In pursuance of its continuing concern with the effective management of collegial regulatory agencies,[1] the Conference approves the following statement.
(a) In multimember regulatory agencies, the division of collegial responsibilities makes agency management unusually complex. The working relationships in a collegial setting involving chairmen, members, and top staff are unique in a number of respects. They are foreign to the dominant experience of many who find themselves involved in them. Previously learned ways of doing things must be undone and new knowledge forged from experience.
(b) The objectives of prior efforts to strengthen the managerial role of the chairmen of collegial agencies have largely been realized. Although the preeminence of chairmen in the management realm is generally established, there remains some ambiguity in their role in relation to the role of members. This condition frequently results in some underlying tension in chairman-member relationships. But differences are seldom openly articulated and worked through. When differences arise, they are likely to appear in the context of particular issues, and not in a way that provokes attention to general questions about working relationships.
(c) Chairmen, though thrust into a more active managerial role than other agency members, sometimes seem unenthusiastic about management-related matters and have had limited preparation for this aspect of their responsibilities. Other agency members, who in a broad sense are ultimately charged with responsibility for management, likewise often appear to lack interest in management matters, such as setting regulatory priorities and resource allocations. As a result, there is little focused attention given at the top of the agencies to the larger management questions and particularly to the nature and viability of the processes through which major management determinations are made.
(d) Although differences among agencies must be recognized fully in treating problems of regulatory management, there are certain commonalities. Even if experiences are not always directly transferable, there will be positive effects that result from their exchange. Yet there has been very little systematic communication among the agencies, especially at the level of chairmen and commissioners.
(e) Well-planned and adeptly conducted seminars are uniquely suited to developing perspectives and understandings related to the roles of chairmen and members, stimulating interest in particular problem areas, suggesting approaches to problem-solving, and exchanging information about organizational performance. The value of such endeavors has been demonstrated through a number of programs aimed at groups of officials not unlike regulatory officials. New members of Congress participate in such enterprises. And the seminars regularly conducted for members of the Federal judiciary by the Federal Judicial Center are especially relevant. Regulatory agency performance thus should be improved by affording agency members the opportunity to participate in seminars at which they can exchange views with officials of other agencies on management problems, alternative and innovative approaches to policy formulation, intraagency and interagency and governmental relationships, and methods of dealing with the complex role questions presented when regulatory problems are administered in a collegial setting.
(f) In exercise of its statutory authority to “arrange for interchange among administrative agencies of information potentially useful in improving administrative procedure,” the Administrative Conference should arrange for the conduct of periodic seminars for regulatory agency officials. Participants should be drawn principally from among the chairmen, members, and senior staff of the independent regulatory agencies, and the agencies should cooperate in arranging their participation. In the seminars, special emphasis should be placed on the interests and needs of officials who are newly appointed to their positions. The seminars should deal with matters basic to agency performance, such as budget and personnel policies and procedures; priority setting; relationships with Congress, departments and agencies, and the Executive Office of the President; and the implications of the Administrative Procedure Act for the management of regulatory programs.
(g) The seminars should be scheduled at the discretion of the Chairman of the Administrative Conference. The participating agencies should play a role in planning the seminars, as should the U.S. Civil Service Commission. The seminar format should be flexible and should emphasize informal problem-oriented group discussion, with expert informational inputs as necessary, rather than formal presentations. Reliance should be placed on the participants themselves and on others experienced in the regulatory process, including former members and chairmen. Each seminar should be evaluated by the participants as an aid to improving subsequent efforts.
Citations
40 FR 27928 (July 2, 1975)
__ FR _____ (2013)
4 ACUS 75
[1] See Statement # 1, Views of the Administrative Conference on the "Report on Selected Independent Regulatory Agencies" of the President's Advisory Council on Executive Organization, adopted May 7, 1971.