May 9, 2013
MEMORANDUM
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TO:
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Designated Agency Ethics Officials
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FROM:
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Walter M. Shaub, Jr.
Director
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SUBJECT:
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OGE Launches the Institute for Ethics in Government MAX Community
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The U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) has launched the Institute for Ethics in Government (IEG) on the MAX.gov website. The IEG is the new home for all of OGE’s education offerings, making learning opportunities available to all Executive Branch ethics officials, regardless of geography, experience, or grade. This platform will provide high quality continuing education, both live and on-demand, to government ethics practitioners at all levels. It also will provide useful tools and products to support ethics officials in advising employees at their agencies. OGE has designed these educational products to support both large and small ethics programs in meeting the internal professional development needs of their staffs. You can visit the IEG homepage anytime at: https://max.omb.gov/community/display/OGEExternal/OGE+Institute+for+Ethics+in+Government .
When you visit the IEG community pages on the MAX.gov site, you will find resources for all of the following:
- downloading government ethics educational products and job aids;
- sharing your own products with your peers in the government ethics community;
- enrolling to attend live or on-demand distance learning courses;
- enrolling to attend in-person course offerings;
- applying to participate in a program for new ethics officials assigned to critical roles;
- applying for OGE’s Agency Instructor Development Program; and
- learning about opportunities to host or participate in semi-annual ethics symposia.
The IEG welcomes your comments, input, and participation. If you have any questions or if you would like to find out how you can get involved, please contact Kaneisha Cunningham at kaneisha.cunningham@oge.gov. Below is additional information about some featured highlights of the IEG site.
Education and Training Products
In the IEG Store section of the community, you will find a variety of OGE-created job aids and education and training products, as well as a space for agency ethics officials to upload and share products they have created. If your agency has a product or presentation to add to the “Agency–Share” section of the IEG Store, please upload it directly to the MAX page or email it to the Registrar, Kaneisha Cunningham at kaneisha.cunningham@oge.gov.
Distance Learning
The IEG offers two distance learning opportunities per month through its Ethics Fundamentals and Advanced Practitioner Series.
The Ethics Fundamentals Series is a webinar series designed to address the fundamentals of government ethics in a format convenient to part-time ethics officials and ethics officials in the field. The series takes place on the second Thursday of each month at 2:00 PM Eastern Time.
The Advanced Practitioner Series is a webinar series designed to address advanced topics in a format that is convenient for experienced ethics practitioners. The series also provides a forum for ethics officials to share their experience and expertise with one another. The series takes place on the third Thursday of each month at 12:00 PM Eastern Time. If you are interested in appearing as a guest in an Advanced Practitioner broadcast, please contact Patrick Shepherd at pshephe@oge.gov.
Courses and Curricula at the IEG
Twice annually, the IEG will offer an intensive and comprehensive curriculum of courses to new ethics officials in supervisory, or otherwise critical, ethics roles. This curriculum will include: the New Ethics Official Certificate Program; Introduction to Conflicts of Interest; Public Financial Disclosure Review; Gifts from Outside Sources; and Conflict-Free Post-Employment Activities. Course participants will meet one day per week for eight weeks and will be assessed at the close of each unit. The successful completion of all units will earn a “Certificate of Accomplishment” from the IEG. Ethics officials interested in the intensive curriculum must commit to attending all sessions and submit an application in order to be considered.
The IEG will also seasonally offer a limited number of live, instructor-led courses. For example, prior to and during the financial disclosure filing seasons, the IEG will offer a limited number of workshops and seminars for confidential and public financial disclosure reviewers. These courses will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
Instructor Development
The IEG will offer a semi-annual instructor development program for experienced agency ethics officials. Successful completion of the program will qualify attendees to teach IEG-created courses to Executive Branch ethics officials for IEG credit. Applicants may select among several available courses, including: the New Ethics Official Certificate Program; Introduction to Conflicts of Interest; Public Financial Disclosure Review; Gifts from Outside Sources; and Conflict-Free Post-Employment Activities.
Successful applicants must commit to attending all required sessions for each course selected, must have significant substantive ethics experience, and considerable demand for ethics official training within their agencies. Details about the IEG instructor development program and application information can be found on the IEG MAX site.
Symposia
On a semi-annual basis the IEG will partner with another agency to host up to one day of substantive ethics official training at the partner agency’s facility. These symposia should be larger than a typical OGE class, hosting 150 or more participants. The issues covered will range from fundamental ethics training to advanced topics, and may also include such ethics-related topics as travel and Hatch Act regulations. The goals of the symposia are to address the continuing education needs of ethics officials, and to provide opportunities for networking in the ethics community. If your agency is interested in partnering with the IEG to host a symposium, please contact Kaneisha Cunningham at kaneisha.cunningham@oge.gov.