Ecological Exposure Research Division Cincinnati, Ohio

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Confronting Todays Reality

• Historically, ORD has targeted its research to
  provide essential science/products to inform
  Agency decisions
• Yet, the overall impact of ORDs 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 ORDs integrated, multi-disciplinary
  capabilities

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Confronting Todays Reality

• ORDs ability to provide the needed science and
  technology to resolve problems of broad national
  significance and inform environmental decisions
  will be compromised or eliminated
• ORDs resource base will continue to erode,
  resulting in a research portfolio which is
  underfunded, spread too thin, and ineffective
• ORD will lose its ability to attract and retain
  top-notch researchers, threatening the viability
  of our programs

In the absence of a transformation
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Confronting Todays 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
  ORDs 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 ORDs resource
  engine, and how to influence these drivers

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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 ORDs 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 is recognized both within and outside EPA for
  its ability to deliver quality, high valued
  science that is required for EPA to accomplish
  its mission

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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...
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Transforming ORDThe Hedgehog Concept
A successful transformation of ORD will require a
deep understanding and commitment of our
organization along three dimensions

• Our Passion
• What we can excel at
• What determines our resources

J. Collins, Good to Great
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ORDs Passion
Delivering research and development products and
advice that inform and enable decisions and
actions that protect public health and safeguard
the environment
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What can ORD excel at?

• Conducting integrated, multidisciplinary
  research 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

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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

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What can ORD not excel at?

• Basic discovery research in science and
  technology
• Isolated individual investigator research
  (academic model)

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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
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TransformationORDs 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 ORDs research portfolio must
  be responsive along two inter-related dimensions
• Research on issues of national/international
  significance for which resolution has broad
  environmental 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.

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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
  (MYPs) as to
• Problems of National Significance
• Problems of Targeted Significance
• Identify new problems of broad national
  significance (e.g. biofuels) and implement
  research programs

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The Road to a Successful Future

• ORDs 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