures broad representation among regions, mission areas, and programs as determined by the Chair.  In cases where the number of volunteers exceeds the number of vacant positions, those not appointed will be placed on a stand-by list to be appointed as new vacancies occur.

6.    Procedures.

A.  Meetings.  FIRS meetings are held quarterly to meet DOI CPIC reporting requirements and to support the USGS and DOI budget cycle.  The FIRS may hold special sessions as determined by the Chair.  FIRS members unable to attend meetings may designate an alternate that can vote in their stead.

B.  Voting.  All members will be voting members (except for the Secretary). For a vote to occur, a quorum, defined as a simple majority of current voting members or their proxies, must be present.  In case of a tie vote the issue will be decided by the Chair. Members with a conflict of interest in an investment request (such as those submitted by their science center or program area) will be recused from voting on that request.

C.  Decisions.  The FIRS will decide on facilities investments and related issues by simple Yes/No voting on each investment; however, conditional, or partial approval of investment requests are permitted at the discretion of the FIRS.  These decisions are valid up to the Facilities IRB threshold unless otherwise specified in the investment decision. Changes to approved investments do not require reconsideration by the FIRS if the total cost remains under the Facilities IRB threshold, a funding strategy has been defined, and the nature or scope of the investment is not significantly changed.

D.  Minutes.  OMS will record and post minutes of proceedings and investment decisions in a standardized manner, so they are available to all staff.

E.  ​​​​​​​Administrative Support.  OMS will provide staff and logistical support for the FIRS and maintain an online repository of all FIRS documents.