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Information for Working Group Leaders

By John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis

Congratulations on the selection of your Working Group proposal. The following describes the sequence of events you may expect to proceed with your Working Group endeavor.

Within 2-3 months of notification that your proposal is selected:

  • We will arrange a call with Marty Goldhaber and Jill Baron and other Powell Center staff to discuss your Working Group meetings, agendas, and expectations.  Powell Center activities are not routine meetings.  They are sustained, intense interactions among individuals with ready access to raw data, metadata, and sophisticated analytical tools.  We subscribe to the “work hard, play hard” approach for Working Group activities and will help schedule your time in Fort Collins to plan mid-meeting free time or field trips to facilitate informal discussions and networking opportunities among the conferees.  Many studies show that unstructured time during collaborative meetings increases overall creativity and productivity. Click here for an example agenda, taken from the Soil Carbon Storage Working Group's first meeting. 
  • Synthesis activities require different types of leadership skills than those you may have developed in the past.  We will provide guides for effective leadership so you can make your Working Group as productive and enjoyable as possible.
  • Poll your participants and select ALL meeting dates for your Working Group meetings at the Powell Center.  We find it effective to schedule busy peoples’ time far in advance of the meetings.  Working Group meetings may last four to five days. 
  • Please coordinate Working Group meeting dates with the Powell Center (powellcenter@usgs.gov, 970-226-9103).  This email will schedule your meetings with other activities at the Powell Center.
  • Confirm participation by all members of your Working Group and send a completed Participant List to the Powell Center (powellcenter@usgs.gov).
  • Provide a non-technical summary of the Working Group project and one or more high quality pictures or graphics suitable for the public and students. This summary will be posted on the Powell Center website.  The USGS is committed to increasing public understanding of science so your non-technical summary should be written at an 8th grade reading level, include a simple title, motivation for the project, and its relevance to the public.
  • Please read and submit the information technology checklist [pdf], indicating needs of your Working Group, to the Powell Center powellcenter@usgs.gov.

Travel Arrangements:

DO NOT BOOK YOUR FLIGHTS (unless told to by the travel arranger)! Powell Center cannot reimburse you for flights if you purchase your own ticket. The Powell Center covers all travel and per diem expenses for participants. Refer to Finances of Successful Proposals graphic for an explanation. 

These are acceptable travel expenses:

  • Hotel expenses for the length of the meeting to include the day before and after meeting, if necessary, and at the government rate only;
  • Meals and incidental expenses for the length of the meeting to include the day before and after meeting, if necessary;
  • Airline tickets from a participant’s originating airport to Denver International Airport and the return to originating airport. DO NOT BOOK YOUR OWN FLIGHTS UNLESS TOLD OTHERWISE BY USGS TRAVEL AGENTS;
  • Two-way mileage between participant’s residence and home airport or between the participant’s residence and Fort Collins. The mileage rate is 19 cents/mile;
  • Parking at home airport, not to exceed $70.00;
  • Shuttle/taxi to and from home airport.

Pre-travel forms are required from each participant so appropriate travel and lodging arrangements may be made.  We attempt to ease travel arrangements, but different forms are required for USGS, other federal, university, and international travelers. Failure of the traveler to initiate the travel arrangement process increases the workload.  We will notify you about missing pre- and post-travel forms and ask you to contact those travelers to provide the required information as soon as possible.  

Fellow and Salary Support:

Working Group funds may be used to support Fellows, post-docs, students, or staff, but NOT Working Group participants or principal investigators (unless employed by a USGS Water Science Center).  Contact the Powell Center Directors by phone to discuss details (Jill: 970-491-1968).  Options include transfer of funds to a USGS Cost Center, transfer of funds through a Cooperative Ecosystem Study Unit (CESU) agreement to a university, or direct hire through the Powell Center using a Student Service Contract. Refer to the Finances of Successful Proposals table. 

Computational Support:

  • Extensive information technology resources are available to your Working Group, before, during, and after your meetings. Please identify the IT liaison in your Working Group to serve as the primary point of contact to coordinate the information technology needs with the Fort Collins support staff. Additional information is available on Data Resources web page.