DOE Office of Science Reorganization Announced

4/5/2004

From: Jeff Sherwood of the U.S. Department of Energy, 202-586-5806

WASHINGTON, April 5 -- The director of the Department of Energy's Office of Science (SC), Dr. Raymond L. Orbach, has announced the official launch of a new complex-wide organizational structure. The new structure eliminates a layer of management, redefines roles and responsibilities for headquarters and field managers and clarifies lines of authority and accountability. The reorganization will "take the Office of Science into the 21st century as an efficient, high-performing organization that continues to produce great science and real benefits for the American people," Orbach said.

"With this action, the Office of Science takes the Department of Energy another step forward in bringing the department into alignment with the President's Management Agenda and making the Office of Science, an outstanding national resource, more responsive and better able to produce results that meet national needs," Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham said.

In a "town meeting" originating from the DOE Office of Science offices in Germantown, Md., and broadcast to all 1,000 of the organization's employees at 10 other locations around the country, Dr. Orbach discussed the philosophy behind the restructuring changes in the Office of Science organization, which mark the completion of the first phase of the OneSC Project, which now will turn to reengineering the Office in phase two.

"The mission of the Office of Science," Orbach said, "is to deliver the remarkable discoveries and scientific tools that transform our understanding of energy and matter and advance the national, economic, and energy security of the United States. As stewards of more the $3 billion of the taxpayer's money, we are taking these steps to streamline and integrate our operations because we understand that, in order to produce discoveries vital to the Nation's economy and security, we must employ 'best in class' management practices. I am convinced that the Office of Science will be a better organization, a better place to work, and a better investment for the Nation as a result of the changes we officially begin implementing today as part of OneSC."

The new SC organization is effective immediately, although full implementation and all necessary administrative actions will still require several more months. This restructuring does not require relocation of staff. Additionally, there will be no involuntary separations or reductions-in-force during either restructuring or subsequent reengineering, assuming congressional funding of administration budget requests.

The changes, which involve new reporting relationships and modified roles for many Office of Science organizations, are aimed at uniting nearly 1000 people into an enterprise where everyone shares a compelling vision, fulfills an important national mission, and takes pride in one another's accomplishments. Office of Science employees work in offices of less than 10 people and in groups as large as 300 working at a dozen geographic locations across the Nation.

The restructuring will "flatten" the Office of Science organization by removing a layer of management between the Director and the Site Managers at the 10 Office of Science National Laboratories, and provide a set of integrated roles, responsibilities, authorities, and accountabilities encompassing the headquarters organization, nine laboratory site offices, and the Oak Ridge and Chicago Offices. Office of Science policy and direction as well as scientific program development and management will be a headquarters responsibility, while program execution and implementation functions will be the responsibility of the Field. The Office of Science restructuring depends on clearly defined roles and responsibilities, delegations of authority commensurate with capabilities, performance expectations that foster meaningful accountability, and open communications up and down the organization.

The Office of Science executive leadership team consists of the Director, the Principal Deputy Director and the Chief Operating Officer. The Principal Deputy serves in a dual capacity as the Deputy for Programs. Together they establish Office of Science policies and priorities, set expectations for the management team and ensure accountability. Program development and management come from the Office of Science program offices located in headquarters, headed by the six Office of Science Associate Directors. Implementation is accomplished by Office of Science field elements, which include the National Laboratory Site Offices and the Oak Ridge and Chicago Offices, all of which report to the Office of Science Chief Operating Officer.

The restructuring includes provision of administrative, business, and technical services to all of the Office of Science by the Integrated Support Center (ISC), operated in partnership by the Chicago and Oak Ridge Offices. The Chicago Office will continue to be available to support other DOE customers, and operate DOE Centers of Excellence. Its primary role will be to provide support to the Office of Science through the new ISC. Similarly, Oak Ridge will continue to support other DOE programs, operate DOE Centers of Excellence, and provide support to the Office of Science outside Oak Ridge as a partner in the ISC. In addition, Oak Ridge will be the single point of management responsibility for the Oak Ridge Reservation.

Personnel from the Richland Operations Office, Richland, Wash., who have provided oversight of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) were transferred on December 5, 2003, from the Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management to the Office of Science, and so, became the Pacific Northwest Site Office. This involved approximately 34 site office personnel and 12 support positions.

The Office of Science Site Offices at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Stanford Linear Accelerator Center in California currently report to the Office of Science's headquarters and receive support from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Service Center, primarily from its Oakland, Calif., office. That support will transition to the ISC. The Office of Science and NNSA are collaborating on an initiative to select NNSA personnel from Oakland to supplement the site office staffs and fill support positions.

The future of OneSC will involve continued implementation of restructuring and the beginning of reengineering, improving SC business practices and processes. Implementation of this phase, including resulting changes to processes, will strongly influence future Office of Science staffing needs.

During implementation of the new organization and the beginning of the next phase of reengineering, the Office of Science will continue to rely on the web to keep employees and stakeholders informed about the OneSC Project. That site is located at: http://www.screstruct.doe.gov/indexrollout.html

The Office of Science is the fourth DOE program office that has undertaken a reorganization since 2001. The three others are the National Nuclear Security Administration, the Office of Environmental Management, and the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

Recently, the Department of Energy was ranked first among cabinet-level agencies in the most recent scorecard to assess implementation of the President's Management Agenda. The scorecard, which evaluates agency performance in the areas of human capital, competitive sourcing, financial management, e-Government, and budget/performance integration, was issued by the Office of Management and Budget. OMB recognized the department as "leading the pack with regard to management improvement."

DOE's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the Nation, manages 10 world-class national laboratories and builds and operates some of the Nation's most advanced R&D user facilities.