WHAT IS THE FEDERAL EXECUTIVE BOARD?
President John F. Kennedy created Federal Executive Boards by Executive Letter in 1961 to provide an organization outside the Washington, D.C. area for Federal leaders, in that community, to meet and identify opportunities for interagency collaboration. In 2001, President George W. Bush acknowledged the 40th Anniversary of the creation of Federal Executive Boards. There are currently 28 Federal Executive Boards nationwide.
The Chicago FEB was established in 1961, and serves as the Federal presence in the eleven county Chicago metropolitan area and Lake and Porter counties in Indiana.
WHAT DOES THE FEDERAL EXECUTIVE BOARD DO?
The FEB is a model for the partnership-based government of the next century. The FEB serves as a vital link to intergovernmental coordination identifying common ground and building cooperative relationships. The FEB has a long history of establishing and maintaining valuable communication links. While promoting issues related to Administration initiatives, the FEB provides training programs, employee development, shared resources, and local community outreach. The FEB’s role as a conduit of information and a meeting point for a variety of agencies--each with a different mission--is vital to a more effective government. The FEB is a major source of education regarding the Federal Government's involvement in, and contribution to, communities across the country. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management is responsible for the organization and functions of the FEB (5 CFR Part 960).
WHO BELONGS TO THE FEDERAL EXECUTIVE BOARD?
Membership is limited to the most senior official of each Executive agency in the area. Full Board meetings are held quarterly. Senior officials and/or their deputies are encouraged to attend these meetings. Currently, the Chicago FEB has 178 member agencies and serves approximately 78,000 Federal, postal, and active military personnel.
WHO PROVIDES OVERSIGHT OF THE FEDERAL EXECUTIVE BOARD?
Since 1982, the responsibility for oversight of the Federal Executive Board National Network was transferred from the Office of Management and Budget to the Officer of Personnel Management. Each Federal Executive Board has a local Board of Directors or Policy Committee that oversees the local Board’s activities.
The Chicago FEB is headed by a Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary/Treasurer elected by the membership. In addition, there is an Executive Committee of twelve elected members. Former Chairs of the FEB continue to serve as Ex-Officio members. The Executive Committee meets monthly and is responsible for outlining the focus and policies of the FEB and its committees each year. It also makes recommendations on matters involving interagency coordination and action.
The Executive Director of the FEB serves as the principal staff assistant to the FEB Chair and provides a full range of staff services. The position does not represent an individual agency as do other members of the Board, but rather the Federal community as a whole.
IS THE FEDERAL EXECUTIVE BOARD A FEDERAL AGENCY?
Federal Executive Board Staff are full-time Federal employees and are employed by the Federal agency that sponsors the Board in their city. The Federal Executive Board National Network is organizationally assigned to the Office of Personnel Management. The FEB is not an organization that members can voluntarily join as an after hours activity, such as a professional organization. FEBs provide Federal Government services for intergovernmental missions, goals, projects and programs. FEBs conduct Federal business on a full-time basis and purchases made by the FEB are for the use of the Federal government.
WHAT AUTHORITY DOES THE FEDERAL EXECUTIVE BOARD HAVE?
The regulations that guide FEB operations are located in 5 CFR § 960. Federal Executive Boards were created to facilitate and encourage collaboration among Federal agencies in a particular geographic area. FEBs can not require participation in any of their programs; however FEBs are effective at influencing other agencies to work together.