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Review of Administrative and Financial Management Services Report by a Study Team of the NATIONAL ACADEMY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION for the Agricultural Research Service AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE: REVIEW OF ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SERVICES February 2017 National Academy of Public Administration® ABOUT THE ACADEMY The National Academy of Public Administration is an independent, non-profit, and non-partisan organization established in 1967 and chartered by Congress in 1984. It provides expert advice to government leaders in building more effective, efficient, accountable, and transparent organizations. To carry out this mission, the Academy draws on the knowledge and experience of its over 800 Fellows—including former cabinet officers, Members of Congress, governors, mayors, and state legislators, as well as prominent scholars, business executives, and public administrators. The Academy helps public institutions address their most critical governance and management challenges through in-depth studies and analyses, advisory services and technical assistance, Congressional testimony, forums and conferences, and online stakeholder en- gagement. Learn more about the Academy and its work at www.NAPAwash.org. Report by a Study Team of the NATIONAL ACADEMY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION for the Agricultural Research Service February 2017 Agricultural Research Service: Review of Administrative and Financial Management Services STUDY TEAM Joseph P. Mitchell, III Roger Kodat Joseph Tasker, Jr. Diane Irving Chloe Yang Mary Ann Aabye Officers of the Academy Reginald Robinson*, Chair of the Board Sallyanne Harper*, Vice Chair Teresa Gerton, President and Chief Executive Officer B. J. Reed*, Secretary Jonathan Fiechter*, Treasurer Expert Advisory Group Members Anita Blair* Alphonso Michael Espy * Janet Hale* *Academy Fellow The views expressed in this report are those of the study team. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the Academy as an institution. National Academy of Public Administration 1600 K Street, N.W. Suite 400 Washington, DC 20006 www.napawash.org February 2017 Printed in the United States of America Academy Project Number: 2205 ii Foreword The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) serves as the chief in-house scientific research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and is one of the world’s premier agricultural research organizations. Its roughly 8,000 employees, including more than 2,000 research scientists, conduct research projects that develop solutions to the nation’s highest priority agricultural problems and transfer those solutions to the market. Over the years, ARS’s work has had a significant impact on the daily lives of the American people. Like many federal agencies, ARS has adopted a shared services concept for administrative and financial service delivery. ARS created the Administrative and Financial Management (AFM) service organization to manage delivery of these essential functions that support the science-focused work of the Agency. ARS contracted with the National Academy of Public Administration (the Academy) to evaluate and recommend improvements in the delivery of these services to its Agency and three other smaller Agencies that make up the Research, Education, and Economics Mission Area of USDA. In order to assess AFM service delivery, the Academy’s professional study team traveled to several research locations to interview employees and conducted an all-employee survey. This report evaluates the current state of AFM service delivery and offers practical recommendations on how AFM leaders might improve service delivery going forward. As a congressionally chartered non-partisan and non-profit organization with over 850 distinguished Fellows, the Academy has a unique ability to bring nationally-recognized public administration experts together to help agencies address their challenges. We are pleased to have had the opportunity to assist ARS by conducting this study, and we appreciate the constructive engagement of its many employees who provided important observations and context to inform this report. I am deeply appreciative of the work of the Academy’s study team, as well as that of an Expert Advisory Group of three Academy Fellows who provided their valuable insights and expertise throughout the project. I expect that the Academy study team’s report will contribute to greater operating efficiencies at ARS and, in so doing, demonstrably enhance achievement of the Agency’s strategic science mission. Teresa Gerton President and Chief Executive Officer National Academy of Public Administration iii Table of Contents Foreword ................................................................................................................................................. iii Acronyms and Abbreviations ......................................................................................................... vii Executive Summary .............................................................................................................................. 1 Section 1. Project Background ......................................................................................................... 9 1.1 Project Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 9 Section 2. Summary of Findings .................................................................................................... 13 2.1 AFM Service Delivery Structure .................................................................................................. 13 2.2 Challenges to Effective Service Delivery.................................................................................. 14 2.2.1 Recognized Challenges of the 2012 Reorganization .................................................................. 14 2.2.2 Summary of Preliminary Observations Research ....................................................................... 15 2.3 Reforms Under Consideration by ARS ..................................................................................... 17 Section 3. Organizational Structure ............................................................................................. 18 3.1 Evaluative Criteria............................................................................................................................ 19 3.2 Structure Options and Evaluation .............................................................................................. 22 3.2.1 Option 1: Current Structure ................................................................................................................. 22 3.2.2 Option 2: Distributed Structure .......................................................................................................... 25 3.2.3 Option 3: One Virtual BSC ..................................................................................................................... 27 3.2.4 Option 4: Area Liaisons .......................................................................................................................... 30 3.3 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................. 32 Summary List of Section 3 Recommendations to ARS Leadership: ........................................... 33 Section 4. Process ............................................................................................................................... 34 4.1 Accountability .................................................................................................................................... 34 4.1.1 Observation ................................................................................................................................................. 34 4.1.2 Recommendations .................................................................................................................................... 35 4.2 Communications ............................................................................................................................... 38 4.2.1 Observations ............................................................................................................................................... 38 4.2.2 Recommendations .................................................................................................................................... 38 4.3 Virtual Organization ........................................................................................................................ 39 4.3.1 Observations ............................................................................................................................................... 39 4.3.2 Recommendations .................................................................................................................................... 41 iv Summary List of Section 4 Recommendations to ARS Leadership: ........................................... 42 Section 5. People ................................................................................................................................. 44 5.1 Human Resources ............................................................................................................................. 44 5.1.1 Observations ............................................................................................................................................... 44 5.1.2 Recommendations ...................................................................................................................................
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