Teams Recognized for ‘Future of Work Phase 1’

NIH’ers across 25 institutes and centers were recognized for Future of Work initiatives.

Photo:  idea Ink Design/Shutterstock

More than 130 NIH professionals from 25 institutes, centers and offices were recognized Aug. 2 at the NIH executive officers meeting for their time, expertise and contributions to phase 1 of the NIH Future of Work (FOW) initiative.

NIH deputy director for management Dr. Alfred Johnson congratulated the volunteers, subject matter experts and co-leads of seven work groups for developing initial FOW recommendations spanning administrative functions, infrastructure support and services, space, surety, technology and tools, workforce and a resource hub. 

Despite the challenges of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the teams answered the call of the strategic administrative management advisory committee (SAMAC), an executive governance body for planning, to convene in June 2021 and consider the multifaceted needs and issues of communities and programs amid the new and emerging FOW realities in support of the NIH scientific mission. 

The teams developed initial recommendations for presentation to SAMAC in December 2021, followed by refinement and scoping for SAMAC’s elevation to the management and budget working group for consideration in spring 2022. This effort was recognized as instrumental in laying the groundwork for FOW’s next phase. 

At the recognition meeting, SAMAC co-chairs Janet Shorback, director of the Office of Strategic Planning and Management Operations, and Kathleen Stephan, NIDCR executive officer, thanked volunteers for their contributions and co-leads for guidance of their respective teams in sorting through the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for NIH.  

The co-leads commended the work groups’ dedication and provided highlights of each group’s accomplishments: 

• Administrative functions work group, co-led by Glenda Conroy, director of the Office of Financial Management, Diane Frasier, director of the Office of Acquisition and Logistics Management, and Sally Lee, NIGMS executive officer. Developed recommendations spanning six subgroups, including travel and hosted conferences; acquisitions, budget and finance; institute and center councils and reviews and boards of scientific counselors; remote telework supplies and equipment; shipments, delivery and storage; and awards and grants management. 
• Infrastructure support and services work group, co-led by Darla Hayes, OD executive officer, Keith Lamirande, NCATS executive officer, and Tim Tosten, associate director for program and employee services, Office of Research Services. Created priority recommendations for transportation, property, virtual infrastructure, building improvements, among other areas and shared recommendation overlaps with the other future of work teams. 
• Space work group, co-led by Joanna Bare, director of business transformation at NHLBI, Dan Wheeland, director of the Office of Research Facilities, and Mitch Williams, NIEHS executive officer. Recommended guiding principles, adjustments and strategies for effective space utilization to be used for planning purposes in the future of work era. 
• Surety work group, co-led by Jason Ford, NIBIB executive officer, Dan Lonnerdal, CC executive officer, and Jessica McCormick-Ell, director of the ORS Division of Occupational Health and Safety. Recommended implementation plans for five priority areas that focus on NIH’s safety, security and emergency management. 
• Technology and tools work group, co-led by Asmahan Limansky, chief business transformation officer at CIT, and Tim Wheeles, NIDCD executive officer. Created three initiatives to support a hybrid workplace environment through meeting and collaboration strategies and virtual tools. 
• Workforce work group, co-led by Deborah Coelho, director of the Workforce Relations Division, Office of Human Resources, and Camille Hoover, NIDDK executive officer. Conducted focus groups across NIH and developed a workforce engagement toolkit and related resources to support NIH’s hybrid workplace environment, in addition to an IdeaScale campaign to invite community ideas and resources for the toolkit located on the Resource Hub. 
• Resource Hub work group, co-led by Alisa Machalek, NIAMS science communications team lead, and Sybil Philip, NICHD deputy executive officer. Developed a SharePoint site for phase 1 information on Future of Work efforts.

Learn more at https://nih.sharepoint.com/sites/NIH-fow.