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Confronting Today’s Reality

Confronting Today’s Reality. Historically, ORD has targeted it’s research to provide essential science/products to inform Agency decisions Yet, the overall impact of ORD’s research has been limited since its products often fail to:

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Confronting Today’s Reality

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  1. Confronting Today’s Reality • Historically, ORD has targeted it’s research to provide essential science/products to inform Agency decisions • Yet, the overall impact of ORD’s research has been limited since its products often fail to: • Take full advantage of the integrated, cumulative capability of ORD and/or • Contribute substantially to solving problems of national significance • The increasing complexity of environmental issues that EPA must address will require a transformation of our research approach to fully employ ORD’s integrated, multi-disciplinary capabilities

  2. Confronting Today’s Reality In the absence of a transformation… • ORD’s ability to provide the needed science and technology to resolve problems of broad national significance and inform environmental decisions will be compromised or eliminated • ORD’s resource base will continue to erode, resulting in a research portfolio which is underfunded, spread too thin, and ineffective • ORD will lose it’s ability to attract and retain top-notch researchers, threatening the viability of our programs

  3. Confronting Today’s Reality Currently we have: • Strong individual scientists, labs, and centers • Markedly increased the investment of our time and energy to address program/regional office needs • Communicated our science primarily through peer reviewed journal articles But… • Only a small number of cross organizational, integrated, and multidisciplinary programs • Few ORD-wide success stories that demonstrate ORD’s unique value as an organization • Limited ability to investigate issues of broad national significance • Slow to disinvest in legacy research programs • Lack of clarity as to who drives ORD’s resource engine, and how to influence these drivers

  4. Measures of Success • ORD is recognized as the “go-to organization” for solving problems of national significance through integrated, multidisciplinary research • ORD culture is one focused on conducting integrated, multidisciplinary research that is characterized by individuals corporately engaged in the research • Research portfolio reflects growing emphasis on decision support and translational science • Communication of ORD’s research extends beyond traditional scientist-to--scientist and peer-reviewed journal articles to vehicles that better convey our science to program and regional offices as well as the external community • Communication is more effective with stakeholders who directly affect our resource engine • ORD isrecognized both within and outside EPA for its ability to deliver quality, high valued science that is required for EPA to accomplish its mission

  5. How do we move ORD to greatness? • Solve problems of broad national significance through integrated multidisciplinary research • Better support our Program and Regional offices • Demonstrate the essential and invaluable nature of our work To achieve greatness, a transformation of our approach is needed...

  6. Transforming ORD:The Hedgehog Concept* • Our Passion • What we can excel at • What determines our resources A successful transformation of ORD will require a deep understanding and commitment of our organization along three dimensions: * J. Collins, “Good to Great”

  7. ORD’s Passion Delivering research and development products and advice that inform and enable decisions and actions that protect public health and safeguard the environment

  8. What can ORD excel at? • Conducting integrated, multidisciplinaryresearch* that address problems of broad national/international significance • Conducting research that translates scientific and technological advances and findings to information that can be directly used to support environmental decisions * • Science and Engineering • Risk Assessment – Risk Management • Source to Outcome • Health and Ecology

  9. Defining Integrated Multidisciplinary Research • A cumulative approach that synthesizes the perspectives of the individual disciplines and integrates during all phases of the approach to a question or problem • True collaboration beyond mere cooperation is essential to successful integrated multidisciplinary research

  10. What can ORD not excel at? • Basic “discovery” research in science and technology • Isolated individual investigator research (academic model)

  11. What will determine our resources? • Recognition that our research fills important gaps in understanding and addressing problems of national significance • Brand* reputation built upon accumulated, tangible results so that potential supporters believe in our mission and our capability to deliver on that mission. Funding decisions influenced by: • Our brand • Support for research that impacts key public health and environmental decisions • Being valued by external beneficiaries/direct users of environmental research/research dollars (e.g. state/local officials, academics, constituent groups, etc.) *A “Brand” is an association with a service or product that has certain qualities or characteristics that make it special or unique

  12. Transformation:ORD’s New Business Approach • Recognize that the nature of environmental issues which the nation faces are increasingly global and multi-media requiring an integrated, multi-disciplinary approach • Acknowledges that ORD’s research portfolio must be responsive along two inter-related dimensions: • Research on issues of national/international significance for which resolution has broadenvironmental and/or human health implications. Success is contingent on applying an integrated multidisciplinary approach unique to ORD • Continued research and technical support targeted to address specific program/regional office priority needs and • Continues to evolve and provide the scientific advice and technical support to meet the changing needs of our clients and other stakeholders.

  13. The Transformation ORD will: • Make transformation its top priority • Work across the organization to communicate and implement the new business approach • Gain support of the agency, new administration, and external stakeholders for this transformation • Critically evaluate current research portfolio (MYP’s) as to: • Problems of National Significance • Problems of Targeted Significance • Identify new problems of broad national significance (e.g. biofuels) and implement research programs

  14. The Road to a Successful Future • ORD’s goal is to solve problems of national significance and support our program/regional office needs • By focusing on what we can excel at – integrated, multidisciplinary research – we will inform and enable decisions that protect public health and the environment • Producing tangible results that significantly inform environmental policy will establish ORD as the go-to environmental research organization (Brand) • This “Brand” recognition will attract supporters/stakeholders needed to fuel or resource engine

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