United Status Office of the Administrator EPA SAB RSAC 89-025
irtvironmerrtal Protection Science Advisory Board August 1S8S
Agency Washington, D.C. 20460
&EPA Report of the
Skills Mix
Subcommittee
Evaluating ORD's
Preliminary Skills
Mix Assessment
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,
UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
WASHINGTON, O,C. 20460
** "***' • EM-SAB-RSAC-S9-Q25
August 8, 1989 '
The Honorable William K. Reilly OFF, CEO.'
__..,, THE AQMlM -«Tt» A TOR
Administrator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
401 M. Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20460
Dear Mr, Reilly:
The Skills Mix Subcommittee of the Science Advisory Board's
Research strategies Advisory Committee (RS&C) has completed its
review of the Office of Research and Development's (ORD's)
"Preliminary Analysis of the Skill Mix Inventory of Lab
Researchers". This preliminary analysis is the first step in a
process that will identify needed changes in EPA's work force to
allow successful implementation of ongoing and future research.
The review was requested by the Honorable James Scheuer,
Chairman, Committee on Science, Space and Technology,
Subcommittee on Natural Resources, Agricultural Research and
Environment, at an oversight hearing on EPA's R&D FY'89 Budget
held on April 21, 1988. The Subcommittee's findings were
discussed in part with Rep. Scheuer at a March 21, 1989 hearing,
The SAB Subcommittee concludes that a significant decrease
in research personnel has taken place since 1980, a period of
escalating environmental problems and concern. Of remaining
personnel, only 43% actually conduct research, as
responsibilities shift to management of extramural research. In
addition, analysis of the distribution of researchers indicates
an aging population,
Recommendations are provided to clarify and refine the
skills mix data to provide for a better assessment of skills
needed to accomplish current and future tasks. These refinements
will allow for better decision-making on new employment, staff
training and extramural assistance.
Finally, the Subcommittee recommends that the Agency
reinstate or develop support mechanisms for graduate training
programs. This support is essential for maintaining and
improving the quality of researchers currently at EPA and also to
insuring an adequate supply of future researchers with necessary
environmental skills.
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The Subcommittee appreciates the opportunity to conduct this
scientific review. We request that the Agency formally respond
to the scientific advice transmitted in the attached report.
Sincerely,
chairman
Science Advisory Board
Mr. Al Aim, Chairman
Research Strategies Advisory
Committee
/ /
/ Dr. John Neuhold, Chairman
Skills Mix Subcommittee
Enclosure
cc; Don Barnes
Tom Hadd
Joyce Stiles
Erich Brettauer
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ABSTRACT
This report presents the conclusions and recommendations of
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Science Advisory Board
summarizing a review of IPA's "Preliminary Analysis of the Skill
Mix Inventory of Lab Researchers", The Board considers this
preliminary analysis to be a logical first step in a process that
will identify needed changes in EPA'S work force to allow
successful implementation of ongoing and future research. As a
result of the analysis, the SAB concluded that a significant
decrease in research personnel has taken place during a period of
escalating environmental concern* Recommendations are provided
to clarify and refine the skills mix data to provide a better
assessment of the skills needed to accomplish current and future
research tasks, and to develop support mechanisms for graduate
training programs for insuring an adequate supply of researchers
for solving future environmental problems.
Key Words; Research, Research Personnel, Skills
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U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
NOTICE
This report has been written as a part of the activities of
the Science Advisory Board, a public advisory group providing
extramural scientific information and advice to the Administrator
and other officials of the Environmental Protection Agency, The
Board is structured to provide a balanced expert assessment of
scientific matters related to problems facing the Agency. This
report has not been reviewed for approval by the Agency; and
hence, the contents of this report do not necessarily represent
the views and policies of the Environmental Protection Agency or
other agencies in Federal government. Mention of trade names or
commercial produces does not constitute a recommendation for use.
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U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD
SKILLS MIX SUBCOMMITTEE
ROSTER
CHAIRMAN
Dr. John Neuhold
Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
College of Natural Resources
Utah State University
Logan, Utah 84322-5200
MEMBERS
Mr, Richard Conway
Union Carbide Corporation
South Charleston Technical Center
3200 Kanawha Turnpike (Bldg. 770)
South Charleston, West Virginia 25303
Dr. Mort Lippmann
Institute of Environmental Medicine
New York University
Lanza Laboratory
Long Meadow Road
Tuxedo, New York: 10987
Dr. Raymond Loehr
Department of civil Engineering
8.614 ECJ Hall
University of Texas
Austin, Texas 78712
Dr, Rolf Hartung
Professor of Environmental Toxicology
3125 Fernwood Avenue
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108-1955
BCIEHCl AOVI80RY BOARD STAFF
Ms. Janis c. Kurtz
Environmental Scientist and Executive Secretary
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Science Advisory Board
401 M Street, S.W* - A101F
Washington, D.C. 20460
Mrs. Dorothy Clark
Secretary to the Executive Secretary
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1*0 Executive Summary 1
2 4 0 Introduction ....................2
2.1 Request for Science Advisory Board Review 2
2.2 Charge 2
2.3 Subcommittee Review Procedures 2
3.0 Current Status of QRD Personnel 3
3,1 Decline in Research Staff 3
3.2 Education Level 3
3.3 Skill Group Categories 4
3.4 GS/GM Level Distributions and Retirement 4
Eligibility
3.5 Skills Mix Analysis Criteria 4
4.0 Training 5
APPENDICES
A "Preliminary Analysis - Sfcills Mix Inventory of
Laboratory Resources: Introduction"
B Testimony of Dr. John Neuhold, March 21, 1989
to members of the Congressional Subcommittee
on Natural Resources, Agriculture, Research and.
Environment
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1-0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) prepared a
document entitled "Preliminary Analysis of the Skill Mix
Inventory of Lab Researchers11. This document was reviewed by the
Skills Mix Subcommittee of the Science Advisory Board's Research
Strategies Advisory Committee (RSAC). Both actions were in
response to a request by the Honorable James Scheuer, Chairman,
Committee on Science, Space and Technology, Subcommittee on
Natural Resources, Agricultural Research and Environment, at an
oversight hearing on EPA's RSD FY'89 Budget held on April 21,
1988.
The SAB Subcommittee concluded from the data provided that
an overall- decrease of about 17% has talcen place in research
personnel since 1980, Of the remaining personnel, only 43% are
defined as actually conducting research. These trends have
occurred during a time of escalating environmental problems and
concern.
The Subcommittee also points to the need for additional
clarification of the skills represented by researchers and the
tasks actually being conducted. More refined analysis would
allow more targeted assessment of the additional skills needed to
accomplish current and future research tasks. Another conclusion
from the data provided is that the Agency has a work force
distribution characteristic of an aging population, with
relatively few recent university graduates and many scientists
approaching retirement.
The Subcommittee recommends that future skills mix analyses
be more refined as to disciplinary categories and that these
categories relate to the core research needs defined by the
Agency's research strategy. This refinement will allow ORD to
make better decisions on new employment, staff training
requirements, and extramural assistance.
Finally, the Subcommittee recommends that the Agency provide
or reinstate support for graduate training programs. These
programs are essential to developing and retaining expertise
among existing research staff, and in ensuring that an adequate
supply of essential environmental skills is available for future
research staff.
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2.1 Request for Science advisory Board Review
The EPA Science Advisory Board Committee on Budget Review
has, for a number of years, been recommending that the Office of
Research and Development (ORD) critically assess its existing
research manpower. Concern has been expressed that the work
force was aging, that it did not have an appropriate mix of
skills for the tasks it was asked to perform and that, in some
disciplines, it was too weak to conduct effective research
efforts.
During a hearing on EPA's 1989 ORD budget, the Congressional
Committee on Science, Space and Technology subcommittee on
Natural Resources, Agriculture, Research and Environment
requested that a skills mix analysis be undertaken by the Agency.
The ORD subsequently produced a report entitled, "Preliminary
Analysis - Skills Mix Inventory of Laboratory Resources", which
is the first step towards fulfilling this request* The Science
Advisory Board was asked to review this document, and the Skills
Mix Subcommittee of the SAB's Research Strategies Advisory
Committee was established to perform the review.
2.2 charge
The Skills Mix Subcommittee was charged with evaluating the
scientific and technical mix of personnel that are currently
employed by IPA Research and Development Laboratories. The
breadth of disciplinary coverage was examined in light of current
research programs. The mix of scientific and engineering
specialties was considered with regard to future directions and
new core research program emphasis within ORD. In addition to
the critique, the Subcommittee was asked to suggest criteria for
doing an in-depth skills mix analysis.
Review Procedures
The Skills Mix Subcommittee met on March 23, 1989, in
Washington, D.C. The document for review had been previously
supplied to SAB Subcommittee members for background information.
The Introductory chapter of this document is attached as Appendix
A.
The SAB Subcommittee discussed the document, providing
recommendations and conclusions to the Chairman prior to the
meeting. These comments were assembled into a testimony, which
was provided to the members of the Congressional Subcommittee on
Natural Resources, Agriculture, Research and Environment on March
21, 1989. A copy of this testimony is provided in Appendix B.
At the March 23rd meeting, SAB Subcommittee members questioned
ORD staff, and held further discussions. A draft report
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detailing their findings was circulated for concurrence prior to
issuance of this final report.
3.0 CURRENT STATUS OF ORD PERSONNEL
3.1 Decline in Research Staff
The ORD personnel that are the subject of the analysis under
review include laboratory researchers within QRD's sixteen
research organizations. Not included are personnel assigned to
Headquarters staff and support offices, contract support
personnel, and personnel supported by cooperative or interagency
agreements. This work force has declined from some 2300 in 1980
to just under 1800 people presently. This decline occurred
during a period of mounting environmental issues, a burden that
had be carried with a seriously impaired budget in addition to
the diminished work force. The result has been a greater
reliance on extra-mural contractual and cooperative agreements
and consequently an increased project management load on the
Agency's research scientists.
This decrease in personnel, and the changes in
responsibility of those remaining, is borne out in the analysis.
Of the 1798 positions in ORD, 1134 are classified in the
researcher series and only 767 or 68% (43% of the total ORD work
force) are identified as actually engaged in research. Research
organization managers and project officers are not included in
the 767. This factor may have resulted in an under-estimation of
the size of the actual wor3c force, since at least project
managers may actively participate in research. Planning and
monitoring is part of the research process. Project managers
must be competent scientists to write specifications for requests
for proposal (RFPs), to evaluate proposals for research and to
monitor the progress of research. An understanding of the limits
of the science is necessary to accomplish this work effectively.
3«2 Education Level
The report does not clarify the specific technical skills
that are represented among the 767 researchers identified, or
what tasks they are engaged in. The level of education attained
by the group would suggest that either an inordinate number of
individuals are under educated for research activity in science
(only 50% have terminal doctorates) or the number also includes
technicians carrying out the directives of the scientists.
whichever is the case, and for the purpose of being explicit, the
Subcommittee recommends that a distinction be made between the
discipline of the scientist and the skill of the technician
supporting the scientist. Both are needed for effective research
but the levels of education and experience necessary are quite
different.
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In addition, the reason for the large variation in percent
PhDs among the, laboratories needs also to be clarified. Why does
the ERL at Corvallis claim 94% PhDs among its researchers while
HEEL at Cincinnati only 23%? The difference might be due to the
level of education necessary for skills specific to the
laboratory, but future analyses should seelc to explain those
differences.
3«3 Skill Group categories
The categories of skills presented by laboratory is not very
revealing although it does give the sense that the ratio of
research production workers to administrative staff is about
right (4.7 to 1) . It also shows that some 69 positions are
vacant and suggests some flexibility in accomplishing a more
appropriate skill mix for changing issues.
A more useful approach may be to identify disciplines within
each skill group and compare these disciplines to the Agency's
research tasks. Such an approach would allow determination of
additional skills needed to accommodate the research tasks.
3«* GS/GM Level distributions and Retirement Eligibility
An analysis of the distribution of the researchers among
GS/GM grades, assuming a correlation between grade and age, would
indicate that the Agency is suffering from a distribution charac-
teristic of an aging population. GS/GM grades for entry level
PhDs are usually at the GS/GM 11-12 grade levels but constitute
only 12 and 19 percent of the total researcher population,
respectively. The considerable variation that exists among the
laboratories needs explanation.
Analysis of the other end of the population distribution
shows that 16% of the researchers will be eligible for retirement
within the next three years. Assuming an average lifetime tenure
of 25 years, one would expect about 10% of the researchers to
become eligible for retirement during a three year period.
Again, considerable variation exists among the laboratories
ranging from 0% to 35% eligible for retirement by 1992. Early
retirement opportunities could exacerbate the problem.
3*5 axilla Mix Analysis Criteria
It is clear that this preliminary analysis does not address
the skills mix quest-ion adequately. The assessment categories
are too general to be of much value. Categories for future
skills mix analyses should be based on much more refined criteria
that are related to the disciplines defined by the core research
needs of the Agency. These core research needs will be related
to and determined by the Agency's research strategy.
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To accommodate this multidimensional matrix, it will be
necessary to identify the skills of the entire ORD personnel mix
(including extramural contractual arrangements) to very specific
disciplines, e.g.: engineers should be classified at least to
civil, mechanical, environmental, etc.; biologists to soil
bacteriologists, virologists, pharmacological toxicologists,
ecotoxicologists, plant ecologists, etc.; social scientists to
physical geographers, demographers, natural resource economists,
etc. This level of specification is necessary to adequately
accommodate the next level of the analysis matrix.
Research issues (initiatives, both ongoing and upcoming)
must be identified and disaggregated into the disciplines
necessary to achieve the objectives posed by each initiative.
The disciplines should be identified at the same level of resolu-
tion as those for the skills mix above* The personnel needs
identified by full time equivalents (FTEs) for each discipline
needed to achieve the objectives within a given time frame must
also be assessed. Together these factors can be applied to a
comparison with the standing work force, including the extramural
efforts, to identify the areas of deficiency (mismatches between
skills needed and skills available), From this position of
knowledge, the Agency will be better able to make decisions on
new employment, staff training requirements, and extra-mural
assistance.
*•<» TBAIHIKg
In this section, an assumption is made that an analysis has
been performed to reveal the mismatches between personnel
available and personnel needed. These mismatches can be
accommodated in several ways including expanded extra-mural
efforts, retraining and upgrading existing personnel, and
recruiting of new researchers. A large part of this effort,
however, will be centered in the training area.
The Agency should make wider use of educational leaves or
IPA assignments to retrain or enhance the training of its exist-
ing staff. If the education level is low, it should be upgraded
using the IPA mechanism or staff should be otherwise encouraged
to attain higher degree levels and increased knowledge through
innovative programs promoting advancement opportunity.
Potential researchers are only available if the academic
machinery has been functioning effectively to produce them. In
recent years this production has been low, primarily as a result
of a low market demand in the Federal Service. Not enough
essential environmental skills are being developed in those
currently being trained in the academic pipeline to meet the
needs existing in the EPA and other agencies (both state and
federal). Among the skills needed and not being produced in
adequate supply are epidemiologists, ecotoxicologists,
environmental engineers and ecologists.
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Graduate training programs designed to meet the needs of the
Agency (such .as those the Agency supported at its inception)
could well be reinstituted and/or training budgets could be
included with research grants and contracts to meet the demand.
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APPENDIX A
HWIRQHMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
OFFICE OF RESEARCH mm DEVELOPMENT
PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS
INVENTORY OF LABORATORY RESEARCHERS SKILL MIX
BACKGROOTIP
The Office of Research and Development has proposed the development
of a Core Research Program to address a new generation of
environmental and health issues. The core Research Program
constitutes a fundamental change to the existing national
environmental research agenda. This preliminary analysis
represents ORD's first step in a process to identify the recfuired
changes to our existing researcher workforce necessary to
successfully implement the core Research Program in combination
with ongoing program support responsibilities.
METHODOLOGY
This preliminary skill mix inventory focuses on laboratory
researchers within ORDfs sixteen research organizations. These
include:
_the six Environmental Research Laboratories within the
Office of Environmental Processes and Effects Research;
the Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory and the Air and
Energy Engineering Research Laboratory within the Office of
Environmental Engineering and Technology Demonstration;
the two Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratories and
the Atmospheric Research and Exposure Assessment Laboratory
within the Office of Modeling and Monitoring Systems and
Quality Assurance;
the Health Effects Research Laboratory within the Office
of Health Research; and
- the two Environmental Criteria and Assessment Offices, the
Human. Health Assessment -Group and the Exposure Assessment
Group within the Office of Health and Environmental
Assessment.
This preliminary analysis does not include personnel assigned to
Headquarters staff and support offices. Also excluded are on-site
scientific personnel covered under EPA contracts, cooperative
agreements and interagency agreements.
Information for the analysis was obtained from three sources:
QKD Office Directors;
ORD Laboratory Directors; and
the Agency's personnel database. .
Office and, Laboratory Directors provided mission statements, 5 to
7 year research objectives based on the core research program
proposal and listings of research areas in priority order. In
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addition, for each individual they designated as a "researcher",
the Laboratory Directors submitted biographical data and specified
primary skill specialties. Based on the proposed objectives and
research areas, Laboratory and office Directors projected
increases, decreases and additions to the existing skill mix
inventory using the skill designations listed, by the National
Research council. (See attached.)
CimREKTT LABORATORY SKILL MIX
Characterization of the overall laboratory workforce is based upon
job series data taken from the Agency personnel system. The
Agency's personnel database was used to provide the framework for
overall laboratory staff composition by job series classification,
Supplementary information has been extracted, from biographical
sketches to identify those researchers who; in addition to filling
a position with a researcher job series classification, were
designated as researchers by the Laboratory Directors.
DISTRIBUTION OF TOTAL LABORATORY STAFF BY JOB CLASSIFICATION
The Agency's personnel database lists 1134 T3er.sQim.el. out, of
an ORP total of 179JJL, with researcher (scien^isi^s /engineers)
job—.... series ciassif i cat ions within the ' 16 research
organisations. This represents 63% of .the available
workforce, including personnel onboard and unfilled vacancies.
Approximately 16% of the available workforce are in technical
support job series and 21% in administrative support job
series.
DISTRIBUTION OF LABORATORY RESEARCHERS AS DESIGNATED BY
LABORATORY DIRECTORS
Of the 1134 individuals who have researcher job series
classifications within the Agency's personnel database, the.
Laboratory Directors have designated 767 as actual
researchers. All actual researchers are in researcher, job
series. This represents 68% of individuals identified as
having researcher job series. Excluded are personnel in
scientist/engineer positions who exclusively manage extramural
research activities. The remaining 32% of individuals who
have researcher job series classifications include research
organization managers, project officers, trainees and research
* support staff. • "• - • •
11
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CHARACTERISTIC
The following is a summary of the major characteristics identified
for the 76? _ researchers designated as such bv the r.abof ^-hnry
Directors:
Education Level
PhD
Masters
Bachelors & Below
Total
Science Disciplines
Hfe Sciences
Chemis try-
Engineer ing
Other
Total
Grade Distribution
Commissioned Corps
GS-16 & Above
GS-1S
GS-14
GS-13
GS-12
GS-11 & Below
Total
Retirement Eligibility
By 1990
By 1992
Percentage
50 %
29 %
21 %
100 %
Percentage
47 %
28 %
16 %
9 %
100 %
Percentage
5 %
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CONCLOSIOHS
/••"*"" •.
, .. : This preliminary analysis Is the first step in an on-going process
to focus on discreet staffing requirements to accomplish the newly
defined research programs of each laboratory. A more In-depth
laboratory-by-laboratory analysis Is required to more accurately
define staffing requirements and to develop strategies to acquire
those skins once defined.
Next steps will include;
1. An expansion of detailed analyses to address entire OSD
workforce;
2. Development of options for the establishment of a targeted
recruitment, development and re-training program for OHD; and
3. Development of a system for ongoing strategic management
of the 01D workforce.
IV
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Appendix B
STATEMENT BY
Dr. JOHN M. NEUHOLD
Chairman, EPA Science Advisory Board
Committee on The Office of Research and Development
Skills Mix Review
and
Professor of Natural Resources
Utah State University
Logan, Utah
March 21, 1989
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee: thank you for hearing
my testimony on the efforts of EPA's Office of Research and
Development (ORD) to assess and manage its personnel skill mix. At
this point I wish to make clear that this statement is a personal
statement based on my reading of the Environmental Protection
Agency's Office of Research and Development report, "Preliminary
Analysis - Skills Mix Inventory of Laboratory Researchers," and QJI
telephone conversations with lay committee members who gave me their
preliminary impressions. We have not had the opportunity to
discuss fully the document among ourselves and formulate our
critique into an official report, although we will be meeting to
accomplish just that on next Thursday. Our official report will
be transmitted to you as soon as possible after that meeting.
I would like to preface a discussion of the skills mix
analysis with the observation that the work force of the ORD has
declined from some 2,300 scientists and support staff in 1980 to
just under 1,800 people presently. This decline occurred during
a period when new environmental issues, of increasing complexity,
were being added to the Agency's responsibilities, creating a
burden that had to be carried with a seriously impaired budget as
well as a diminished work force* The result has been a greater
reliance on extramural contractual and cooperative agreement
arrangements, and consequently, an increased project management
load on the Agency's research scientists.
This decrease in personnel and the concomitant changes in
responsibility of those remaining is borne out in the ORD analysis.
Of 1,798 positions in the research program, 1,134 are classified
in job series defined as "research," of which only 767 or 68% (43%
of the total ORD work force) are identified as actually engaged in
research. Hot included in this 68% are the research managers and
project officers, which may be a mistake, since it is these
personnel who must write specifications for proposal requests,
evaluate the proposals and monitor project progress to maximize
input to EPA's knowledge base. This can only be accomplished
effectively by competent scientists who understand the
possibilities and limits of their science.
Although it is not clear from the report what skills are
represented among the 767 researchers or in what tasks they are
engaged, the level of education attained by the group would suggest
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that either an inordinate number of individuals are undereducated
for research activity (only 50% have terminal doctorates) or the
number also includes technicians carrying out the directives of
scientists. Whichever is the case (and for the purpose of being
explicit}, I would recommend that, of those staff engaged in
research activity, a distinction be made between the scientific
discipline of the scientist and the skill of the technician
supporting the scientist. Both are needed for effective research
but the levels of education and experience necessary are quite
different.
The reason for the large variation among the laboratories in
the percent of the workforce holding the PhD degree also needs to
be clarified. Why does the Environmental Research Laboratory at
Corvallis claim 94% PhDs among its researchers, while the Risk
Reduction Engineering Laboratory at Cincinnati reports only 23%?
The differences might be due to the level of education necessary
for skills specific to the laboratories, or in the way
"researchers" were identified, but future analyses should seek to
explain those differences.
The skill group breakout by laboratory is not very revealing,
although it does give the sense that the ratio of research
production workers to administrative staff is about right (4.7 to
1) . It also' shows that some 69 positions are vacant and suggests
some flexibility in acquiring a more appropriate skill mix to
address changing issues. Identifying the disciplines within each
skill group needed to address the research tasks posed to the
Agency would be a more useful approach to determining the
additional skills needed.
An analysis of the distribution of researchers among the GS/GM
grades, assuming a correlation between grade and age, would
indicate that the Agency is suffering from a distribution
characteristic of an aging population. GS/GM Grades for entry
level PhDs are usually at the GS/GM 11-12 grade levels, but
constitute only 12 and 19 percent of the total researcher
population respectively. Again, considerable variation exists
among the laboratories. We ought to know why.
Analysis of the other end of the population distribution shows
that 16% of the researchers will be eligible for retirement within
the next three years. Assuming an average lifetime tenure of 25
years one would expect only about 10% of the researchers to become
eligible for retirement during a three year period. Considerable
variation exists among the laboratories, ranging from 0% to 35%
eligible for retirement by 1992. Early retirement opportunities
would exacerbate the problem further.
I understand that the ORD report is preliminary, and is based
upon a rather hurried analysis in face of a rapidly changing
research scene. It is useful in revealing some broad personnel
issues. However, the analysis needs to become much more specific
to be a very meaningful in treating the skills mix question. One
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might consider constructing a multidimensional matrix relating
skill, discipline, and research issues among the several
laboratories.
This type of an analysis is extremely important for achieving
the appropriate skill mix for the Agency, it can serve to guide
the Agency in its internal training program, including IPA
assignments and educational leaves for upgrading and retraining;
it can serve as the basis for new hires and for instituting
extramural training programs designed to provide a source of
appropriately trained people for the Agency. For a program the
size of EPA's ORD, a personnel skills mix effort should become a
permanently staffed and funded part of ORD*s research management
effort.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would be pleased to answer any
questions you may have.
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