Experienced permitting staff at environmental agencies have learned how to quickly review the many environmental permit applications they receive. They know when something doesn’t look right, which permit from years ago might be relevant, and when more information is needed before the permitting process can move forward.
That expertise is invaluable. However, staff can often find themselves mired in administrative tasks that, while necessary, do not make the best use of their valuable time. A well-designed permitting process allows staff to spend more time applying their expertise and less time carrying that process on their shoulders.
Technology is only as effective as the business processes it supports are well-understood.
It’s therefore no surprise that agencies are looking for ways to reduce the administrative burden on staff. Often, today’s proposed solutions focus on technology and their modernization capabilities, such as automation, configurable workflows, AI, and connected data. While modern technology is undoubtedly important, technology is only as effective as the business processes it supports are well-understood.
That understanding comes from breaking the permitting process down into the individual decisions, activities, and information that permitting staff rely on every day such as:
- Where does the work slow down?
- What creates friction?
- What information does staff need to confidently move an application forward in the process?
You don’t have to wait for modernization to start improving the permitting process.
Fortunately, you don’t have to wait for a modernization project to begin improving the way work gets done. Bringing your permitting staff together to discuss the right questions can uncover ways to improve your process today.
Here are five questions to help start the conversation:
1. Where do staff spend the most time before they can begin evaluating a permit application?
Think about everything that happens before staff can begin evaluating a permit application. Are they following up with the applicant to gather missing or incomplete information? Gathering additional documents? Comparing information? Looking through previous permits? Re-entering data? Waiting for information from another program?
What stands in the way of evaluating the permit application? Understanding where time is spent before a permit application can be processed often reveals where you can streamline the work so staff spend more time using their expertise.2. What questions do applicants ask your reviewers most often?
Recurring questions from permit applicants often reveal information reviewers need but aren’t receiving early enough in the permitting process. Do applicants struggle to determine which permit they need? Are application requirements unclear? Is there reference documentation that is difficult to find?
Every recurring question is an opportunity to improve the permitting process.Identifying these questions is the first step towards improving the permitting process so applicants receive the information they need earlier, reducing unnecessary back-and-forth with staff.
3. What most often prevents a permit application from moving to the next step?
Even well-prepared applications can reach a point where additional information, such as historical context, changes the direction of the review. A compliance issue, a related permit, or input from another program may all affect how the permit moves forward.
Some pauses are necessary. Others are simply the result of the way the process has evolved over time.Identifying where permits most often pause helps agencies focus on the points in the process where reducing friction can have the greatest impact.
4. Where does your permitting process rely on someone “just knowing” what to look for?
Experienced reviewers develop remarkable instincts over time. They know which details deserve another look, when to involve another program, which previous permit might influence today’s decision, or when an applicant’s response means additional information should be requested.
How can expertise be better shared, or built into the process?
That knowledge is one of an agency’s greatest strengths. At the same time, it’s worth asking how this important knowledge could be better shared, documented, or built into the process so reviewers spend less time carrying the process and more time applying their expertise.
5. When change happens, what parts of your permitting process are the hardest to update?
Regulatory and operational change is inevitable. Whether it’s a new regulation, an updated policy, or a shift in agency priorities, there will always be another change around the corner.
Knowing what is difficult to change today can help prioritize where process improvement should focus.
When change happens, how does it ripple through your permitting process? Application guidance? Review procedures? Permit templates? Notifications? Reporting?
The areas that are hardest to change today are often the same areas that will make every future change difficult. Identifying those patterns can help agencies prioritize improvements that reduce effort not only for the next change, but for every change that follows.
When process improvement needs to include modernization
Although agencies can make meaningful permitting process improvements, eventually, many agencies reach a point where those improvements become difficult to make without employing newer technology. When it’s time, we believe that it’s important to work with a technology provider who is an expert in not just software, but also has ample experience in understanding environmental permitting processes.
After nearly 20 years at Windsor, where I’ve had the opportunity to partner with many environmental agencies, I’ve learned that no two permitting programs are exactly alike. However, our discovery approach for successful modernization projects is remarkably similar. We work with agency staff to understand their goals, business processes, existing systems, operational constraints, and opportunities for improvement. Our conversations help identify what should change before any implementation begins.
Sometimes the work starts with a single permitting program. Other times it grows into a broader modernization effort across multiple programs or an entire agency. Regardless of the size of the project, the work begins the same way: understanding where friction exists and designing a process so experienced reviewers can apply their expertise instead of carrying the process on their shoulders.
Submitted by TK Conrad, Solutions Architect
About Windsor Solutions
Windsor Solutions partners with environmental regulatory agencies across the United States to design and implement environmental permitting and regulatory software that supports the full regulatory lifecycle. For close to 30 years, we have worked alongside agencies to streamline workflows, improve data quality, and adapt to evolving requirements through configurable technology that is purpose-built for environmental agencies.
