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Social Science Approaches to Enhance EPA Research Planning
Citation:
Suarez, D., M. Gwinn, M. Hano, AND C. Cole. Social Science Approaches to Enhance EPA Research Planning. Society of Toxicology, Salt Lake City, UT, March 10 - 14, 2024.
Impact/Purpose:
The purpose of this poster is to share the ongoing commitment of ORD leadership to continual improvement of our research planning process. We anticipate the impact of sharing this information will be increased awareness of how ORD approaches research planning and integrates an evidence-based strategy for process improvements.
Description:
The U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD) portfolio advances leading-edge research to both inform partner-expressed needs and anticipate future environmental concerns. ORD’s research planning process leads to a portfolio that is increasingly addressing complex environmental and public health challenges at a systems level. The planning process incorporates input from EPA programs and regions, states, Tribes, and other stakeholders. This rigorous consultative process, although successful in engaging partners and responding to identified needs, was found burdensome on partner and researcher alike. A Research Planning Review (RPR) process was initiated in 2023 to systematically identify aspects of the planning process that can be improved in future planning cycles. This poster describes the most recent ORD research planning process, the social science approaches used to evaluate this process (currently underway), and identification of challenges and recommended areas for improvement in future research planning cycles. Methods A number of external peer reviews of ORD have recommended increased incorporation of social sciences across its research portfolio, in this case we extended this advice into an internal evaluation of ORD’s strategic planning process itself. The 2023 RPR utilized a range of primary and secondary social science techniques (e.g., surveys, key informant interview/focus groups, guidance and training documents) and was designed using a three-prong approach: A survey was developed and distributed to gather feedback from ORD federal employees about their experiences in ORD research planning. A second survey was distributed to select federal employees in partner EPA program and regional offices who were involved in the most recent planning cycle for Fiscal Years 2023-2026. Discussions were held with senior leaders from other federal research organizations to explore their research planning processes, to understand the structures, participants, challenges, and successes of alternative approaches. Results The results of this 2023 RPR case study focus on areas where ORD can modify its research planning process to increase efficiencies, expedite the process, and reduce undue burden on participants. Based on challenges identified in the surveys, potential areas for improvement in the research planning process include: Refining the overarching process, including structure, timing, requirements, and evaluation; More consistency and broader understanding among participants of the components and organization of the planning process; Better communication of methods and messaging across planning components and among participants; Increased transparency of ORD and partner priorities, resources, and timing; and Additional emphasis to ensure intentional involvement of all process participants. Conclusions and next steps Successful research planning is a complex endeavor that cannot be conducted without a wide range of process participants, in an environment that encourages broad partner engagement and ongoing collaboration from initial problem identification, through research conduct, to delivery of results. Evaluating such a research planning process cannot be successful without understanding the lived experiences of the individuals involved. Input from across EPA—partner programs, regions, and researchers—and federal colleagues has proven invaluable in identifying and incorporating broad perspectives and experience. As ORD moves forward in this project, the data, analysis, and recommendations from the 2023 RPR will be integrated into strategies to support ORD’s future research planning cycles, increasing responsiveness to partner needs while reducing undue burdens on researchers and partners.