Promoting Innovation and Creativity

Abstract

Government research organizations vary, but share a number of common problems. Though not specific to any one agency, here are some nagging problems that may inhibit the effectiveness and productivity of research organizations: * Poor public perception of goals or mission. * Inflexible program development processes. * Fragmentation of broad problems along functional lines. * Inflexible program-funding guidelines. * Inability to acquire funds to capitalize on emerging research opportunities. * Excessive paperwork and administrative burdens that distract scientists from the primary function of research. * Inflexible recruitment and hiring practices that make it difficult to compete for the-best people. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service, recognizing the value of a creative and innovative work environment, initiated a pilot test program to explore ways to enhance these qualities in two of its research stations. The Northeastern Forest Experiment Station at Broomall, Pennsylvania, and the Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station at Berkeley, California, both participated in this pilot program, which began in 1985. The two stations were given wide latitude for restructuring and changing their organizational and operational procedures. The only top-down parameters were that changes must be legal and within basic policy bounds. Therefore each station decided independently what changes to make and how and when to implement them. Employee-Driven Program In the Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, the pilot test was implemented as an employee-driven program and was kcpt as informal and nonbureaucratic as possible. To the station director (chief executive officer) was left, however, a foremost and critical task: The need to create a climate of trust and commitment so that all employees would get the signal that new thinking and behavior would be OK. The station director assured employees they would not be penalized for any type of idea or opinion submitted to the pilot program, nor would any proposal for change be adopted if it would result in an adverse personnel action. The organization worked hard to develop a climate of mutual respect for individual difference and to encourage employees to share freely ideas for change. By these actions, the station began to lay the cultural groundwork for the program changes to follow. Procedures for carrying out the pilot program were easy and direct. Proposals for change were written in simple, direct form or dictated by phone to a pilot coordinator. They were then reviewed and acted upon (adopted, not adopted, or sent to the chiefs office for action) by a team composed of the station director, members of his staff, and field or project representatives. Adopted proposals were put into action immediately. To start the ball rolling, the following questions were asked of each employee: * If you were operating the Forest Service as a personal business, what change would you make in operating procedures? * What regulations, processes, and reports would you eliminate? * How would you improve customer satisfaction? * What perks or benefits would you give to your employees? Initial employee response was overwhelming and revealed a wealth of pent-up ideas just waiting for an opportunity to be released. Following this initial questionnaire, a blank survey form was circulated to capture employee proposals for change in an unstructured way. Again, a large number of ideas came pouring in, ranging from a simple change in office layout to a major redesign for developing research program proposals. Implementing the pilot test at the Pacific Southwest Station included many of the same features described above -- an environment encouraging risk-taking and a simple informal process for reviewing proposals. In addition, several brainstorming sessions were used initially to generate a wide range of ideas covering all facets of station management, organization, planning, and operations. …