Department of Natural Resources

Director:  Richard Leopold

Website:  http://www.iowadnr.com

Flexibility through Charter Agency status allows the DNR new opportunities, ranging from improvements in issuing permits and
collecting fines to creation of new revenues through a retail venture.

“Just the concept of Charter Agency with its potential to shed some of the bureaucratic burdens has changed the way we approach our work, prompting us to be more creative with solutions to our challenges. We are now able to devote our time and resources to obtaining results and rewards rather than struggling within a prescribed set of rules and policies,” said Jeff Vonk, Director of the DNR.

Three DNR Charter Agency Accomplishments

The DNR utilized a continuous improvement tool known as “Kaizen,” which focuses on the process of a given task to improve efficiency. The first DNR Kaizen event, held in the spring of 2003, resulted in a new process for issuing air construction permits that simplified workflow, eliminated several processing steps and reduced issuance time – without sacrificing quality control and environmental protection. The bottom line was a reduction in the average amount of time to issue a standard permit from 62 days to six working days – a 90 percent improvement – and the elimination of a 600-permit backlog in only six months. Following this success, the DNR conducted a number of Kaizen events throughout the agency and helped other departments within state government to improve Iowa’s economic competitiveness.

The DNR implemented an agreement with the Iowa Department of Revenue to collect outstanding administrative penalties totaling $500,000. In less than six months, the agreement resulted in collection of approximately $50,000. The success of this partnership resulted in other bureaus within the DNR seeking a similar partnership with the Department of Revenue to collect money owed, ranging from outstanding fishing and hunting fees to debt owed to the state’s forest nursery.

Established in November 2004, the Nature Store is primarily an online retail store – www.iowanaturestore.com – where customers can purchase apparel and educational materials related to Iowa’s natural resources and outdoor recreation. The mission of the store is to help Iowans connect with their natural resources. Profits are directed to the state parks fund. The Nature Store also sells at the Iowa State Fair and other special DNR public events. In its first year of operation, the store sold more than $25,000 in merchandise.

LookingForward

The DNR is selecting processes for future Kaizen events and integrating process improvement throughout the agency.

The DNR is also bringing business process improvement to the other executive branch agencies in Iowa to improve the state’s
economic competitiveness. Several other agencies held events in FY05, including Economic Development, Public Safety, Human Services and Corrections.

The end result for the Iowa DNR is increased environmental protection and staff efficiency in an age of increased demands upon staff while budgets diminish.

For more information:

Liz Christiansen

515-281-3388

Liz.Christiansen@dnr.state.ia.us