7.4: Research Enterprise Management

Manage the Office of Science’s research enterprise to the highest standards, delivering outstanding science and new discoveries that improve our Nation’s health and economy.

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Extraordinary discoveries depend strongly on the extraordinary management of the Nation’s science enterprise. Our management agenda is designed to ensure that the national scientific enterprise benefits as broadly and fully as possible from the decisions we make and the work we do. This means carefully managing not only the science we produce, but also the institutions and other resources that support our science programs. The Office of Science has a large workforce, a national scientific enterprise that spans state and national borders, and five decades of experience managing national scientific programs. We manage an annual budget comparable to the gross domestic product of many countries. Our national laboratory complex has no peer in the world in the size and diversity of its research. We sponsor research at universities and other institutions throughout the country. Our research programs have been very successful, yielding major advances in human knowledge, with substantial benefits to the Nation’s economy. The outstanding success of our research hinges on two key principles: 1) Long-term strategic investments in people, partnerships, and high-risk research: The Office of Science takes big scientific risks and expects and achieves high payoffs. We make long-term investments in people and research programs, while responding with agility to rapid changes at the frontiers of science. We balance our support for big science and interdisciplinary teams with a broad portfolio of projects conducted by leading university and laboratory investigators and collaborative groups. Underpinning these efforts is an uncompromising commitment to scientific excellence and integrity. We are in the business of discovery and, therefore, we value bright minds and new ideas as much as efficiency and productivity. 2) Systematic assessment of major projects, programs, and institutions: Every research activity that we support with U.S. taxpayer dollars is assessed to ensure that the quality, relevance, and performance of DOE Office of Science programs meet the highest standards. Each major construction project, all of our scientific user facilities and national laboratories, and significant elements of each Office of Science research portfolio are reviewed regularly according to established procedures, frequently with the help of external experts to ensure that we achieve our goals. Consistent with these two principles, we have adopted two distinct kinds of management practices. First, we invest in people and institutions, so we follow established business practices such as integrated safety management that would be recognized by any U.S. corporate executive as current and effective. Second, we sponsor basic research, which requires an entirely different set of management practices designed to ensure that the best scientific opportunities are pursued. These practices include the extensive use of peer and merit review to monitor the quality and relevance of the science we sponsor; a reliance on the advice and guidance of the U.S. scientific community through six independent advisory committees; and the employment of highly skilled program managers who nurture critical scientific disciplines and provide the multi-year continuity of support that is often needed to meet difficult technical challenges. These practices help ensure that the U.S. taxpayer receives the highest possible return on the science investment that our Nation makes. The intersection between traditional management practices and those that are unique to the scientific community is clearest in the way that we construct and operate the large discovery-class scientific user facilities that are a signature feature of the Office of Science. Constructing scientific facilities pushes the envelope of science and technology to the frontiers, and they are considered huge engineering projects by any standard. Improve our overall performance. The Office of Science is committed to performance. We have embarked on a comprehensive restructuring of our organization that is designed to increase performance-based management practices, reduce management layering, enhance integration, guarantee line accountability, simplify internal processes, and increase worker productivity. All of these management strategies, however, are being carefully implemented to reflect the unique nature of basic research and the long-term nature of our investments. Our strategy includes the following emphases: • Consolidate and streamline financial, budgetary, procurement, personnel, program, and performance information to communicate faster and at less cost. • Use new information management technologies to streamline project funding, facilitate a portfolio view of R&D, and enhance communication across Federal offices and organizations. • Re-engineer laboratory management contracts to improve contractor performance, enhance line management accountability, and give the Office of Science and its contractors the flexibility needed to manage for results. • Develop an integrated approach to planning, program execution, and performance management that sets the benchmark for a Federal basic research organization. • Employ a highly competent Federal workforce capable of continuing the Office of Science’s tradition of discovery into the future. Establish a modern laboratory system, fully capable of delivering the science our Nation requires. The DOE Office of Science laboratory system includes hundreds of research labs, offices, and specialized scientific facilities distributed over eight states and accessed by more than 25,000 scientists worldwide. The loss to the science community would be immense if we stopped upgrading, operating, and providing access to this incredible research complex. However, 24% of the buildings in the Office of Science laboratory system have reached or are reaching the end of their serviceable lives. In addition to making targeted investments that maximize our rehabilitation efforts, our strategy includes examining our total portfolio of facilities and seeking to expand their utility. Our strategy includes the following emphases: • Size our facilities to scientific demand, including investing in new replacement support facilities where needed and removing excess facilities. • Increase our annual laboratory maintenance investment to a level consistent with nationally recognized standards (i.e., generally 2 to 4% for conventional facilities). • Increase the overall functionality of general-purpose facilities by significantly increasing our annual capital investment. • Support greater flexibility in the use of funds for maintenance and modernization.

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