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Introducing the New Office of Planning and Assessment

(Photo - Craig Ferguson and Steve Williams)
Director of the new Office of Planning and Assessment, Craig Ferguson (left), and Deputy Director of OPA Steve Williams.

In order to focus and improve SLAC strategic planning, self-assessment and continuous improvement activities, on October 15 SLAC created the Office of Planning and Assessment, or OPA, led by Craig Ferguson and reporting to the Director's Office. As a first step in creating the needed functionality, the Integrated Performance Management organization has been moved into OPA. I'd like to thank Steve Williams, who has led IPM at SLAC, for agreeing to serve as deputy director of OPA.

OPA will lead and coordinate SLAC's strategic planning, performance assessment and continuous improvement management systems. The organization will conduct the strategic planning process; will operate the lab's performance assessment program, including the measurement and analysis of key laboratory performance indicators; and will provide specific SLAC-wide continuous improvement recommendations to the lab director, chief operating officer and associate laboratory directors. The OPA team is benchmarking and performing gap analysis to bring the best management systems to SLAC. This will improve our strategic planning and quality and contractor assurance, and bolster our approach to continuous improvement to further enable SLACs mission. As this comes together the OPA will organize to align accordingly.

Also effective October 15, Brian Sherin started serving as acting division director of the Environment, Safety and Health Division, including the role of chief safety officer for SLAC. The announcement of the search for a permanent ES&H division director will be forthcoming.

I'd like to thank Craig, Steve, Brian and all IPM and ES&H staff for their past and future contributions, and ask everyone at the lab for their support of these newly assigned roles and responsibilities. 

—Persis Drell
  SLAC Today, November 3, 2010