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Division of Extramural Activities Support (DEAS) Anita Miller Sostek, Ph.D. Director Division of Clinical and Population-based Studies, CSR Peer Review Advisory Committee January 24-25, 2005 With gratitude for the assistance of David L. Whitmer, Executive Officer, CSR

Background CSR transitioned from 136 staff (federal and contract staff) to 80, which includes 7 task leaders, as part of the DEAS implementation. In terms of raw numbers and as a percentage of DEAS staff, CSR is the largest DEAS customer. CSR Receipt and Referral Function was not impacted by MEO, only staff in the four Review Divisions.

NIH Bid Most Efficient Organization Reduces FTEs from current 909 (includes 158 contractors) to 677 in Year 1 (FY 2005), down to 613 in Year 5 (FY 2009). Reduces average grade of MEO staff from current GS-7 ($30,000/year) to GS-5 ($25,000/year). Consolidates and centralizes MEO staff activities under “hubs” in the Office of Extramural Research. New organization called Division of Extramural Activities Support (DEAS). Standardizes procedures and best practices for support in review, grants management, and program activities. Pushes adoption of best available technologies.

Division of Extramural Activities Support (DEAS) Overview The DEAS is a highly flexible organizational framework that will replace the traditional organizational structure for delivery of extramural support services. The DEAS replaces the current de-centralized stovepipe organization with a central services model to provide more efficient operations to its NIH customers. The new organization combines (1) common services, (2) economies of scale gained by removing previously existing organizational barriers and (3) technological advances to perform and track work, and deliver high quality efficient customer services.

Organizational Placement of DEAS National Institutes of Health Office of the Director, Office of Extramural Research Division of Extramural Activities Support (DEAS) Office of Extramural Programs Office of Scientific Affairs Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare Office of Policy for Extramural Research Administration Office of Reports And Analysis

Office of Administrative Operations (OAO)

DEAS Hub Structure Division of Extramural Activities Support (DEAS) Services Hub A Service to: NCI NEI NIDCD NIDA NIAAA NIMH NINDS NICHD NCI - Frederick Hub B Service to: NHLBI NIAID NIDDK NCCAM NCRR NIAMS NIBIB NCMHD NINR Hub C Service to: CSR NHGRI NIA NIGMS NIDCR OD FIC NLM NIEHS

Staffing Allocations per Hub Original/Actual Hub Staffing Plans Hub A: original 213 – actual 256 Hub B: original 208 – actual 197 Hub C: original 212 – actual 199

Workflow and Cross Training The typical IC has all three of the grants functions illustrated above. CSR only provides review.

Introduction to ECARES for Customers (Extramural Customer Assistance Request System) presented by Division of Extramural Activities Support October 2004

Main Features of ECARES Single location for entering and tracking requests. High system availability and reliability. Clarity about what tasks can be selected via the Menu of Services (Task Dictionary). Assurance that requests are promptly and properly routed and assigned.

Main Features of ECARES (cont.) notifications to customer from system when work requests reach important milestones. Completion of work requests according to the standards in the Performance Work Statement (PWS). More efficient use of support staff via workload balancing.

Customer Feedback Program (dated 1/19/2005) PURPOSE MANAGEMENT OF PROGRAM CUSTOMER SURVEY CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS Process Procedure for Formal Complaints via Division of Quality Assurance Documentation Validation of Customer Complaints

January, 2005 DEAS Status Transfer of staff and/or tasks from one primary organizational unit is not yet occurring. Vacancies at several levels including for the task leader positions and HUB C Manager, which affects 9 ICs. EAS Advisory Committee began meeting in December, Several subcommittees have been formed.

Current DEAS Challenges Training (coordinator recently hired) Communication (coordinator sought) Establishing and maintaining staffing Rollout of quality functions Fine tuning of ECARES, e.g., bundling, filtering messages

Liaisons to DEAS In order to bridge these and similar gaps, many of the NIH ICs, has made creative use of federal and non- federal staff as liaisons to DEAS. li·ai·son (n) (lee-ay-ZON) - An instance or a means of communication between different groups or units of an organization. French word for preventing chaos.

CSR Liaison Approach Multi-faceted approach to deal with support needs of 230+ professional staff. IRG Administrative Assistants perform ECARES data entry for SRAs each. They are temporarily permitted to spend half time on “in-scope” activities (by negotiation with DEAS). Each Review Division (approximately 20 DEAS staff) has an administrative staff contact.

Division Administrative Assistants: Tasks Regarding DEAS Work Requests Ensure IC compliance with DEAS policies and procedures. This includes education of IC staff. Identify additional training needs for DEAS staff co- located in the ICs. Communicate to DEAS Supervisors Notify DEAS Task Leaders and/or Supervisors of new IC personnel who will be “internal customers.” Work with DEAS Quality Control (through DEAS defined processes) to identify issues regarding DEAS work requests. Provide constructive suggestions regarding ways to enhance quality and timeliness.

Division Administrative Assistants: General DEAS-Related Responsibilities Maintain up-to-date knowledge of DEAS policies, procedures, IT applications, and workflows. Work with DEAS staff and management to optimize interface between the organizations. Provide feedback to the Division of Quality Assurance in their role to ensure the quality and timeliness of work performance.

CSR Single Point of Contact EO deals directly with DEAS Management on Center-wide issues (e.g. staffing, contract support, etc.) EO communicates to CSR staff via CSR ALL status reports and DEAS Updates. EO meets regularly with CSR-based DEAS supervisor on day-to-day issues that impact CSR.

More Information Anita Miller Sostek, Ph.D. Director, Division of Clinical and Population-based Studies, CSR David Whitmer Executive Officer, CSR