Initial Considerations for Development and Revision of NWCG Publications and Web Portals

Prior to publication and portal development or revision, the committee representatives, the NWCG Coordinator, Publications Manager, Web Manager, and any other pertinent stakeholders, should meet. Early engagement with these parties will alleviate potential issues and address the following areas:

New Development:

• Establish the purpose and objectives.
• Ensure consistency with the committee/subgroup mission.
• Identify the primary users.
• Determine the most appropriate format: electronic, hardcopy, web-based, mobile, device application, etc.
  • Determine whether supporting documents, templates, appendices, or other materials should be provided in a different format from the main publication.
• Ensure that the development group adequately represents the primary users.
• Identify related or associated standards, including data standards, to eliminate duplication or conflict.
  • All glossary terms should be contained within the NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire, PMS 205, not in a publication-specific glossary. Use of terms, including concatenation, should be consistent with NWCG definitions.

Revision

• Determine the most appropriate format:  electronic, hardcopy, web-based, mobile, device application, etc.
  • Determine whether supporting documents, templates, appendices, or other materials should be provided in a different format from the main publication.
• Ensure that the revision group adequately represents the primary users.
• Identify related or associated standards, including data standards, to eliminate duplication or conflict.
  • All glossary terms should be contained within the NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire, PMS 205, not in a publication-specific glossary. Use of terms, including concatenation, should be consistent with NWCG definitions.
• Identify opportunities to consolidate information or direct users to other sources if NWCG is not the primary source for the product or information.

Management:

• Define clear roles, responsibilities, and expectations for each individual involved.
  • Establish a single point of contact on the committee who can consolidate the information while avoiding repetition and inconsistencies.
• Start early: establish a clear timeline including the desired posting date.
  • Include sufficient time for NWCG staff to proofread and ensure accessibility of the final product. Publications with numerous tables and images will take more time than those without.
• Ensure that expectations for the final product are understood.
• Ensure adequate and equitable distribution of workload and staffing.
• The NWCG Publications Manager will serve as the primary conduit to NWCG staff.
• NWCG Coordinators will assist in identifying and engaging other NWCG committees and subgroups to ensure thorough vetting.
• Ensure that the approval process is properly understood.
• Recommended forms and methods for solicitation of comments or edits are available but not required.
• For forms, be aware of the form approval process if it cannot be considered unstructured.
• For web portals, determine a routine revision cycle or a point of contact for semi-annual reviews.

Technical Considerations:

• Begin with a clean copy document of the publication. Do not convert a PDF to Word.
• Identify processes for file management and version control.
• Ensure electronic document and web page accessibility (section 508) is incorporated into the process.
• Identify a lead/point of contact who will manage all input and provide the final document to the NWCG Publication Manager. This may be someone separate from the committee if necessary, particularly someone with strong technical skills.
• Ensure compliance with NWCG formatting and style standards.

Approval Process Responsibilities

To ensure the product has achieved the expectations established at the beginning of the development/revision process, the following steps are recommended:

Stewardship Committee or Subgroup

• Thoroughly review the product for accuracy, applicability, and completeness.
• Ensure review by other pertinent individuals or entities.
• Send the original (source) files through the parent committee to the Publications Manager.
• Ensure required additional materials accompany the publication.

NWCG Coordinator

• Ensure review by other pertinent NWCG committees or subgroups as appropriate.

NWCG Publications Manager

• Ensure electronic accessibility according to Section 508, compliance with NWCG formatting and style standards, and synchronization with other relevant publications, forms, and documents.
• If publication will be hard copy, acquire NFES number and coordinate printing, stocking, kit changes, etc., with Great Basin Cache (GBK).
• Ensure review by NWCG staff and Executive Board as appropriate.
• Assign a Publication Management System (PMS) number if necessary.
• Coordinate with General Services Administration (GSA) on any revisions or alterations to GSA Standard or Optional Forms.

NWCG Executive Board

• At its purview, the Executive Board may choose to review the publication in its entirety or via a summary of changes. The NWCG Publications Manager will coordinate reviews as necessary or requested.

Publications and web portals must reflect the intergovernmental nature of NWCG. Specifically, they are generic (non-agency specific) to all NWCG member agencies. Content represents the member agencies and their varied workforces in a positive light. Purpose and content of the product relates to the mission statement of the steward committee. Publications and web portals are technically accurate, they do not compete with private industry, and they are not available from another agency or private concern.

All NWCG publications conform to an NWCG Publication Style Guide

Review NWCG Publication Templates tab below for more information.

Multiple sources, including NWCG, provide forms used by the wildland fire community.

NWCG Forms

• The form number, date and NFES number (when applicable) should appear in the form footer in this format:
  • ICS 123 WF (1/14) NFES 004567
    • The footer should be aligned to the left margin
    • The form number and prefix are followed by a single space
    • Publication month and year are separated by a forward slash and are enclosed in parentheses.
• A link to the attributes page will be available on the form, generally in the bottom right corner but variable based on the content of the form.

GSA Forms

• The process for revising Optional Forms (OF) and Standard Forms (SF)-requires approval through USDA and/or DOI in addition to coordination with GSA. The NWCG Publications Manager will assist in this revision process.
• Test forms may be used prior to submitting to GSA for posting and stocking. These must be designated as a Test Form with the committee’s full acronym designation as part of the form number in the footer. A date will be included as the form date, but also a date will need to be determined for the end of the test period.

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act

Every NWCG product produced electronically must comply with the accessibility requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794d, as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 P.L. 105-220, August 7, 1998). Additional information and resources related to the Rehabilitation Act are available.

To assist in the development of NWCG products, NWCG has created templates that meet these standards. The NWCG Guidelines for Creating Electronically Accessible Electronic Documents has guidance for creating a variety of electronic products.

Copyright Permission

Publications and training materials produced by NWCG are in the public domain. Use of public domain information, including copying, is permitted. Use of NWCG information within another document is permitted if NWCG information is accurately credited to NWCG. The NWCG logo may not be used except on NWCG authorized information. “National Wildfire Coordinating Group,” “NWCG,” and the NWCG logo are trademarks of NWCG.

Please review the NWCG guidance for copyright permission.

Federal Publication Standards

All printing by federal agencies is accomplished through the Government Printing Office (GPO); therefore, all NWCG publications distributed by the Great Basin Cache are printed through GPO.

GPO printing is mandated by the United States Congress through the Joint Committee on Printing, ("Government Printing and Binding Regulations", Joint Committee on Printing, Congress of the United States, No. 26, February 1990, available from Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402) and further enforced and defined by Department of Agriculture or Department of the Interior regulations and agency-specific regulations.

While the United States Government Printing Office Style Manual is a helpful resource, adherence to it is not required by NWCG.

Below is a basic Microsoft Word template to assist in the development of NWCG publications. This standardized template exists to save time, reduce stress, and brand NWCG publications and documents with a professional, consistent look. It follows NWCG and Section 508 standards for style, formatting, and accessibility. Follow the included directions and refer to NWCG's accessibility guidance and other helpful tools. If you need further assistance, please contact the NWCG Publications Manager.

NWCG Publication Template

NWCG posters and forms do not have a standardized template to allow for development and revision to be based on the content of the product and needs of the user group. However, they will generally adhere to the NWCG Publication Style Guide. Engage with the NWCG Publications Manager prior to beginning development or revision of any posters, forms, or other products.