Deployment Assistance Team factors in success

In his best-selling book, The One Minute Manager, Ken Blanchard urges supervisors to “catch people doing things right, so they will do even better in the future.” The Office of Science and Technology's Deployment Assistance Team is looking at the factors that have led to the significant increase in the use of new technologies over the last few years.

The team is based at DOE-Headquarters and is focused on improving the framework within the EM cleanup effort for the use of science and technology. The emphasis is on policies and procedures that either enable or provide incentives for the deployment of innovative technologies. Changes in the current framework through better communication, contracting approaches, performance measures, and rewards can create a positive environment for increasing the use of science and technology.

Team Lead Dave Geiser says you can’t just focus on the barriers. “That just tells you what prevented success. You have to look at the sites, the focus areas, and the companies that have success in deploying innovative technologies and figure out what they’re doing to achieve that result.” One of the team’s products is a series of case studies of companies doing environmental business with DOE, highlighting the reasons for their successes.

Another basic management principle is “you get what you measure.” So the team is recommending more effective performance measures and the use of programs that recognize and reward people for making innovative technology part of the baseline at multiple sites. DOE recently awarded certificates to recognize federal employees at field offices who have “gone the extra mile” in implementing innovative technologies (see Initiatives, Summer 2000).

Accelerated Site Technology Deployment (ASTD), a new approach authorized by Congress in FY98, is designed to promote multisite deployment of new technologies that could accelerate cleanup throughout the DOE complex. The Deployment Assistance Team is examining the results of projects funded through ASTD and will issue an analysis with recommendations for an FY02 call for proposals.

In addition to working on internal liaison—what needs to happen within DOE to increase deployments—the team works with other agencies, companies, and stakeholders. For example, changes in procurement procedures and contracting approaches can make it easier for companies to do business with DOE. And finding ways to improve support for regulatory reviews can accelerate the pace at which technologies are put to work in multiple locations.

By finding and promoting the nontechnical approaches and incentives that support the deployment of innovative technologies, the Deployment Assistance Team is helping sites and external stakeholders cultivate an environment where deployments are a natural consequence.

For more information about this team, contact Dave Geiser at (301) 903-7640, david.geiser@em.doe.gov.