Research Planning and Coordination Staff

The Research Planning and Coordination Staff (RPCS) ensures research coordination and programmatic relevance for NHEERL. The RPCS carries the authority of the Director, NHEERL, in strategizing, coordinating, and communicating relative to research and research priorities and is responsible for strategic planning of both short-term and long-term research at regional, national, and international levels.

A major function of the RPCS is establishing, coordinating, facilitating, and maintaining contact and communication with program offices, other clients (e.g. regions), ORD staff, the scientific community, lab scientists, lab management, ORD program planners, and sister agencies, both national and international. Through these efforts, Assistant Laboratory Directors (ALDs) ensure the appropriate influence of science on policy and policy on science. ALDs carry the authority to make Lab commitments to perform research in support of Agency requirements.

The RPCS plays an important role in identifying opportunities for collaboration and synergy within and across organizations (Laboratories, Agencies, etc.). In addition, the RPCS provides the interface between the Laboratory and the headquarters planning process. Other responsibilities for the RPCS include: (1) managing peer review of internal resource competition proposals, key documents, and divisional research programs; (2) interfacing with the expanded ORD grants program to ensure coordination, etc.; (3) providing oversight of progress towards completion of research commitments made by the laboratory; (4) delivery of products/outputs to appropriate clients and obtaining follow-up feedback as to value/use; and (5) coordinating NHEERL's regulatory support activities.