&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Research and
Development
Washington DC 20460
EPA/600/R-01/003
January 2001
www.epa.gov

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 ORD's mission:



 To conduct leading-edge research and foster



 the sound use of science and technology to



fulfill EPA s mission to protect human health



 and safeguard the natural environment.

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             &EPA
Office of Research and Development
         Strategic Plan
 US EPA Office of Research and Development
        U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
        Office of Research and Development
        1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW (8101R)
            Washington, DC 20460

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                              Table of Contents
Executive Summary	i

The Context of the Strategic Plan	1

Emerging External Trends and Their Implications for ORD's Future	4

ORD's Strategic Organizational Goals	6
      Goal 1 - Support the Agency's Mission	8
      Goal 2 - Be a High-Performing Organization	 11
      Goal 3 - Be a Leader in the Environmental Research Community	14
      Goal 4 - Integrate Environmental Science and Technology to Solve Environmental Problems... 18
      Goal 5 -Anticipate Future Environmental Issues	22

Setting Research Priorities	25

Conclusion
      Achieving Our Future, Making a Difference	35

Appendices	A-l
      Appendix A:  Office of Research and Development Organizational Chart	A-2
      Appendix B: Acronyms and Abbreviations	A-3

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     ORD Strategic Plan
                                 Executive Summary
The  Office  of Research and Development (ORD)
has taken the arrival of the millennium as an opportunity
to reassess itself. Over the last two years, building on
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's)
Strategic Plan and ORD's two previous strategic plans,
we have developed a clear and strong strategic direction
that  will guide us through the next decade.  This
Strategic Plan reaffirms our commitment to providing
the best quality science possible in support of a
clean and safe environment and provides the roadmap
for how we will achieve each of the five organizational
goals that we believe collectively define our aspirations
and purpose.  It also describes how our research priorities
align with and support EPA's Strategic Goals.

ORD's mission is to  conduct leading-edge research
and foster the sound use of science and technology to
fulfill EPA's mission to protect human health and
safeguard the natural environment.  This mission
commits ORD to conduct its research in a way that will
have a direct and meaningful impact on EPA's decisions
and programs.  To  determine how best to fulfill this
mission in a world of new and increasingly complex
environmental issues, we built upon our  previously
published 1996 Strategic Plan and its 1997 update by
holding numerous discussions with:  customers in the
EPA programs and regions; stakeholders in the research
and environmental  protection communities including
organizations at the federal, state, local, and tribal levels;
and, most important of all, our staff. These discussions
provided valuable insights into emerging  trends and
helped us to refine our goals, develop the actions under
each goal, and create appropriate measures  of success.

This Plan describes  ORD's organizational goals and the
actions we will take over the next decade to achieve
these goals.  In achieving these goals, we will ensure
that our science continues to be of high quality, timely,
relevant, and responsive.  Our Strategic Plan does not
alter our research priorities, which are the product of a
careful and  comprehensive Agency-wide planning
process. Instead, it  focuses  on ORD as an organization
and serves as the roadmap for how we will work together
and organize our activities over the next 10 years to more
efficiently and effectively support EPA's mission. Rather
than concentrating on what research we will do, it sets
direction for how we will accomplish our mission.

ORD has established five strategic organizational goals
to meet the challenges of the future.  First and foremost,
ORD seeks to support EPA's mission by providing high-
quality, relevant,  responsive, and timely science
(Goal 1).  This means that ORD must ensure that a
balanced program $iproblem-driven and core research
is always guided by the principles of "science for a
purpose" and clearly serves the expressed needs of our
internal customers in the program and regional offices.

To  accomplish Goal 1, ORD must be  a  high-
performing  organization (Goal 2).  We are committed
to the growth  and  development of our staff and the
continuous improvement  in the  efficiency and
effectiveness of our organization and infrastructure.

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For ORD to support EPA's mission effectively, our staff
and our organization must exercise leadership in  the
broader scientific community (Goal 3).  We will do
this by participating in scientific meetings, serving on
professional committees, contributing to scientific
debate, and playing a leading  role  in  creating a
national environmental research agenda. These activities
will keep us abreast of cutting-edge science and provide
us with the scientific foundation necessary for effective
environmental protection.

Integration (Goal 4) addresses ORD's unique role—our
ability to synthesize the broadest range of cutting-edge
science  and engineering into a comprehensive set of
insights and an understanding of the increasingly
complex environmental problems that we face. It means
integrating across disciplines, scales of time, media,
and  location to  provide  decision-makers with a
comprehensive picture of the risks posed and the
opportunities for preventing or mitigating those risks.

Anticipating future  environmental issues (Goal 5)
represents our role in long-term environmental
stewardship.  To meet this Goal, we must foresee and
react to environmental challenges before adverse effects
materialize or are widely noticed.  This foresight will
allow us more time to perform the necessary research
and put into place the appropriate response before costs
become prohibitive or effects irreversible.

ORD's Strategic Plan does not exist in a vacuum.  It is
bounded by and connected to other planning activities
in ORD and EPA. Within the planning, budgeting, and
accountability framework established by EPA's Strategic
Plan,  ORD develops  its research priorities  through an
extensive annual planning process that includes input
from  our customers  in EPA's program and regional
offices.  The result is a portfolio of research spanning
the major elements of EPA's  work and is reflected in
ORD's  Annual  Performance  Plan  and  budget
justification.  Recently, ORD initiated  a "multi-year"
planning process as a way to link its Annual Plan both
to the longer-range objectives contained in the EPA
Strategic Plan and to the commitments made under the
Government Performance and Results Act of 1993
(GPRA).  Our Plan also discusses our risk-based
planning approach and demonstrates the linkage of our
research program to Agency Goals.

ORD has developed this Strategic Plan as a path between
our past and our  future.  The scientific priorities
identified in our two previous Strategic Plans and the
current EPA Strategic Plan still hold true. Over the next
decade, we will carefully, consistently, and diligently
implement this Strategic Plan, action by action,
throughout  ORD.  An extensive effort  is already
underway to  prepare a detailed implementation plan
describing our priorities for action, available resources,
timelines, and methods for ensuring accountability. We
will track our results, measure our progress, and make
mid-course adjustments as necessary to reflect changing
conditions and new opportunities as they arise. We will
report our results to our customers and stakeholders
regularly and learn from other organizations as we go.
In so doing, we will hold ourselves accountable to each
other, and to our customers, stakeholders, and each other
for achieving our goals and future success.

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ORD Strategic Plan

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                    The  Context of the Strategic Plan
The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) mission
is to protect human health and to safeguard the natural
environment—air, water,  and land—upon which life
depends. Science supports this mission by providing
EPA and the American people  with the knowledge
needed to make informed decisions about risks to human
health and the environment, and with opportunities to
prevent or mitigate these risks. Within EPA, the Office
of Research  and Development provides leadership in
science  and engineering, and conducts most of the
Agency's research and development. Through research
and technical assistance, ORD provides the scientific
foundation for EPA's regulatory programs and decisions,
assesses the  state of the environment,  identifies new
issues of potential concern,  and  provides information
and tools to support risk-based decisions.

The Purpose of This Plan
ORD's Strategic Plan is the latest stage in a multi-year
effort to improve ORD's  organizational effectiveness
and research program. This Plan describes ORD's
organizational goals and the actions we will take over
the next decade to achieve these goals.  In so doing, we
will ensure that  our science continues to  be of high
quality, timely, relevant, and responsive.

This Plan does not  alter our research priorities, which
are the product of a careful and comprehensive Agency-
wide planning process. Instead, this Plan focuses on
ORD as an organization and serves as the roadmap for
how we will work together and organize our activities
over the next 10 years to more efficiently and effectively
support EPA's mission. Rather than concentrating on
what research we will do, this Plan sets direction for
how we will accomplish our mission.

Background
ORD's Strategic Plan builds on the evolution in ORD's
organizational structure and research planning that began
in the mid-1990s in response to  a number of external
reviews of EPA's research programs, as well as a
Congressional directive that EPA examine its overall
laboratory structure. In 1995, as a result of these reviews
and a strong internal desire to strengthen and better focus
our research  program, ORD implemented the most
sweeping reorganization in its history.

The scientific rationale for the new structure was the
scientific risk assessment/risk management paradigm—
a sequenced set of specific interrelated analytic steps
that are employed in assessing environmental risks and
making decisions on how to reduce those risks. Simply
stated, these steps involve a process to: 1) characterize
the nature and magnitude  of human health or
environmental effects; 2) determine the magnitude and
routes of exposure to  causative contaminants or
stressors; 3) combine these into an assessment of risk;
and, 4) evaluate  sources and implement strategies or
technologies  to reduce risk.  Using this organizing
principle, ORD combined 12 existing laboratories into
three National Laboratories (covering environmental
effects, exposure, and risk management) and a National
Center for Environmental Assessment which mirror the
four components  of the paradigm.

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     ORD Strategic Plan
  ORD Is Composed of Three Laboratories,
        Two Centers, and Two Offices
 These are:
 •  National Health and Environmental Effects
    Research Laboratory
 •  National Exposure Research Laboratory
 •  National Risk Management Research
    Laboratory
 •  National Center for Environmental
    Assessment
 •  National Center for Environmental
    Research
 •  Office of Science Policy
 •  Office of Resources Management and
    Administration
At the same time, ORD created a National Center for
Environmental Research to manage an enlarged and
strengthened competitive  extramural grants and
fellowship program.  Two Headquarter Offices  were
formed to provide support and oversight, the Office of
Science Policy and the Office of Resources Management
and Administration (see Appendix A for the ORD
Organizational Chart).

Following the reorganization, ORD published a Strategic
Plan in May 1996. The 1996 Plan proposed evaluating
research and development priorities based on
comparative risk—or, stated in different terms, on
reducing uncertainty about the potentially greatest risks.
The 1996 Plan, which was updated in 1997, outlined
ORD's high-priority research topics and included their
strategic focus, key elements, anticipated research
products, and intended uses. The 1996 Plan and its 1997
update also set in motion an effort to develop a series of
externally peer-reviewed research strategies and plans
describing the rationale, strategic direction, and key
components of ORD's research program.
In 1997, EPA also implemented the Government
Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) which
resulted in additional changes for ORD.  The Agency
produced a comprehensive  Strategic  Plan and
restructured its budget around 10 Agency-wide Goals.
The Agency also prepared its first Annual Performance
Plan and Congressional Justification for 1999 in
accordance with the new GPRA structure. This Annual
Plan included Performance Goals and Measures that
would be accomplished with the proposed budget. It is
this process that ORD now uses to plan its research and
development program and is discussed in further detail
later in this document.

Concurrently, ORD has taken the  lead in looking broadly
at EPA science by drafting the January 2000 Strategic
Framework for EPA Science. The Framework contains
three unifying principles for EPA science:  use of the
Agency-wide science inventory; effective planning
("doing the right science"); and  sound science ("doing
the  science right").  EPA, through its Science Policy
Council, has adopted and is  implementing  these
principles in cross-agency science activities sponsored
by the Council.

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The Future We Seek
ORD has developed this Strategic Plan as a path between
our past and our future.  The scientific priorities
identified in our two previous strategic plans and the
current EPA Strategic Plan still hold true.  We are on
track in providing high-quality, timely,  relevant, and
responsive scientific research and technical assistance
to support EPA's mission to protect human health and
the environment.

At the same time, we recognize that we face new
challenges that  will alter how we plan, conduct, and
communicate science, how we view and  anticipate
environmental  problems,  and how we manage our
organization.  It is clear that the environmental issues
that we will address in the next decade are increasingly
complex, subtle,  international, and  interrelated.
Similarly, the solutions required to address these issues
will place a growing premium on sound science and risk-
based decision-making.

Moreover, we face rising expectations from our partners,
stakeholders,  and the American people for more
scientific information on:  environmental  and public
health risks; how these risks may differ for different
groups or different locations;  and how they can be
reduced in a cost-effective manner.

We recognize  and  embrace  these  challenges as
opportunities to  demonstrate the excellence of our work
and the strength of our commitment to a safe and clean
environment. This Strategic Plan will guide our efforts.

How This Plan Was Developed
The Plan focuses on five strategic organizational goals
that  were originally drafted by  ORD's  Executive
Council.  The ORD Executive Council is composed of
the Assistant  Administrator for Research  and
Development, the Deputy Assistant Administrators for
Management and for Science, and the Directors of
ORD's Laboratories, Centers, and Offices.
Meetings with the workforce were held throughout our
locations to discuss the goals, what they meant, why
they were important, and how we might achieve them.
These meetings, and much of the other consultation with
our workforce,  were  organized and  coordinated
by the Strategic Plan  Workgroup, which included
representatives throughout the organization.

In addition,  many other staff members actively
participated in developing this Strategic Plan through
goal writing teams that were established for each of the
five goals.  Each team  was responsible  for using the
diverse input collected to develop the specific objectives,
actions, and  measures  of success under each goal.
Whatever success  derives from this  Strategic Plan
belongs to all those who participated in its development.

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     ORD Strategic Plan
                  Emerging External Trends  and Their
                        Implications  for  ORD's  Future
To complement and confirm the results of internal
planning, we held discussions throughout 1999 with our
internal  EPA  customers,  other  governmental
organizations, and key external stakeholders from trade
associations, professional societies, and public interest
organizations. These discussions focused on gathering
customer and stakeholder perspectives on the future of
science and environmental protection over the next 10
to 20 years, and on related demands and expectations
facing EPA. These meetings produced a broad consensus
about several significant, persistent, and highly relevant
trends. The details concerning our June 3,1999, external
stakeholder meeting can be found on the  Internet at
http://www. epa.go v/ORD/SP.

ORD's customers and stakeholders believe that the
nature of environmental  protection is changing
in significant ways.  One of their most important
observations is that certain approaches to environmental
protection—which produced environmental gains over
the past 30 years—have begun to yield only marginal
returns in the face of continued population growth and
economic expansion.  Using traditional regulation of
large municipal and industrial sources of pollution and
focusing on individual chemicals, pollutant classes, or
a single medium can no longer, by themselves,  be
counted on to provide the level of environmental
protection that the American people desire.
      ORD's Customers and Stakeholders

   ORD's customers are those who directly use
   ORD's research products and technical
   assistance to protect human health and safeguard
   the environment. ORD's primary customers are
   EPA's program and regional offices but also
   include state environmental agencies, tribal
   organizations, and other parts of the federal
   government.

   ORD's stakeholders are those individuals or
   organizations with a specific interest in ORD's
   work and accomplishments.  This larger set
   includes industry, trade associations, the
   academic research community, public interest
   groups, and in the broadest sense, the American
   people.  Some stakeholders may also be
   customers.
Further, these traditional approaches, while still
necessary, are not likely to effectively address new issues
such as global climate change,  loss of habitat and
biodiversity, non-point source pollution, and  risks
associated with emerging technologies.  In addition,
rising  public expectations  call for finely tuned
environmental solutions addressing the needs or special
circumstances of specific populations (such as the
elderly or  children) and specific  communities, water
bodies, or airsheds.

As a consequence,  while EPA's traditional media
programs  will continue to be the mainstays of the
environmental protection system in the United States,
new or different and more complex approaches will be
required to realize significant environmental gains in
the future. Examples of these approaches include
market-based approaches, voluntary programs, greater
information sharing to allow for  informed risk-based
decisions by individuals and  corporations, and
partnerships with others concerned with human health
protection  and environmental stewardship.

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The following trends were identified by our customers
and stakeholders as likely to have the greatest influence
on ORD over the next 10 to 20 years:

  •   New arrangements among EPA and individual
     citizens,  states, tribes,  industry, and other
     organizations will  be developed, driven by
     changing needs and expectations for more
     cooperative  arrangements with industry and
     community-based decision-making.

  •   Traditional single-medium problems and programs
     will face  new challenges  because of continued
     population growth, economic expansion, and aging
     infrastructure.

  •   The complexity of emerging environmental issues
     will place a premium on integrated, multimedia,
     multidisciplinary research to allow for  sound
     decision-making where difficult, subtle, and
     possibly  uncertain trade-offs of risk and risk
     management  are involved.

  •   New technologies (e.g., miniaturization, energy
     generation, transportation,  remote sensing) offer
     great promise to ameliorate existing problems and
     provide better information about the state of the
     environment, but also may bring with them new
     risks that  need to be assessed.

  •   An  aging, more affluent, and better educated
     society will have greater  expectations for
     environmental quality, including ecological
     restoration  (to complement environmental
     protection), which will lead to greater demands for
     environmental information.

  •   The  increasing availability  of environmental
     information and  tools for  interpreting this
     information, especially  over the  Internet,
     will require increased and improved risk
     communication.
  •   There is a need to expand our understanding of
     environmental research so that the findings of
     economics, sociology, psychology, and other social
     sciences can be incorporated into decision-making,
     because environmental protection increasingly
     focuses on  the decisions  and behaviors of
     individuals as consumers, commuters,  and
     property-owners.

The sum of these  anticipated trends is a growing role
for scientific  information in  the  formulation,
development, and implementation of public policy
toward the environment, and consequently, a potentially
growing role for ORD.

The perspectives of ORD's customers and stakeholders
have offered us a look into the future and a basis for
better understanding the challenges we face as we try to
achieve our mission. Consideration of these trends and
their implications for how we plan, conduct, and manage
our research were influential in the development of the
goals, objectives, and actions in the Strategic Plan. It
should also be noted that, an implicit assumption
for the development of the Plan was that public attitudes
toward the environment and funding for environmental
protection and research would remain fairly stable over
the next decade.

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     ORD Strategic Plan
                 ORD's  Strategic  Organizational Goals
ORD has established five strategic organizational goals
to meet the challenges of the future.  The goals are as
follows:

  •  Support the Agency's Mission
  •  Be a High-Performing Organization
  •  Be a Leader in the Environmental
    Research Community
  •  Integrate Environmental Science and
    Technology to Solve Environmental
    Problems
  •  Anticipate Future Environmental Issues

Each goal  contains several focused objectives, under
which are  specific actions.  The actions represent the
set of activities that ORD  will implement in order to
meet each  objective and, taken together, achieve all of
the  goals.  Individually, each goal  represents an
aspiration we seek to achieve. Collectively, our goals
define the full range of ORD's role in shaping the future
of environmental protection.
       Figure 1: ORD's Strategic Goals
As Figure  1 shows,  ORD's five goals are closely
interrelated.   Supporting the Agency's mission
(Goal 1) is central to the other four goals  and is the
guiding focus for all  ORD employees. While  other
agencies such as the National Science Foundation play
a critical role in pursuing our fundamental understanding
of nature and natural phenomena, ORD is committed to
pursuing "science for a purpose," namely,  protecting
human health and the environment from the unintended
consequences of humankind's use of the earth and its
atmosphere.  ORD is part of a regulatory Agency, and
ORD's scientific products and expertise are critical to
supporting agency decision-making. First and foremost,
ORD must be a strong advocate for sound science across
the Agency.

Being a high-performing organization (Goal 2) allows
us to achieve our other strategic goals.  In order to
accomplish what we have set forth, our organization will
encourage  scientific leadership, integration, and
anticipation in pursuit of our primary goal of supporting
the Agency's mission.  We will attract, retain, and
develop a highly qualified and diverse workforce to meet
the challenges  we face.  Policies and  administrative
processes will  provide tools to promote risk-taking,
integration, and anticipation of trends. The performance
and promotion system will encourage and reward
progress toward our strategic goals.

Science leadership (Goal 3) is a key component of our
success. If we are  to provide sound science for
environmental decision-making, it must be recognized
as leading edge.  In addition, there is  more mission-
critical research than ORD scientists and engineers can
perform, which means that we will leverage ORD's
resources with  the research expertise in academia, in
other research institutes, and in state, federal, local, and
tribal organizations that conduct environmental research.
ORD will demonstrate  and model environmental science
leadership within EPA and in the broader scientific

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community.  This leadership will help us to integrate
science,  anticipate the  future, and become a high-
performing organization.

Integration across  environmental science and
technology (Goal 4) requires leadership and is critical
to meeting the challenges of the future. EPA has long
known that solutions addressing problems one at a time
and one  medium  at a time are less efficient and,
therefore, only partially effective.  Integration across
the risk paradigm  (i.e.,  source-exposure-dose-effect-
management) is a critical first  step  to achieving more
effective  solutions and meeting future challenges.
Integration across environmental media (i.e., solutions
that solve a problem in one medium have additional
benefits in another, rather than unintended negative
consequences) is needed to recognize trade-offs.

Integration  across disciplines, including the social
sciences, is yet another step leading to the ultimate goal
of solutions  that integrate protection of human health
with protection of ecosystems.  Finally, integration of
extramural research conducted through our Science to
Achieve Results (STAR) grants program with our
intramural research efforts greatly expands our scientific
effectiveness and impact.

Anticipating future environmental trends and issues
(Goal 5) can help ORD maintain a leading-edge view
of scientific needs for preventing or ameliorating
potential environmental problems.  Environmental
"futures" thinking will lead to better articulation of new
directions and strategic planning of research—before
problems emerge and lead to environmental damage and
degradation.  Through futures thinking, ORD will
support more informed EPA decision-making, shape the
national environmental  research agenda, and reinforce
ORD's leadership position in the scientific community.

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     ORD Strategic Plan
                GoaM
Support the Agency's  Mission
Goal Statement
ORD will support the Agency's Strategic Goals through
collaborative relationships with its program and regional
offices by providing high-quality, relevant, responsive,
and timely scientific information and research results.

What This Goal Means
Science is the foundation of all of EPA's work. ORD's
role  is to deliver problem-driven  and core research,
scientific advice, and technical support that provide a
solid scientific basis for EPA policy and program
decisions. Our research and scientific support activities
must clearly contribute to the Agency's Strategic Goals.
Although ORD's research may benefit many customers,
our success will be primarily measured by the extent to
which our research helps EPA accomplish its mission,
both now and in the future.

In achieving our mission ORD is committed to
following a balanced program of problem-driven
and  core researcft-with the additional condition
that  research must always be necessary for, not just
relevant to, environmental protection and restoration.
Problem-driven research directly addresses a specific,
identified need in order to support a regulatory action
or program activity.  This research may be needed to
review a criterion, meet a legislative mandate, or provide
technical support to a program or regional office, such
as developing methods for detecting and removing
microbial contaminants from drinking water.
                     We also recognize the  need for a strong body
                     of core research focusing on elucidating key physical,
                     chemical,  biological, geological, sociological, and
                     economic processes that are important in understanding
                     and predicting the effects of human activities on human
                     health and the environment. This type of research
                     provides the scientific basis for understanding a wide
                     range of environmental  issues and problems.  It
                     includes, for example, research on biological indicators
                     of ecosystem health or development  of improved
                     methodologies for assessing cumulative exposure to
                     contaminants.

                     Today's core research program will provide the
                     foundation for our problem-driven research in future
                     years, and today's problem-driven research helps to
                     shape our future core research portfolio.  We  conduct
                     both problem-driven and core research, focusing on the
                     common element of facilitating the work of the rest of
                     EPA.

                     An extensive  discussion of problem-driven and  core
                     research can be found in Building a Foundation for
                     Sound Environmental Decisions, Committee on Research
                     Opportunities and Priorities for EPA, National
                     Research Council, National Academy of Sciences, 1997.

                     As a result, ORD's research must be results-oriented
                     and customer focused. Specifically, our research needs
                     to be:

                       •   Rigorous, objective, and thorough;
                       •   Structured and conducted to provide complete and
                          integrated information relevant  to decision-
                          making;
                       •   Focused on the needs of our customers; and
                       •   Provided in a timely and useful manner.

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Why This Goal Is Important for ORD
EPA is a mission-oriented agency; its work is focused
on the specific goals and objectives described in EPA's
Strategic Plan. ORD provides the scientific support that
enables the Agency to meet those goals and objectives.
EPA depends  on ORD; its scientific reputation is built
on our work.  As a result, our research must respond to
and anticipate the Agency's needs.  Science that is not
supportive of EPA's mission may be important, but it
need not, and should not, be done by ORD.  We must
keep ourselves focused on helping EPA program and
regional offices to fulfill their mandates and achieve their
goals  to  address  the nation's most important
environmental and human health risks through research
and development, assessment methods, and management
options.

Because EPA's responsibilities are broad, important, and
heavily informed by science,  ORD must maintain a
robust and wide-ranging research agenda. The challenge
for us  is to ensure that this research is organized,
conducted, and delivered to the Agency in such a way
that it makes  a  positive difference in the lives of the
American people.
GoaM
Objectives and Actions
1.1   Maintain a balanced program of problem-
      driven and core research.

1.1.1  - Develop multi-year plans that address key
outcomes needed by the Agency and a logical sequence
of work to achieve them.

1.1.2  - Communicate the value of core research
outcomes  and products to the program and regional
offices to develop a common understanding of the link
between this research and the Agency's long-term policy
and decision-making needs.

1.1.3 -As part of the planning process, link research
outcomes to current and emerging Agency needs.
1.1.4 - Continuously improve the research planning and
coordination process to engage ORD's EPA partners,
enhance transparency and efficiency of the process, and
ensure that we are doing the right research.

1.1.5 - Clearly link the research funded by extramural
grants to the Agency's Goals and GPRA framework.

1.2    Proactively lead EPA's  effort to ensure that
      sound science is synthesized, integrated, and
      communicated in a form  that  supports
      effective environmental decision-making by
      EPA and its stakeholders.

1.2.1  -  Promote  more  frequent  and  direct
communication between ORD scientists and engineers,
and programs, regions, and states to ensure that the
science  is properly interpreted and communicated for
use in the regulatory process.

1.2.2 - Expand efforts to communicate the  results of
ORD's research inside and outside ORD (e.g., using
State-of-the-Science reports; assessments and criteria
documents; and sponsorship of national meetings,
workshops, and symposia on key human health  and
ecological issues).

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     ORD Strategic Plan
1.2.3 - Develop, maintain, and promote a searchable
database of ORD research projects and results.

1.2.4 - Develop mechanisms to ensure that problem-
driven research delivers a complete product that
integrates the relevant research across ORD.

1.3   Provide technical assistance and regulatory
      support that meet the immediate needs of the
      program and regional offices.

1.3.1 - Include technical assistance  and regulatory
support needs in our multi-year research plans.

1.3.2 - Build an accurate, up-to-date,  electronic and
searchable  ORD Technical Assistance Directory and
routinely assess its impact and usage.

1.3.3 - Modify performance and promotion criteria to
recognize  the value of technical assistance and
regulatory support to EPA's mission.

1.3.4 - Routinely interact with both the Regional and
Tribal Science Councils to ensure the relevance and
timeliness of ORD support.

1.4   Routinely obtain advice and feedback on our
      performance from our customers.

1.4.1 - Develop surveys and other tools to obtain and
evaluate customer feedback.

1.4.2- Incorporate customer feedback into our research
planning process.

1.4.3 - Assess research productivity and performance
and evaluate accomplishments through EPA's Science
Advisory Board (SAB), ORD's  Board of Scientific
Counselors (BOSC),  and other external peer review
panels, and by benchmarking against other research
institutions.
Measures of Success
Consistent with the recognition that our work is and
should be focused on EPA's mission, protecting human
health and safeguarding the environment are the ultimate
measures of our success. It should be noted that a full
set of Annual Performance Goals and Measures for our
research can be found in EPA's Annual Performance
Plan, as required by GPRA.  To further evaluate this
Goal, ORD will measure the feedback received from
program and regional partners, the scientific community,
Congress, and the public. Customer satisfaction surveys
will determine how well the value and results of our
research  are  communicated  and how  high our
satisfaction is with the level of customer involvement
in research planning. In addition, reports from the SAB,
BOSC, and others will be used  to assess  ORD
performance.

Other measures of success include the following:

  •   Citations or references in regulatory decision-
     making documents that reflect ORD's advice and
     research in formulating final decisions;

  •   EPA regulatory, enforcement, and other actions that
     are not delayed or rejected because of a lack of
     scientific and engineering rigor to support them;

  •   Peer reviews verifying that major uncertainties
     across the risk paradigm impeding environmental
     protection have been addressed; and

  •   Customer Satisfaction  Surveys indicate that our
     research results are valued and responsive to their
     needs.

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            Goal  2
Be a High-Performing  Organization
Goal Statement
ORD will be a high-performing organization in which
employees communicate openly, serve customers, and
work collaboratively to make ORD more effective and
efficient.

What This Goal Means
Excellence in scientific and engineering research
requires a strong, supportive organizational foundation.
We are committed to the growth and development of
our staff and the continuous improvement in the
efficiency and effectiveness  of our organization and
infrastructure. Under this Goal, ORD will continue to
provide leadership and devote resources to develop and
foster our workforce, model effective management, and
create a supportive work environment that promotes
creativity, innovation, teamwork, and productivity. In
short, we will recruit and retain the best possible people
and provide them with the infrastructure, resources, and
rewards for conducting results-oriented, customer-
focused research in support of ORD's and EPA's
missions.  Becoming a high-performing organization
will mean developing and sustaining the following:

  •  A stimulating research environment that attracts,
     holds, and values the best, brightest,  and  most
     energetic workforce in science, engineering,
     management, and administration  and  also
     encourages their creativity, innovation, and
     productivity;

  •  Career opportunities for staff to contribute to
     ORD's success, develop professionally, interact
     with colleagues, and achieve recognition;

  •  Recognition and rewards for achieving results,
     serving customers, and supporting each other;

  •  Open, clear, and concise communication that
     builds trust;
                           •  Efficiently managed and administered operations
                             that provide the resources and infrastructure for
                             an effective research and development program;

                           •  Organizational flexibility that balances the
                             changing needs of the environmental agenda with
                             the need for a stable research environment and
                             ensures that administrative requirements are met
                             with integrity while contributing to an atmosphere
                             of trust;

                           •  A diverse workforce whose varied backgrounds
                             and perspectives are utilized and whose individual
                             contributions are respected and valued; and

                           •  Clean, healthy, and safe facilities that support
                             and enhance the quality of ORD's  science and
                             engineering.

                         Why This Goal Is  Important for ORD
                         Investing in our workforce and improving our
                         organizational processes are key components of our
                         success. The single most important factor is the talent
                         and effort of our staff.  None of our strategic goals
                         can be realized without a highly  qualified, diverse,
                         and capable  workforce.  The  discoveries  and
                         accomplishments we seek will spring from the efforts
                         of a staff who are motivated in their work and provided
                         with the support and recognition needed to help them
                         do their best.
                         Motivating and supporting
                         our workforce requires  a
                         culture that inspires respect,
                         honesty,  and  trust  and
                         that  rewards  leadership,
                         innovation, teamwork, and
                         risk-taking. It  also requires
                         efficient management and
                         administrative processes. All
                         of these elements add up to

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     ORD Strategic Plan
developing an organization where workforce policies,
management and administrative  processes, internal
structure, and corporate culture are aligned to meet our
strategic  goals.  Fostering this high-performing
organization will directly contribute to achieving our
other strategic goals by providing the workforce with
tools and incentives to:

  •   Improve product delivery and customer service;
  •   Highlight our scientific excellence and leadership;
  •   Better integrate our work; and
  •   Better anticipate risks and issues.
Goal 2
Objectives and Actions
2.1   Recruit, retain, and develop a highly qualified
      and diverse workforce.

2.1.1 - Conduct an ORD workforce planning analysis
to ensure  staff competencies/skills mix to fulfill our
mission.

2.1.2 - Develop and implement recruitment strategies
to attract a highly qualified and diverse workforce.

2.1.3  - Institute an effective career development
program for all employees, which includes a range of
opportunities (e.g., rotations, training, Intergovernmental
Personnel Act assignments, individual development
plans, exchange programs with universities).

2.1.4 - Create and implement a consistent, ongoing
approach to assess what attracts people to work at ORD
and why they stay or leave.

2.1.5 - Modify promotion  criteria to reflect ORD's
mission and goals and clearly communicate performance
expectations to staff.

2.2   Create a culture that inspires respect, honesty,
      and trust.
2.2.1 - Identify elements of a trusting work environment
and develop and implement a plan to improve workplace
trust at all levels of the organization.

2.2.2  -  Train and  evaluate  all  managers  in
communication skills, particularly on providing
feedback and recognition to employees.

2.2.3 - Increase  direct communication between
managers and staff (e.g., open-door practices, skip-level
meetings,  informative e-mails).

2.2.4  -  Develop  and  implement  an  internal
communication improvement strategy.

2.2.5 - Institute a  feedback process (e.g., 360-degree
evaluations) for all employees.

2.2.6 - Publish statistics on hiring, awards, training,
developmental assignments, promotions,  and travel.

2.3   Create a stimulating work environment that
      encourages and rewards leadership, creativity,
      innovation,  teamwork, and risk-taking.

2.3.1 - Provide opportunities for staff to share leadership
responsibilities.

2.3.2 - Design and implement a leadership development
training program.

2.3.3- Institute a peer-nominated award that recognizes
an employee who exemplifies leadership.

2.3.4 - Increase recognition of and actively publicize
awards and employee accomplishments, including team
accomplishments.

2.3.5 - Identify and eliminate or reduce barriers to
innovation and risk-taking.

2.3.6 - Expand opportunities for use of multidisciplinary
teams.

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2.4   Align our management and administrative
      processes and tools to help staff achieve our
      mission.

2.4.1 - Use quality management techniques to analyze
and streamline administrative procedures and processes.

2.4.2 - Develop an orientation program that outlines
roles, responsibilities, processes, and procedures.

2.4.3 - Align the reward, recognition, and promotion
processes/criteria with strategic organizational goals and
directions.

2.4.4 - Maintain support for technicians, infrastructure,
and equipment.

2.4.5 - Develop and maintain a multifaceted,  effective
communication system that permits the efficient flow
of accurate information into, within, and outside of ORD.

2.4.6 - Develop mechanisms to identify and disseminate
best practices throughout ORD.

2.4.7 - Benchmark other high-performing organizations
to identify and implement best practices.

2.4.8 - Invest in state-of-the-art information technology
that can  significantly streamline internal processes,
promote information sharing and collaboration  within
ORD and with outside organizations, and facilitate
ORD's technical  assistance and risk communication
activities.

Measures of Success
The principal assessment of how well we are achieving
this Goal will be quantitative and qualitative measures
of human resource performance, employee satisfaction
on  organizational assessments, and measures of
administrative efficiency. In addition, a high-performing
workforce will be measured by the amount, quality, and
impact of the science produced, as found in performance
measures for Goals 1, 3, 4, and 5.
Specific measures for this Goal include the following:

  •   Objective  human resources data on acceptance
     rates, turnover, exit interviews, percentages of
     operating  budget spent on recruitment, diverse
     employee  backgrounds, and career development
     and training;

  •   Organizational climate survey data on employee
     satisfaction with career development and training,
     communication, levels of trust, and rewards and
     incentives;

  •   Administrative efficiency measures such as ratio
     of scientists to administrative staff, average cost
     per procurement, and average time for document
     approval;

  •   Evaluation of the 360-degree feedback process on
     whether the feedback is valued, provided openly
     and honestly, and acted upon; and

  •   Demonstrated  payback from   information
     technology investments.

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     ORD Strategic Plan
                                       Be a Leader in the
                  Environmental  Research  Community
Goal Statement
ORD will enhance its role as a national leader in the
science and engineering research that underpins
protection of human health and the environment, both
by conducting and sponsoring mission-critical research
and by playing a pivotal role in the development of a
national environmental research agenda.

What This Goal Means
ORD's science leadership involves playing a key role
in:

  •  Defining and developing a national environmental
     research agenda;

  •  Upholding the highest standard of independence,
     objectivity, and excellence in research;

  •  Being viewed  as  a source  of  expertise  and
     knowledge by the scientific community and the
     American public;

  •  Communicating the value and results of scientific
     work; and

  •  Being a prominent participant in scientific and
     professional organization  activities.

Leadership is not the same as recognition, and it is not
limited to the  individual. While ORD seeks to be
recognized  for the excellence of its work and the
expertise and accomplishments of its staff, we  also
intend to lead by helping to coordinate the research
direction and priorities of other organizations and by
being a resource for communicating complex issues of
science and risk to the American public.

In this context, ORD's science leadership will have
several important dimensions. First, we will ensure that
all of our research is: focused on issues of importance
to the Agency; provided in a timely, understandable, and
useful format;  and used in a rigorous and credible
fashion.  We will maintain our unwavering commitment
to sound science—science that is independent, objective,
and carefully peer-reviewed.

Second, we will involve others in achieving our research
mission. ORD has only about 5 percent of the federal
environmental research budget in the United States.  As
a result,  we seek to exert a beneficial influence on  the
direction  of environmental research conducted
elsewhere in the federal government by cooperatively
developing a national environmental research agenda.

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Finally, we must exhibit leadership in a community-wide
sense.  This involves helping to define the national
agenda through attracting and supporting the next
generation of scientists early in their professional
careers,   being  the prime  source  for reliable
environmental data and methods, sponsoring meetings
and workshops, and partnering with universities and
other research organizations to leverage our skills and
resources.

Cultivating and sustaining science leadership translates
into exhibiting leadership at all organizational levels.
Our scientists  and  engineers  will be  widely
acknowledged as  leaders in their respective research
areas. Our managers and supervisors will be champions
for science and science quality and leaders within EPA
and ORD to ensure that our research  is focused and
timely. Corporately, ORD will strive to play a critical
role in all aspects of national research initiatives that
provide the scientific basis for EPA's mission.  In
addition, we will be leaders in communicating our
research results to all of our stakeholders outside of EPA.

Why This Goal Is  Important for ORD
Solving the complex environmental problems of the new
century will require substantial leadership to focus
research on issues that pose the greatest environmental
risks. It is particularly important for ORD to conduct,
stimulate, and support critical environmental research
that will lead to a significantly better understanding of
environmental risks and development of effective and
efficient solutions to environmental problems.  Within
EPA, ORD's leadership to uphold the highest standard
of independence, objectivity, and excellence in research
will contribute to sound decision-making and efficient
programs, thereby enhancing the public's confidence
in EPA and its mission.  At the same time,  ORD's
leadership in communicating  risk and scientific
information to the American people will help them to
make their own informed decisions about environmental
issues at either a local or national level, as consumers,
commuters, property owners, and citizens.
Beyond EPA, ORD has an important leadership role in
catalyzing and coordinating the development of a
national environmental research agenda. To fill this role,
ORD must hold the trust, respect, and confidence of
scientists and administrators in other federal agencies,
universities, and external research organizations.  This
trust will arise from the quality of our work, and the
active and prominent participation of our scientists in
professional societies and associations. Such activities
will further ORD's ties to the scientific  community,
provide professional development opportunities and
recognition to staff, and support Goal 4 on integration
by  fostering collaboration  across organizations,
disciplines, and topics.

         Objectives and Actions

3.1    Lead the development and  definition of a
      national environmental research agenda for
      integrating and coordinating federally funded
      environmental research.

3.1.1 - Establish a cross-agency workgroup to engage
and coordinate with stakeholders and evaluate long-term
needs to be addressed in a national environmental
research agenda.

3.1.2 - Look for innovative ways to integrate federally
funded environmental research across institutions.

3.1.3 - Coordinate with existing  science  policy
institutions, such as the Office  of Science and
Technology Policy, the National Academy of Sciences,
and other academic and scientific institutions.

3.2    Uphold the highest standard of independence,
      objectivity, and excellence.

3.2.1- Improve and expand EPA's scientific peer review
processes.

3.2.2 - Account for peer review of plans, results, and
interpretation  in the  development of Lab/Center
operating plans, as well as project completion schedules.

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     ORD Strategic Plan
3.3   Be a widely used source of expertise and
      knowledge.

3.3.1 - Enhance the stature and visibility of ORD's
science through an environment that fosters publication
in high-quality journals and presentations at national and
international scientific and technical meetings.

3.3.2 - Provide incentives for external collaborative
research projects, programs, and workshops  with
researchers at universities and other research institutions.

3.3.3 - Provide incentives to encourage scientists to
assume national leadership roles  in professional
organizations, such as scientific societies, editorial
boards, advisory boards, and  adjunct university
appointments.

3.3.4 - Organize and sponsor technical workshops and
symposia on emerging environmental problems and
cutting-edge science.

3.4  Communicate the results and value of ORD
     research.

3.4.1 - Build a capacity to measure the effectiveness of
ORD's major research  programs  and benchmark
measures of effectiveness against other scientific
organizations.
3.4.2 - Develop and implement improved mechanisms
for synthesis and communication of research results and
risk information to ORD's diverse audiences.

3.4.3 - Invest in information technology including an
expansion of ORD's Web presence to share information
and promote collaboration.

3.4.4 - Develop a standard format/logo/look for EPA/
ORD products so that they are instantly recognizable to
customers and stakeholders.

Measures of Success
The measures of leadership are how positively we are
viewed and how much our scientific contributions are
valued, on an individual and organizational level, by
our customers and stakeholders.  This feedback must
come from a variety of audiences—experts in specific
disciplines, the  broader scientific and environmental
protection communities, Congress,  and the American
people.

Measures of leadership at the individual level include
the following:

  •  External awards  and recognition for ORD
     scientists;

  •  Publications in high-quality journals;

  •  Appointments to  scientific societies, editorial
    boards, and adjunct university  positions;

  •  Leadership roles at professional and scientific
     meetings, conferences, and symposia; and

  •  Invitations to ORD scientists to participate in
     conferences, workshops, symposia, and peer
     reviews.

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Measures of leadership at the organizational level
include the following:

  •  The creation and implementation of a national
     environmental research agenda and the extent to
     which it guides the planning and  funding of
     environmental research;

  •  Citation rates as an indicator of quality and impact
     of publications;

  •  Critiques from independent organizations [e.g.,
     National Research Council (NRC), SAB] regarding
     the independence, objectivity, and excellence of
     our research;

  •  Research programs involving multiple agencies or
     institutions;
Requests from international organizations to visit
EPA facilities or invitations to participate in their
planning and review activities;

Workshops and symposia conducted with
researchers from other organizations;

Cooperative Research and Development Act
Agreements and Interagency Agreements;

Requests for ORD research results and expertise
from outside ORD; and

Visits to the ORD Web site, including downloading
of documents and reports.

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     ORD Strategic Plan
          Goal  4
              Integrate Environmental Science and
Technology to Solve  Environmental Problems
Goal Statement
ORD will integrate its research across media, disciplines,
and institutions to meet the challenges of complex
environmental problems and to promote the discovery
of holistic, efficient, and effective solutions.

What This Goal Means
Effectively solving environmental problems requires an
integrated approach in which the necessary people and
skills are brought together in a comprehensive program
of research to answer the fundamental scientific
questions.  Furthermore, it means that the results of our
research are assembled, presented, and communicated
to Agency customers, key stakeholders, and the general
public in a way that facilitates understanding and wise
decisions.

Such integrated problem-solving is both a  unique
capability of, and opportunity for, ORD. Because of
our broad mission related to both human health and
ecology, close working relationships with the program
and regional offices, established ties to universities and
other research institutions, and a large, multidisciplinary
research staff, we are qualified and positioned to
integrate scientific research to understand and solve
environmental problems.

To achieve this Goal, we will integrate research across
the following:

  •   Human and ecological health by maximizing the
     degree to which relevant human health  and
     ecological endpoints are addressed, including
     different health effects, levels of biological
     organization, and human populations;
                                            The risk assessment/risk management paradigm
                                            by ensuring that we evaluate the effectiveness of
                                            risk management alternatives based on net risk
                                            reduction, not merely pollutant reduction. We will
                                            set our risk characterization and assessment
                                            research priorities while recognizing the inherent
                                            uncertainties in risk assessment and the potential
                                            effect these uncertainties may have on decisions
                                            to develop prevention or control options;

                                            Institutions by drawing  expertise from  the
                                            appropriate ORD Laboratories and Centers, EPA
                                            program  and regional offices, other federal
                                            agencies, universities, and U.S. and international
                                            research organizations;

                                            Disciplines^ involving staff from the biological,
                                            physical, natural, and social sciences and from
                                            engineering; and

                                            Media by recognizing that  the conditions of air,
                                            water, land, and human health are interrelated and
                                            that addressing risks in the context of one medium
                                            may alter risks in another.

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All levels of ORD will pursue  integration.  At the
individual researcher level, integration will occur across
disciplines through coordination, cooperation, and
collaboration.  At the laboratory or center level,
integration will  require providing resources and
encouragement for work beyond that lab's or center's
traditional focus.  Our scientists will coordinate with
grant project officers and recipients throughout the
research process.  At the  highest levels of ORD,
planning, budgeting, and research execution processes
and authorities will support integrated projects.

Why This Goal Is  Important for ORD
In the past, the problems on which EPA focused, and
sometimes the solutions as well, involved a scientific
approach that was rather straightforward compared to
the challenges that  EPA is addressing now.  Today's
environmental problems are more complex, their causes
less obvious, and their solutions more expensive and/or
less certain.  Addressing risks associated with a single
environmental issue or problem often creates or alters
risks elsewhere.  Issues  such as global climate change,
ecological implications of emerging technologies,
persistent bioaccumulative toxics, endocrine disrupting
chemicals (EDCs), and habitat and biodiversity loss are
inherently complex. They involve complicated issues
related to fate and transport, exposure, and effects, and
the associated human and animal behavioral responses
to these risks or effects.  Environmental science and
engineering also will play an even more important role
in the Agency's efforts to harmonize existing regulations
and programs under its results-based management
approach.

Sound risk-based decisions and environmental
stewardship require the  integration of the full range of
knowledge about an issue. Integration across all relevant
dimensions is neither easy nor straightforward, and it
requires  a broad mix  of skills  and organizational
capabilities, including those outside of ORD.  As
confirmed in discussions with our stakeholders, we are
uniquely positioned to fulfill this role because of our
broad expertise and capabilities and the importance of
our research to EPA's  decision-making process.  In
addition,  our relationships with universities and other
research institutions provide the opportunity for new and
more far-reaching partnerships  to foster integrated
research.

The  Goal of integrating environmental science and
technology  to   solve  environmental problems
complements ORD's Goal 1 on supporting the Agency's
mission and Goal 3 on leadership.  Integration will
reinforce a sense of common purpose both among our
staff and with EPA programs and regions. Through our
research and technology transfer activities, we will
provide our customers  with integrated packages that
solve a problem, constitute a complete tool set, or resolve
the status of an emerging issue. We will encourage other
environmentally focused organizations to move toward
more holistic and comprehensive approaches  to
assessing and managing risk.

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     ORD Strategic Plan
Goal 4
   Objectives and Actions
4.1   Use ORD's multi-year planning process to
      identify priority environmental problems to be
      addressed by integrated research programs.

4.1.1 - Use the multi-year plans to identify and take
action on key environmental problems that require
integrated planning and implementation of research.

4.1.2 - Initiate  projects that organize, integrate, and
synthesize data and theory from multiple disciplines and
research institutions to support integrated solutions to
complex environmental problems.

4.1.3 - Include cross-laboratory annual performance
goals and measures that provide integrative solutions
for ORD's GPRA commitments.

4.1.4 - Elevate the priority of cross-organizational
research in the annual planning process.
4.2
Improve ORD's research management and
communication processes to facilitate and
support research that provides integrated
solutions to environmental problems.
4.2.1  - Make ORD models  and data sets broadly
available to researchers across ORD, to program and
regional offices, and  to  the  external scientific
community.

4.2.2 - Establish communication mechanisms (such as
scientist-to-scientist meetings, open houses,  or staff
orientation programs) to ensure that all staff understand
the environmental problems being addressed, the need
and opportunities for integrated solutions, and the need
for the expertise of others.

4.2.3 - Conduct cross-laboratory program reviews to
hold managers (i.e., line managers,  associate and
assistant directors, program managers, and team leaders)
accountable for accomplishing cross-laboratory research
goals.

4.2.4 - Modify the award and promotions program to
reward cross-disciplinary and cross-laboratory research.

4.2.5 - Identify ways to promote interaction between
EPA scientists, grantees, and external research
organizations by benchmarking best  practices and
performance metrics from other multidisciplinary,
broadly focused research organizations.

4.3   Dedicate efforts to  increase utilization
      of ORD developed  science in the Agency's
      regulatory programs and by the environmental
      community at large.

4.3.1 - Actively participate in the Agency regulatory
process to communicate ORD  research results and
ensure such results are considered in the decision-
making process.

4.3.2 - Take  steps to ensure that ORD scientists and
engineers are informed of, and understand, regulatory
program needs and requirements.

4.3.3 - Improve communication of ORD's core research
program to facilitate better integration across EPA
program and regional offices.

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Measures of Success
The ultimate measure of success of this Goal is the
usefulness of ORD's integrated science and engineering
products to Agency decision-makers, key stakeholders,
and the public.   More interim measures concern the
number and type of integrated research and technology
transfer activities occurring within ORD, including the
following:

  •   Satisfaction scores on  ORD organizational
     assessment surveys on questions related to the
     extent to which staff and management

     -   are aware of the part their research plays
        in  providing  integrated   solutions   to
        environmental problems,

     -   believe  this research is well coordinated and
        complementary, and

     -   are working on, have volunteered to work on,
        or want to work on integrative projects;
Percentage of ORD's operating budget and
staff devoted to integrated projects;

Percentage of papers and presentations with
authors from multiple disciplines and multiple
institutions (other ORD laboratories, other parts
of EPA, other agencies, or other organizations);

Number of ORD staff members leading integrated
programs and projects;

Satisfaction scores on surveys of environmental
decision-makers  (inside and outside of EPA)
regarding the utility of ORD's integrated products;
and

Reviews, scores, and comments by the SAB, NRC
committees, and other outside bodies on the value
and quality of ORD's integrated scientific solutions
to environmental problems.

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     ORD Strategic Plan
        Goal  5
Anticipate Future Environmental Issues
Goal Statement
ORD will evaluate opportunities for and, as appropriate,
will  conduct research to anticipate and assess future
environmental stressors—whether human health or
ecological—before their effects adversely impact people
or the environment.

What This Goal Means
In 1995, EPA's SAB published a report, Beyond the
Horizon: Using Foresight to Protect the En vironmental
Future. In this report, the Board stated that "by engaging
in environmental foresight, the American people can
better understand the full range  of risks and
opportunities—environmental and economic—possible
in the future and then better define the actions needed
today to reduce the risks and preserve the opportunities."
The panel made several recommendations recognizing
the importance of understanding  and managing future
risk,  establishing early warning systems, and calling for
an EPA-led national effort to anticipate and respond to
environmental change.

Goal 5 is to foresee future environmental stressors and
understand or reasonably predict their potential impacts
so that EPA can take action to prevent or avoid these
impacts rather than just respond  to them.  Under this
Goal, we will undertake a systematic "foresight" effort
focused on potential issues 10 to 20 years into the future.
In contrast, our current research planning and budgeting
processes focus on a time horizon of approximately three
to eight years.

The "foresight" approach has two parts in which ORD,
working with the broader scientific community, EPA
programs, regions, futurists, stakeholders, and the
public, will:

  •   Search for detectable  early warning signals and
     extrapolate them into the future; and
                               •  Identify new issues for which an early warning
                                  signal does not currently exist.

                             By building capacity in this area, we expect to identify
                             and understand potential future risks to human health
                             and the environment, recommend new directions for
                             research and program management  decisions, and
                             identify innovative,  cost-effective  solutions and
                             alternatives through  an ongoing futures program.

                             Our futures effort will be realistic in scope and focused
                             primarily on workshops and information gathering rather
                             than actual lab and field research.  The  work will focus
                             on carefully selected issues for which the outcome may
                             be highly uncertain but the reward is potentially very
                             large.  While our activities will include direct and
                             frequent interaction  with experts throughout EPA, we
                             also will draw heavily from the views and thoughts of
                             those from other agencies  and organizations. Our
                             outputs  will inform the  research  planning and
                             prioritization process and are expected to shape not only
                             our future research efforts and priorities but also those
                             of EPA's program and regional offices, other agencies,
                             and organizations concerned with environmental quality.

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                                                     Goals
         Objectives and Actions
Why This Goal Is Important for ORD
The  benefit of foresight is the promise of increased
environmental protection at less cost.  As noted by the
SAB, greater commitment to futures research  will
provide the following advantages:

  •  More time to study an issue and determine the best
     approach to address it before its full effects are
     felt;

  •  The opportunity to avoid or significantly reduce
     the  sickness, injury,  or environmental damage
     associated with an issue; and

  •  Lower  costs and less social  disruption by
     addressing an issue before its effects are large and
     widespread.

A systematic futures program is highly complementary
with Goal 1 in supporting the Agency's mission and Goal
3 on scientific leadership.   New insights on potential
stressors will give EPA additional time for research and
evaluation  to support decision-making. Our futures
program will supply new knowledge to shape the
national environmental research agenda, maintain the
relevancy and focus of our core research, and reinforce
our leadership in the scientific community.
5.1   Develop an organizational capability for
      environmental foresight.

5.1.1- Establish a futures coordinating group, consisting
of representatives from ORD Laboratories, Centers, and
Offices and interested program and regional offices, to
guide futures activities.

5.1.2 - Designate a senior champion and provide
dedicated support staff to coordinate activities, provide
continuity, and directly engage appropriate expertise.

5.1.3 - Provide resources to procure expertise in
foresight analysis and other disciplines beyond ORD's
traditional areas of science, and  from organizations
beyond ORD's traditional stakeholders.

5.1.4 - Benchmark processes and performance metrics
from other organizations recognized for their futures
analysis.

5.2   Stimulate dialogue both inside and outside
      EPA on future environmental developments
      and their significance.

5.2.1 - Convene discussions and workshops with outside
experts using the two-part foresight approach to search
for early signals and identify new opportunities. These
discussions will focus on methodology and tools for
doing futures analysis such as processes  for data
collection, characterization of issues, criteria for
promotion of future action or investigation, and
communication of the key potential efforts.

5.2.2 - Routinely gather information and input from EPA
program and regional offices, the external scientific
research community, futurists, and other stakeholders,
on their visions and observations of the future relevant
to environmental protection.

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     ORD Strategic Plan
5.3  Pilot  futures  analysis  for  a  few  key
     environmental issues.

5.3.1 - Develop and evaluate pilot projects to identify
one to three emerging issues of future concern within a
one-year time frame to demonstrate the concept and to
evaluate effective approaches to this type of analysis.

5.3.2 - Evaluate pilot projects, brief the ORD Science
Council on the results, and recommend actions for future
activities to the Assistant Administrator for ORD.

Measures of Success
By its very nature, futures analysis resists rigorous,
immediate evaluation of its effectiveness. Because the
impacts of stressors identified by futures analysis are
more distant,  judging whether ORD identified the
"right" issues will only be known in time—most likely
10 years or more.  More immediately, we will measure
our performance by our outputs and the impact of these
outputs on the research and policy agenda of ORD, EPA,
and other  organizations concerned with human health
protection and environmental quality.   Measures of
success include the following:

  •  Extent to which issues  identified  from futures
     analysis inspire innovative research focusing on
     cost-effective risk management,  new critical
     knowledge,  risk avoidance, and/or better risk
     communication;

  •  Extent to which issues  identified  from futures
     analysis  are  an impetus for national research
     inquiry and debate;

  •  Extent to which Agency leaders seek advice on
     future environmental developments and foresight
     from ORD's futures coordinating group;

  •  Extent   to   which   future  environmental
     considerations and developments are used in
     rulemaking and major Agency initiatives;
Resources committed to research or regulatory
programs focusing on issues identified through
futures analysis;

Requests for technical assistance on conducting
futures analysis from outside organizations; and

Explicit incorporation of futures analysis in the
Agency's strategic planning process.

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                              Setting Research Priorities
The goals, objectives, and actions  contained in this
Strategic Plan will improve, but not fundamentally
change, ORD's  research planning process which has
been steadily evolving since ORD's reorganization in
1995.  ORD's priority-setting process for research has
several significant characteristics, most notably the
following:


  •  We seek input from our customers throughout EPA
     as to the type of research and technical assistance
     of greatest importance to their programs,
     identifying in particular the research required to
     fulfill a legislative mandate, court order, or Agency
     GPRA commitment.


  •  We seek input from our staff as to the state-of-
     the-science and where the opportunities are for
     reducing uncertainty in our understanding of
     important environmental issues.
     •  For our preliminary ranking decisions, we
        examine  research activities in terms of their
        scientific feasibility, resource constraints,
        compatibility with existing expertise, and our
        ability to make a contribution relative to other
        research institutions who may be doing work in
        the area.


In addition,  we keep  in
mind a sense of human
health,  ecological  health,
and  risk  management
criteria that we  use  to
evaluate proposed research
activities according  to
their potential to support
effective risk reduction.
The general criteria used in
making these  risk-based  decisions are  shown
in Figure 2.
                       Figure 2; ORD's Criteria for Risk-Based Prioritization
         Human Health and
     Ecological Health Criteria
      What type of effect would
      research investigate/mitigate
      and how severely might this effect
      impact humans or ecosystems?
      Over what time scale might this
      effect occur?
      How easily can the effect be
      reversed and will it be passed on
      to future generations?
      What level of human or ecological
      organization would be impacted
      by the effect?
      On what geographic scale might
      this effect impact humans or
      ecosystems?
                                                                 Methods/Models Criteria
      How broadly applicable is the proposed
      method or model expected to be?
      To what extent will the proposed method or
      model facilitate or improve risk assessment
      or risk management?
      How large is the anticipated user community
      for the proposed method or model?
           Risk Management Criteria
      Have the problem's source(s) and risk been
      characterized sufficiently to develop risk
      management options?
      Do risk management options (i.e., political, legal,
      socioeconomic, or technical) currently exist?
      If so, are they acceptable to stakeholders,
      implementable, reliable, and cost-effective?
      Could new or improved technical solutions
      prevent or mitigate the risk efficiently, cost-effectively,
      and in a manner acceptable to stakeholders?
      Are other research organizations (e.g., agencies,
      industry) currently investigating/developing these
      solutions or interested in working in partnership
      with ORD on these solutions?

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     ORD Strategic Plan
The result of this comparative risk ranking is a broad
portfolio of research spanning the full range of EPA's
work.  This process creates an appropriate balance
between problem-driven and core  research and aligns
ORD's work in support of eight of EPA's 10 Strategic
Goals. The research portfolio is then used to develop
ORD's budget request and is reflected in the Annual
Performance Plan, which EPA must submit  under
GPRA.  In this way, all of ORD's work is aligned with,
and linked  to,  specific annual performance goals that
derive from EPA's Strategic Plan (see Table 1 on Page
28 for EPA's Strategic Goals).

Recently, ORD initiated a multi-year planning process
as a way to link the Annual  Performance Plan to the
longer range objectives contained in the EPA Strategic
Plan.  Issue-specific plans are under development that
will identify Annual Performance Goals and Measures
for ORD's research program over a 5- to 10-year period.
These plans will enable ORD both to better design its
research program in support  of EPA's Strategic Goals
and to simplify the annual planning effort.  Table 2 on
Page 29 shows the  linkage between ORD multi-year
plans and EPA's Strategic Goals.

In addition to these planning efforts, ORD also develops
strategies and plans  for specific research areas.  These
plans  are developed on an as-needed basis for large,
complex research programs that require coordination
and planning across the risk paradigm, several different
media or organizations [e.g.,  Children's Research,
Particulate  Matter, Endocrine Disrupting  Chemicals
(EDCs)]. These strategies and plans  identify the most
important scientific questions to be addressed, what
research is  needed to answer these questions, and how
ORD can uniquely contribute. In addition to input from
within the Agency, these strategies and plans also receive
independent, external peer  review. All of ORD's
research strategies and plans are available on the Internet
at http://www.epa.gov/ORD/WebPubs/ftnal.

The result of these inclusive, transparent planning efforts
is a robust research program that identifies ORD's areas
of research emphasis in support of EPA's mission to
protect human health and the environment.

Many of our highest-priority research areas continue to
be those identified in the 1997 Update to ORD'sStrategic
Plan. While we have accomplished a great deal in these
areas since then, more  remains to be  done to provide
the best possible scientific basis for environmental
decision-making. The following is a brief discussion of
ORD's eight highest-priority research areas,  described
within the context of EPA's goals.

EPA Goal 1:  Clean Air

            Particulate Matter
            In July 1997, EPA revised the National
            Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS)
            for particulate matter (PM), recognizing
            that exposure to both fine and coarse
            fraction particles is associated with
adverse health effects. The basis for these revisions was
new epidemiological evidence of increased illness and
death associated with exposure to PM.  The health risks
estimated from current PM exposures represent
thousands to tens of thousands of premature deaths each
year.

Significant scientific uncertainties remain,  however,
about the  biological mechanisms that cause  increased
mortality  or morbidity from PM exposures.  Many
studies are underway to  identify and  evaluate
mechanistic hypotheses and to explore exposure-dose-
response relationships. In addition, improving our
estimates of potential PM risks requires research to better
measure and characterize PM exposure (i.e., who is
exposed and at what levels). Lastly, research to quantify
and control PM sources is the  central focus of risk
management research efforts.

ORD's PM research program is devoted to the mission
of providing an improved scientific basis for periodic
review and revision as needed of the  NAAQS
(i.e., effects,  exposure, and risk assessment)  and

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implementation and attainment of the NAAQS (i.e., risk
management). Our program is focused on human health
rather than ecological concerns, with complementary
research on PM-associated ecological effects (e.g., acid
deposition) addressed under ecosystem protection
programs. Key research questions include the following:
     What  characteristics  of
     composition
     mechanisms?
composition) produce  toxicity and by what
  •   What is the role of PM alone and in combination
     with gaseous copollutants in producing health
     effects?

  •   What subpopulations are most sensitive to PM
     health effects, and what are the levels of exposure
     for these groups?

  •   What are the sources of PM, and how can we best
     estimate the atmospheric transformation and fate
     of PM and precursors to support control  strategy
     development?

EPA Goal 2:  Clean and Safe Water

              Safe Drinking Water
              Disinfection of drinking water has been
              one of the greatest public health success
              stories  of the twentieth century.
             Nevertheless, care must be taken to
              ensure our drinking water is safe.  For
              example, the occurrence of waterborne
disease outbreaks in the United States demonstrates that
the safety of drinking water can still be compromised
by waterborne pathogens (e.g., cryptosporidium) if
treatment is inadequate. Concerns have also been raised
about chemical contaminants in our drinking water
supply. Surface water and groundwater sources may be
contaminated with many different natural substances
(e.g., arsenic) and synthetic substances (e.g., pesticides)
that may pose a risk. Even the disinfection process itself
can lead to the formation of a number of potentially toxic
organic and inorganic chemical by-products.  Some
subpopulations, such as infants and children or those
with weakened immune  systems, are known to be
particularly sensitive to the effects of many waterborne
pathogens and chemicals.

The 1996 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act
require EPA to conduct research to provide a strong
scientific  foundation for  standards that  limit public
exposure to specific drinking water contaminants. In
response to this requirement, ORD has established an
integrated, multidisciplinary research program to address
the following key questions:

  •  What are the microbiological and  chemical
     contaminants  of greatest public health concern?
     What are the effects caused by exposure to these
     agents?

  •  What analytical methods are needed to adequately
     estimate the occurrence  of contaminants in
     drinking  water?   What  are  the levels of
     contaminants to  which people are actually
     exposed?

  •  How can the risks posed by pathogens, individual
     chemicals, and mixtures  of contaminants be
     characterized?

  •  What are the most cost-effective treatment methods
     to minimize or remove contaminants from drinking
     water?  How  can the quality of treated water be
     maintained in the distribution system, and how can
     source water be adequately protected?
                                                              Clean Water
                                                              The health and sustainability of aquatic
                                                              ecosystems and their ecological
                                                              components are affected by chemical,
                                                              biological, and physical stressors.
                                                              These stressors can result both from
                                                              point sources of pollution or by
                                                              disturbances  in the  watersheds.

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  ORD Strategic Plan
                                Table 1:  EPA's Strategic Goals
Goal 1: Clean Air — The air in every American community will be safe and healthy to breathe. In particular,
children, the elderly, and people with respiratory ailments will be protected from health risks of breathing polluted air.
Reducing air pollution will also protect the environment, resulting in many benefits, such as restoring life in damaged
ecosystems and reducing health risks to those whose subsistence depends directly on those ecosystems.

Goal 2: Clean and Safe Water — All Americans will have drinking water that is clean and safe to drink. Effective
protection of America's rivers, lakes, wetlands, aquifers, and coastal and ocean waters will sustain fish, plants, and
wildlife, as well as recreational, subsistence, and economic activities.  Watersheds and their aquatic ecosystems will
be restored and protected to improve public health, enhance water quality, reduce flooding, and provide habitat for
wildlife.

Goal 3: Safe Food — The foods Americans eat will be free from unsafe pesticide residues. Particular attention will
be given to protecting sub-populations that may be more susceptible to adverse effects of pesticides or have higher
dietary exposures to pesticide residues. These include children and people whose diets include large amounts of
noncommercial foods.

Goal 4: Preventing  Pollution and Reducing Risk in Communities, Homes, Workplaces, and Ecosystems —
Pollution prevention and risk management strategies aimed at eliminating, reducing, or minimizing emissions and
contamination will result in cleaner and safer environments in which all Americans can reside, work, and enjoy life.
EPA will safeguard ecosystems and promote the health of natural communities that are integral to the quality of life
in this nation.

Goal 5: Better Waste Management, Restoration of Contaminated Waste Sites, and Emergency Response —
America's wastes will be stored, treated, and disposed of in ways that prevent harm to people and to the natural
environment. EPA will work to clean up previously polluted sites, restore them to uses appropriate for surrounding
communities, and respond to and prevent waste-related or industrial accidents.

Goal 6: Reduction of Global and Cross-Border Environmental Risks — The United States will lead other nations
in successful, multilateral efforts to reduce significant risks to human health and ecosystems from climate change,
stratospheric ozone depletion, and other hazards of international concern.

Goal 7: Quality  Environmental Information — The public and decision makers at all levels will have access to
information about environmental conditions and human health to inform decision making and help assess the general
environmental health of communities. The public will also have access to educational  services and information
services and tools that provide for the reliable and secure exchange of quality environmental information.

Goal 8: Sound Science, Improved Understanding of Environmental Risk, and Greater Innovation to Address
Environmental Problems — EPA will develop and apply the best available science for addressing current and
future environmental hazards as well as new approaches toward improving environmental protection.

Goal 9: A Credible  Deterrent to Pollution and Greater Compliance with the Law — EPA will ensure full
compliance with laws intended to protect human health and the environment.

Goal 10: Effective Management — EPA will maintain the highest-quality standards for environmental leadership
and for effective  internal management and fiscal responsibility by managing for results.

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Table 2: ORD's Research is Aligned with EPA's Strategic Goals


EPA Goal 10 : Effective Management
EPA Goal 9 A Credible Deterrent to Pollution and Greater Compliance with the Law
EPA Goal 8 Sound Science, Improved Understanding, and Greater Innovation
EPA Goal 7 Quality Environmental Information
EPA Goal 6 Reduction in Global Risks
EPA Goal 5 Waste Management and Restoration
EPA Goal 4 Safe Communities
EPA Goal 3 Safe Food
EPA Goal 2 Clean and Safe Water
EPA Goal 1 Clean Air 1
ORD
Multi-Year Plan
Particulate Matter *
Air Toxics
Tropospheric Ozone
Drinking Water *
Water Quality *
Safe Food
Safe Communities
RCRA Waste
Management
Contaminated Sites
Global Change *
Ecosystem Assessment
and Restoration *
Human Health
Risk Assessment *
Mercury
Endocrine Disrupting
Chemicals *
Socioeconomics
Pollution Prevention
and New Technologies

•
•
•



O
o


o
o
o
o
o
o
2




•
•



O

o
o
o
•
o
o
3


0

o

•





o
o
•
0
o
4

O
0
o
o
o
o
•
o


o
o

•
0
•
5


0


o


•
•

o
o
o
o
0
•
6


0
o






•
o
o
o

0
o
7

O
0
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
0
o
8

o
0
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
•
•
•
•
•
•
9

















10

















* The topics addressed in these multi-year plans are ORD's highest research priorities
• Directly contributes to meeting this EPA Strategic Goal
o Supports achievement of this EPA Strategic Goal


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     ORD Strategic Plan
Protecting and enhancing the integrity of aquaticE
ecosystems and their biotic components require researchE
on quantifying impacts and understanding cause-and-E
effect relationships.E

ORD's  research focuses on the development ofE
watershed diagnostic  methods and understanding theE
importance of critical habitats and the impacts of habitatE
alteration on aquatic communities. In addition, ORD'sE
research provides the  scientific foundation supportingE
the development of water quality criteria  and totalE
maximum Haily ffioads ETMDLs), Encluding EheE
development and refinement of models, understandings
chemical stressors such as nutrients and toxic chemicalsE
in both water and sediments, and the impact ofE
sedimentation on aquatic ecosystems.  Research on theE
impacts of wet weather flows offers a technology focusE
for the mitigation of the unique impacts of these stresses.E

There are five critical ecological research questions for
water quality.  These are:E

  •U How can numerical nutrient criteria be formulatedE
     to protect natural waters from the harmful impactsE
     of excessive loadings of nitrogen and phosphorus?E

  •U Can population  Hynamic Biodels Be Befined EbE
     estimate the cumulative risks of critical  habitatE
     disturbance and  contaminated sediments on theE
     integrity offish, shellfish, and other communities?E

  •U Can diagnostic indicators and models be assembledE
     into a decision-support system to accuratelyE
     prescribe mitigation and restoration options foq
     TMDLs?E

  •U How Ban Ehemical Eriteria Be incorporated BitoE
     site-specific risk assessments for the protection ofE
     aquatic  life,  wildlife,  and birds from toxicE
     chemicals?E
  •U Can methods for controlling pathogens, sediments,E
     and toxic chemicals arising from point and non-E
     point sources be integrated into a comprehensiveE
     watershed management approach?E

EPA  Goal 6:   Reduction  of Global  and
Cross-Border Environmental Risks
               Global Change
               The earth's environment is constantlyE
               changing due to the complex interplayE
               of Batural processes End BumanE
               activities.  Changes in climate, climateE
               variability, land use, and ultraviolet BE
               band radiation are all occurring on aE
global scale. The potential consequences of theseE
changes are  wide ranging and could adversely affectE
human health, ecosystems, and socioeconomic sectors,E
all of which are vital to sustainable development.E
Recognizing that policy makers and resource managersE
are making decisions today that have important long-E
term ramifications for  our global environment, theE
Global Change Research Program seeks to informE
decision-making processes by providing comprehensiveE
assessments of potential long-term consequences ofE
global change.E

 P A is one of the member agencies of the U.S. GlobalE
Change Research Program (USGCRP), which is focusedE
on understanding the Earth system as a whole and theE
dynamics of environmental change and connecting thatE
knowledge to societal needs.   Within the USGCRP,E
  PA's  principal Eole Es lo Bssess Ehe potentials
consequences of global change on human health,E
ecosystems, and socioeconomic systems in the UnitedE
States.  This entails: improving  the scientific basis foq
evaluating effects of global change in the context of otheq
environmental Btressors find Biuman Sctivities;E
conducting assessments  of the  risks and opportunitiesE
presented by global change; and assessing adaptations
options to improve society's  ability to effectivelyE
respond to change.E

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ORD's Global Change Research Program is focusingE
on Ehose Ereas B/here EPA fias Bie Biost fit Bffer — E
assessments of the consequences of global change onE
air quality, water quality, human health, and ecosystemE
health.  Therefore, researchers are addressing theE
following scientific questions:E

  •U What Ere Hie potential Consequences Ef BlobalE
     change on vector- and water-borne weather-relatedE
     morbidity and health effects related to air pollution,E
     especially tropospheric ozone and PM?E

  •U What are the potential effects of global change onE
     aquatic  ecosystems, invasive  nonindigenousE
     species, and ecosystem services?E
  •U How Eiay global Ehange Effect Eir
     especially tropospheric ozone and PM? How willE
     global change affect cities' ability to meet CleanE
     Air standards?E

  •U What are the potential impacts of global changeE
     on pollutants and microbial pathogens in aquaticE
     resources?E

Goal   8:   Sound  Science,  Improved
Understanding of Environmental Risk, and
Greater Innovation to Address Environmental
Problems

It should be  noted that most of the core researchE
conducted under this Goal also provides direct supportE
to Bie Bbjectives Bf Ether EPA Strategic Eroals. BEor
example, the  work done under Human Health RiskE
Assessment to address cumulative risk will directlyE
support requirements of the Food Quality Protection ActE
covered under EPA Goal 3:  Safe Food.E
            Research to Improve Ecological
            Risk Assessment and Management
            Natural ecosystems are under constantE
            stress from a variety of factors: pollutantsE
            through air, water, and soil; alteration or
            fragmentation resulting from urban sprawlE
and resource extraction; nonindigenous species; andE
global change, to name a few.  These "stressors" actE
synergistically and/or antagonistically, both with eachE
other and with natural processes, at scales that rangeE
from local to global. Many of the mechanisms by whichE
stressors act on and alter ecosystems are poorlyE
understood or quantified, as are their immediate andE
long-term Hmpacts, Ecreating Euncertainties  HnE
environmental decision-making, such as whether toE
protect, exploit, conserve, or restore natural resourcesE
and processes.E

The goal of ORD's ecological research program is toE
provide scientific leadership and knowledge  for
assessing,  improving, and restoring the integrityE
of ecosystems.  The program addresses the followingE
fundamental research  questions:E

  •U What are the most efficient and effective indicators,E
    monitoring systems, and designs for measuring theE
    exposures of ecosystems to multiple stressors andE
    the resulting responses  of ecosystems at local,E
    regional, and national scales?E

  •U How Ban &e Better Bientify End Bnderstand BieE
    processes that lead from stressors to effects? CanE
    we develop models to predict the results  ofE
    alternative actions on the  future exposures andE
    responses  of ecosystems  at the most relevantE
    scales?E

  •U What are the best assessment methods, indices, andE
    guidelines for quantifying risks to ecosystems fromE
    multiple stressors at multiple scales?E

  •U What Bre Hie fiiost  Efficient End EffectiveE
    prevention, Enanagement, Adaptation, EindE
    remediation technologies to manage, restore, oq
    rehabilitate ecosystems to achieve local, regional,E
    and national goals?E

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     ORD Strategic Plan
                       Research to Improve
                       Human Health Risk
                       Assessment and
                       Management
                       Human health risk assessments
                       is Hie process EPABses IbE
                       identify End EharacterizeE
human health impacts associated with environmentalE
exposures. There are many uncertainties associated withE
the risk assessment process due to limitations inE
available data on pollutant sources and exposures, andE
to limitations in our current understanding of theE
physical, chemical, and biological processes that relateE
human exposure, dose, and response.E

The overarching goal of ORD's  human health riskE
assessment  research is to improve our scientificE
knowledge  base and to develop risk assessments
methodologies to enable the Agency to more accuratelyE
assess and characterize hazards and risks to the generalE
population and vulnerable subgroups, such as childrenE
and communities that practice subsistence lifestyles,E
from exposures to single pollutants from multipleE
sources and multiple pathways (i.e., aggregate risks) andE
cumulative risks from exposures to multiple stressorsE
by increasing the use of measured data and mechanisticE
information. E

To meet this long-range Goal, ORD's  health riskE
assessment  Eesearch program Es Contributing toE
answering the following questions:E

  •U How can we improve our mechanistically basedE
     understanding of toxicities and susceptibilities foq
     the general population and subpopulations such asE
     children, the elderly, and persons with pre-existingE
     diseases?E

  •U What Ere Hie Eelevant Biomarkers Bf Exposure,E
     dose, Effect, land Susceptibility land Eheiq
     relationships?E

  •U What Es Hie Biological Basis Sbr Edverse BealthE
     effects in children, especially asthma?E
  •U What are the interactive effects from exposures toE
     chemical mixtures with common or differentE
     modes of action?E

  •U How Ban Eve Bevelop improved Biodels EndE
     methodologies to better estimate human exposures,E
     assess aggregate exposures to single stressors, andE
     assess cumulative risks from exposures to multipleE
     stressors?E

  •U How Ban Eve Bevelop Biore Eonsistent EndE
     harmonized risk assessment approaches andE
     methods for all human health endpoints, withE
     special attention to different durations and patternsE
     of exposure and life stages?E

  •   How can we conduct research to evaluate theE
     consequences of environmental risk managements
     decisions on public health?E

              Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals
              In recent years, there has been growings
              scientific concern and public awarenessE
              regarding  Ehe potential Etf BomeE
              chemicals in the environment to causeE
              adverse health effects in human andE
              wildlife populations by interacting withE
              the endocrine system.   CollectivelyE
              these Esubstances Eare Eknown EasE
endocrine Bisrupting Ehemicals EEDCs). BEt Bas BeenE
hypothesized  that exposure to EDCs might result in aE
variety of adverse effects, including cancers that mayE
be mediated by endocrine mechanisms, developmental
or reproductive disorders,  neurological impairment,E
immune dysfunction, and thyroid damage.E

There are numerous examples of adverse effects of EDCsE
on wildlife such as birth defects  in fish-eating birdsE
exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in LakeE
Michigan, mortality of young Lake Ontario  trout as aE
result of exposure to dioxin-like chemicals,  abnormalE
reproductive development  in  Lake Apopka alligatorsE
following contamination by a pesticide. In humans, theE

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impact of prenatal exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES)E
on the reproductive tract of both male and femaleE
offspring is well documented. In addition, studies haveE
demonstrated that PCBs cause neurodevelopmentalE
impairment in exposed children.E

Despite these reported effects, there is little known aboutE
their causes and what effects may result in the humanE
and wildlife populations from exposures to ambientE
environmental concentrations of EDCs. However, it isE
known that the endocrine system plays an important roleE
in normal growth, development, and reproduction andE
that small perturbations in endocrine status, duringE
critical periods, could have profound and long-reachingE
impacts. HBased En Hie potential Ecope Bf Hie EDGE
problem, the possibility of serious effects on the healthE
of human and wildlife populations, the persistence ofE
some EDCs Eh Hie Environment, End Hie B/idespreadE
global concern about their fate and transport over
national boundaries, this area is a high-priority for ORDE
research.E

Key areas of uncertainty and research questions includeE
the following:E

   •LHow, and to what degree, are human and  wildlifeE
     populations exposed to EDCs? What effects areE
     occurring En Exposed Bauman End SvildlifeE
     populations?E
  •U Do current testing guidelines adequately evaluateE
     potential endocrine-mediated effects?E

  •U What Ere Hie Hose-response Eharacteristics EtE
     environmentally relevant concentrations?E

  •U What Ere Hie Biajor Sources End EnvironmentalE
     fates of EDCs?E

  •U How can unreasonable risks be managed? Are newE
     technologies needed?E

                   Pollution Prevention and
                   New Technologies
                   Pollution E prevention, E oq
                   anticipating and avoiding humanE
                   health Band EenvironmentalE
                   problems before they occur, offersE
a proactive  alternative  to the legal  mandates  andE
command and control regulations traditionally used toE
protect the  environment.  The goal of pollutionE
prevention research is to  provide more flexible, loweq
cost, and less polluting alternatives  to address theE
pollution challenges facing the United States and theE
world in the twenty-first century.E

Development of new pollution prevention tools  andE
technologies, verification of new environmentalE
technologies, Bind Research  Ehat Eidvances EheE
fundamental understanding of the economic  andE
behavioral sciences as they relate to the environments
are Emportant Eomponents Bf IDRD's IpollutionE
prevention and new technologies research program. ThisE
research program relies on substantial stakeholder inputE
and participation as a means of identifying those humanE
health and environmental problems most conducive toE
innovative, alternative approaches to  environmentalE
protection. Because of the broad applicability of thisE
research program and  its  potential for realizingE
significant economic and environmental  benefits,E
pollution prevention Bind Eiew Eechnology ffoq
environmental protection are extremely important  riskE
management components of ORD's research agenda.E

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     ORD Strategic Plan
Research in this area focuses on four importantE
questions:E

  •U What pollution prevention lechnologies EndE
     approaches can be employed in various economicE
     sectors, particularly on industrial and consumer
     products, to advance "green" processes and cleanE
     technologies?E

  •U What tools and methodologies can be applied inE
     various economic  sectors to utilize the mostE
     cost-effective pollution prevention technologiesE
     and approaches to protect ecosystems?E
•U How best can the performance of private sector
   products,  technologies,  and approaches thatE
   address human health and environmental problemsE
   be verified using a high-quality and efficients
   program to target important  performance andE
   operational characteristics?E

•U What are the socioeconomic and behavioral aspectsE
   of decision-making  that foster the  adoption ofE
   pollution prevention by the public and privateE
   sector at all levels (e.g., local, state, regional) toE
   manage human health and environmental risks?E

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            Achieving Our Future, Making a Difference
Implementing This Strategic Plan
Developing this Strategic Plan is only the first step ofE
our effort. To be successful, we must execute this Planl
to Bs Ball Extent. EWe Edll develop an Implementations
plan that sets priorities, assigns clear responsibility andE
deadlines, and commits resources to carry out the actionsE
described in this Plan. This implementation plan willE
be specific as to how and when we will move from our
current state to the organization we envision and intendE
to be.E

We will implement this Plan on both the national andE
local levels, taking steps to ensure that the actions areE
completed End Biat Bur Bbjectives Ere Echieved. HEnE
implementation, Hie Strategic Plan Evill Be E EeyE
component Bf Ell Bf Bur planning processes,  BierebyE
ensuring that we provide both the resources and attentions
to Bie Eommitments Biat Eve Bave Eiade Eh Hie W/an.E
The goals Bf: EE1) Supporting Hie Agency; E2) Bigh-E
performance; E3) Scientific leadership; (4) Bitegration;E
and (5) anticipating the future will be used to frame ouq
research planning End prioritization, Es B/ell Es Buq
resource allocation and workforce planning.E

We see the Strategic Plan as having far-reaching effectsE
on Bur Brganization, Bifusing Bself Bito Ell Espects BfE
our operation.  As such, we  will also ensure that eachE
level Bf Hie Brganization Es Eware Bf End Es EullyE
participating in achieving our goals. Each organization'sE
management team will be responsible for evaluating howE
best Eo Ehcorporate Hie Bjnets, goals, Bbjectives, EndE
actions into their organization's  activities.E

To Eieasure End Essess Eur progress toward EchievingE
our goals, we will regularly track the measures of successE
that Eve Bave Ehcluded Bi Hie Plan. EWe B/ill Bse HiisE
information to evaluate what  is working and what needsE
improvement, End Biake Edjustments  Eccordingly. EAsE
necessary, we will revisit our objectives and actions inE
light E)f E)ur Eprogress Bind Echanging BxternalE
circumstances. EMoreover, Eve Evill Eommunicate Bur
progress Bsgularly Bo Bur Eustomers End EtakeholdersE
and Barn from Biem End Bther Brganizations Bow EveE
might improve implemention of this Plan. In so doing,E
we I/ill Bold Burselves Eccountable ED Bur Eustomers,E
stakeholders, and each other for achieving our goals andE
future success.E

The Future We Seek
Successfully achieving the goals of the Strategic Planl
will mean an organization where :E

  •E Our Elose Eelationships Evith EPA's program EndE
     regional offices allow us to assess and anticipates
     their Beeds End Eollaborate Bo provide EcientificE
     research and technical assistance to achieve greater
     environmental protection;E

  •E Investment Eh Bur Evorkforce End BrganizationalE
     processes Bas B?d fit E Etaff Evho Ere Biotivated,E
     trained, and equipped in their work to achieve theE
     best results;E

  •E Our leadership capabilities and accomplishmentsE
     are recognized by providing world-class science,E
     being influential in the development of a nationals
     environmental research agenda, and being at EheE
     cutting edge of proactive environmental protection;E

  •E Our Eapacity Eb Bitegrate Ecross Ell Espects  Bf BE
     problem provides Eomprehensive Eolutions EoE
     complex problems;  andE

  •E Our ability to anticipate and provide solutions  toE
     future Environmental Essues Before Hieir EdverseE
     effects Ere Evidely Known Br  Betected EvertsE
     potentially dangerous or expensive environmentalE
     problems.E

This is the future we seek and the commitment we makeE
to achieve this vision.E

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ORD Strategic Plan
                    Appendices

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ORD Strategic Plan
                              Appendix B:
                   Acronyms and Abbreviations
 BOSC
 EDCs
 EPA
 DBS
 GPRA
 NAAQS
 NCEA
 NCER
 NERL
 NHEERL
 NRC
 NRMRL
 ORD
 ORMA
 OSP
 PCBs
 PM
 RCRA
 SAB
 STAR
 TMDL
 USGCRP
Board of Scientific Counselors
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Diethylstilbestrol
Government Performance and Results Act of 1993
National Ambient Air Quality Standards
National Center for Environmental Assessment
National Center for Environmental Research
National Exposure Research Laboratory
National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory
National Research Council
National Risk Management Research Laboratory
Office of Research and Development
Office of Resources Management and Administration
Office of Science Policy
Polychlorinated Biphenyls
Particulate Matter
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
Science Advisory Board
Science to Achieve Results
Total Maximum Daily Load
U.S. Global Change Research Program

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    For more information, please access the
Office of Research and Development Web site at:

             www.epa.gov/ORD

This document is available on ORD's Web site at:

           www.epa.gov/ORD/SP

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