U.S. Office of Government Ethics 1201 New York Ave., NW Suite 500 Washington, DC 20005-3917 February 23, 2007 DO-07-004 MEMORANDUM TO: Designated Agency Ethics Officials FROM: Robert I. Cusick Director SUBJECT: 2007 Training Award Recipients The Office of Government Ethics (OGE) is pleased to announce the 2007 Training Award recipients. The award recipients successfully met the challenge of developing creative, innovative educational programs and tools. Their products serve as models of programs that can be adapted for use by other agencies. The awards reflect the importance OGE places on training and its role in ensuring an ethical workforce. The awards recognize the outstanding achievements of the: * Bureau of the Public Debt – EthicsSmart, posters and newsletters used to complement ethics training. New posters are developed monthly. The monthly newsletter uses a question and answer format, provides tips and suggestions, and offers information for managers to discuss at staff meetings. * Communications – Electronics Life Cycle Management Command – Ethics Smart Card, credit card sized cards that provide useful information about permissible and impermissible post-employment activities. Easily read and portable, the cards were widely distributed to senior military and civilian personnel. * Natick Soldier Center – instructor-led, interactive training targeted to the specific needs of a highly educated group of scientists, engineers, and supporting staff. The training program contains numerous analogies and references to current events to illustrate various points. It effectively makes the case as to why the information is relevant to the audience. * National Aeronautics and Space Administration – Ethics Survivor, an instructor-led game based on the TV program. Props are used to facilitate the game and add an element of realism. Questions are used to explore a range of ethics issues. * U.S. Agency for International Development – a comprehensive program that includes values-based instructor-led ethics training, customized rules-based instructor-led training, strong, visible agency leadership buy-in, annual ethics award (including a plaque and cash award), electronic ethics tip of the day, and the ethics web site. * U.S. Department of Agriculture – an online horse race in which participants select ethics questions of varying degrees of difficulty. The question selected and the answer chosen define participants’ pace in the race. The Department also has several Self-Help tools that allow employees to identify possible ethics problems. The tools support the work of the ethics official. By completing the tools employees are either directed to the ethics official for guidance or learn that it is unlikely that they have an ethics problem. * Department of Commerce – an instructor-led program that uses flashcards to present information on a range of topics to include post employment, gifts, misuse of position, Hatch Act, etc. The instructor presents information and distributes the cards to participants. Based on the cards, participants state whether a particular behavior is or is not allowed. * U.S. Department of Education – Ethics Jeopardy, using the TV game show format, this instructor-led program is used for basic ethics training. By varying the format the game was used effectively for small and large groups. * U.S. Mint – 2006 General Training, interactive, instructor-led training that addresses gifts, conflicts of interest, outside activities, etc. The program provides a clear sense of why the training is important. * U.S. Office of Personnel Management – an instructor-led program, Public Service and Ethical Leadership, sponsored by the Federal Executive Institute. The highly interactive program includes case studies, video clips, classic and contemporary readings, and self- assessment exercises. The awards provide OGE an opportunity to showcase the agencies’ products and celebrate their achievements. Their development of leading edge initiatives, programs, and products represents excellence and innovation of ethics training provided for the purpose of fostering an ethical culture. The agencies will be formally recognized during the 2007 National OGE Conference. Please join OGE in congratulating them.