Organizing Science at the
Southern Research Station

Appendix 1 - How this alternative meets the desired outcomes

The team initially developed a set of criteria to guide its design and discussion of alternative organizations (see below.) While the list of “desired outcomes” was useful as we discussed alternative structures, we realized that many of these outcomes will be dependent on the processes put in place and the people who fill key leadership roles in the new organization. Having said that, the recommended alternative should provide the structure to allow much of what is good about the Southern Station to continue and flourish while it effectively improves our ability to serve our mission. With the Research Work Unit entity staying in tact, the informal networks developed over the years should not be disrupted. It remains the home for the highly-talented people we employ and hope to attract in the future as the Station positions itself to continue to provide relevant high-quality research and research products.

Structuring our research around the Science Areas rather than cross-cutting themes provides a more coherent and comprehensive way to talk about our research program, and provides an organizing mechanism that should help us better see opportunities to work across discipline within the Station. The Science Area infrastructure should result in research that addresses the complex questions central to sustainability and allow us to deploy resources to address important issues in a timely fashion. They will provide the framework for a review process that should clearly address the relevance of our work. And, coming together around integrated problem areas should provide the place for rigorous review of the research that will ensure quality and performance. The problem area also seems more appropriate than the RWU for linking to the Strategic Program Areas (SPAs) and to others outside the Station.

In short, our efforts have been guided by a need to improve operational efficiency and research planning and several desired outcomes for a new organization. The outcomes of the reorganization will clearly depend on individuals and implementation steps. In the following table, we describe what we see as the general effects of the new organization relative to these desired outcomes.

Maintain and enhance the strengths of Forest Service research relative to other research institutions: long term, place based, and interdisciplinary studies	The reorganization retains the current network of locations focused on long term, site based research. It also retains the structure of RWUs either as stand alone entities or as
Maintain and enhance broad networks of cooperators	Two-tiered planning process anticipates working with cooperators at strategic and tactical levels of planning
Communicate a coherent research mission and organization to the interested public	The five Science Areas establishes the Station’s current and intended research strengths.
Support a research planning process that effectively engages the interested public	Strategic planning in the five Science Areas allows the public better access to the key decisions regarding what research will be undertaken by the Station.
Enhance accountability to Congress and the public	Coordinates the allocation of effort and reporting of results around five core Science Areas.
Deploy resources to address the most important questions in a timely fashion	Station-level research planning forces an analysis of trade offs in research efforts.
Work across disciplinary boundaries to define and address the complex questions central to sustainability	Shared problem areas will be used to assign interdisciplinary research teams to issues that warrant them.
Direct the maximum level of resources to research efforts	Management personnel will be reduced by up to 40 percent, freeing up scientists to do more science and consolidating administrative duties. Actual cost savings will depend on the extent of mergers and the design of the administrative organization.
Retain, draw, and develop a diverse complement of highly talented employees and cooperators	This can be partially addressed by developing a readily accessible and compelling long-term research program through planning for the Science Areas.
Interact effectively with Washington, other Stations, and other research institutions to increase the value of research efforts	Multiple level research planning will support interaction with the Forest Service Research organization and other institutions at appropriate scales. Approaches to SPAs and other broad scale initiatives can be coordinated through design of problem areas.
Deliver timely and effective research products to the people who need them	The proposed planning process would allow for a more effective communication with research partners and customers.
Continue the long tradition of excellent forest science at the Southern Research Station	Excellence in science requires first defining the most important questions. We anticipate that coordinated research planning will help us get the questions right.

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