Organizing Science at the
Southern Research Station

Appendix 4 - Original Organizational Concepts

Concept A

Concept A would organize the Station research around the five Science Areas. Programmatic research planning, implementation and review would occur at the Science Area level; Program Managers, replacing Assistant Directors, would be the Station’s lowest level of line officer with corresponding budget allocation and execution authority. Within each Science Area, RWUs would be strategically consolidated into Research Centers led by Research Center Directors, who would be drawn from the current cadre of Project Leaders. Each Research Center would be comprised of Research Teams, individual scientists, or a combination of both.

The basic premise of Concept A is that a strategic reorganization of the Station research program into major Science Areas will improve overall the Station research programs by (1) strategically consolidating RWUs into larger research teams, resulting in an adequate critical mass of scientific disciplines, (2) increasing administrative efficiency by reducing the number of units from 28 RWUs to approximately 14 Research Centers, minimizing the research resources dedicated to administrative duties, (3) creating a more coordinated and integrated research structure able to respond to emerging issues and priorities, and (4) maximizing organizational coherence.

Structure and Roles

In Concept A, five Program Managers—replacing the current three Research Assistant Directors, and two Program Managers—would report to the Station Director and serve on the Leadership Team. Each Program Manager would be assigned to a Science Area. The Program Managers would supervise two to seven Center Directors who would lead research activities of a cadre of Research Teams and/or scientists. The Program Managers would be located at Station Headquarters or strategically located in Forestry Sciences Laboratories and have administrative and facilities responsibilities, with appropriate levels of support personnel. Program Managers would be in nine-factor (administrative) positions. The Center Directors would be the science leaders in the Station and would likely occupy four-factor (paneled) positions. Budget allocation among and within Science Areas and broadly defined problems would be led by the Program Managers with participation by other Program Managers, Center Directors, and Research Team Leaders, as appropriate.

The Management Team would be comprised of the Leadership Team and Center Directors working together in research planning and allocations and meeting more often than the current Management Team. A Science Advisory Team, consisting of the Leadership Team, Center Directors, and Research Team Leaders, would meet less often than the current Management Team, with focus more on science rather than administrative issues.

Concept A would create new position descriptions to replace existing ones and would shift responsibilities upward. Program Managers would convene teams of Center Directors within their Science Areas to coordinate research planning and strategy. The team of Science Area Program Managers would be the point of contact for SPAs and would determine how to deploy Station resources to address specific interdisciplinary problem areas. Attainment reporting would be done programmatically (Science Area) and therefore would be shifted up to the Program Manager level with Center Director supervising the collection of scientist input but not processing. Center Directors would have a broader area of science and possibly more employees to supervise and would need some level of administrative support. Grants and Agreement initiation, tracking, and accrual would be at the Center Director level. Small-scale procurement would remain at the field where appropriate.

Administrative Support Structure

Each Program Manager would be supported by a management analyst, support specialist, administrative assistant, and secretary, with the possibility of sharing administrative support personnel among Program Managers. Each Center Director would be supported by a support specialist. Designated Directors Representatives may need an additional administrative assistant. Concept A would likely result in no net gain in administrative positions: only the re-allocation of administrative support from field units to the Program Managers.

Implementation Requirements—Administrative Impacts

Implementation of Concept A would require development and approval of a new organization chart (including new RWU numbers); revisions of the Forest Service Manual, Handbook, and supplements; new delegations of authorities; development of new position descriptions due to increasing complexity involved, and some staffing and classification for reassignments. The deliberate creation of career ladder opportunities and related training for the new support positions would be important, as would realignment of programs for civil rights, wellness, safety, and fleet.

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