On the front page...
A thoroughly designed, well-constructed roadmap will
usually take you down the proper path — whether your goal
is to take a much-needed trip or achieve some life-long dream.
Of more interest to the NIH community is a new, comprehensive management
plan initiated by the NIH Division of Police, a component of the
Office of Research Services.
Continued...
On June 26, Police Chief Alvin Hinton presented hard copies of
the roadmap — which has moved from the "thought" stage to "development" over
the past 2 years — to his division's supervisors, management and
staff. The plan, based on a structured approach to management and
improvement, is the brainchild of Hinton and Deputy Chief Robert "Dan" Fuller.
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| Police Chief Alvin Hinton presents
a copy of the new roadmap to colleague Karen Heflin. |
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"It's a well-developed, fully thought-out articulation of our
direction that has been received really well by our employees," said
Fuller. "It includes key initiatives previously identified as issues
by our (police) staff." He added that the plan was a division-wide
effort with contributions from all ranks. "It's a process that
will leave no doubt as to what we are trying to achieve and what
contribution everyone must make in achieving these things," the
deputy chief explained.
The structured approach is known as the "balanced scorecard." Devised
in the early 1990's, it enables organizations to clarify their
vision and strategy and propel their directives into action. Further,
it provides a feedback system that promotes continuous improvement
and positive results — a goal long visualized by managers in the
Division of Police. The balanced scorecard approach has previously
been approved and used by the Department of Health and Human Services
as a way of managing its resources and has been supported by ORS's
Office of Quality Management for the past several years.
At the June 26 event, Hinton outlined 7 specific objectives and
the short-, mid- and long-term initiatives the division must accomplish
to reap the benefit of planning efforts. High-level objectives
include improving policies and procedures, implementing management
information systems and improving overall operations.
The roadmap's
initiatives are aligned with the NIH mission and are tied to the
broader goals of HHS, according to Hinton. "It's all based on a
compilation of input that we collected by going directly to the
stakeholders — that is, our management and staff. Never before has
it been documented in a format that establishes priorities and
will be the keystone of our organization," he added. "It sets the
principles in place and says 'Here is the direction we have to
move forward.'"
The roadmap includes plans to staff the division to authorized
levels and provide relevant staff training. For example, Fuller
said, "We would like to bring a hazardous material response team
on line. Our staff has not been fully trained for this — it's something
both the chief and I believe is important to fulfill our mission."
The Division of Police currently consists of 87 sworn police officers
and approximately 18 support employees working in three branches:
Police Operations, providing patrol, K-9 officers and criminal
investigators; Guard Operations, managing the contracted guard
services force that supports perimeter security; and Support Services,
which manages inventory, supplies and training needs of the division
and provides Emergency Call Center services for the campus.
Both Hinton and Fuller agree that the roadmap will be instrumental
in enhancing the work of the division and will ultimately help
improve safety and security of the NIH community.
The Division of Police strategic plan is located online at http://ser.ors.od.nih.gov/div_police.htm. 
