Recruiting considerations

Each round of research will have different recruiting criteria depending on what we are investigating. Here are some general criteria we keep in mind:

• Regional diversity: The Forest Service has 9 regions, and regions have autonomy to develop their own practices and processes. We recruit from multiple regions to avoid relying on a particular region's reality.
• Research Stations: The Forest Service has 5 research stations and two Labs. As with the Regions, each Station/Lab have autonomy to develop their own practices and processes.
• State and Private Forestry: The State and Private Forestry (S&PF) program is the primary Granting program in the Forest Service. S&PF Grants Specialists and Program Managers are independent of the Regions.
• Experience level with G&A: G&A is a very specialized field, and many people who do G&A work have been in their roles for years. We've actively recruited people who are earlier in their G&A careers in addition to more experienced specialists to understand the diversity of experiences.
• Fire season awareness: The USFS is directly involved in managing wildfire events, and staff, particularly in western regions of the U.S. are under additional stress during certain times of the year. We keep this in mind as we decide where to recruit.
• Use of assistive technology: This is something we have not done yet, but should become a priority as we test live code. We know that there are people who do G&A work who rely on screenreaders and other assistive technology, and should integrate them early into app testing.

Melanie Guinan from OG&A has helped us find lots of people to talk to.