Findings and Recommendations - Science For Environmental Protection: The Road Ahead - page 179

thority and staff resources to improve the integration and coordination of
science across the agency. If this enhanced leadership position is to be suc-
cessful, strengthened leadership is needed throughout the agency and the
improved use of science at EPA will need to be carried out by staff at all
levels.
Whatever administrative arrangement is adopted, the following are sug-
gestions of the types of responsibilities that the committee thinks should be as-
sociated with this position:
 Chairing and assuring that the work of the Science and Technology
Policy Council is comprehensive and effective.
 Promotion of systems thinking and systems-oriented tools to address
complex challenges ahead and the integration of this approach into every aspect
of agency science and engineering (as described in Chapter 4).
 Working to ensure that the scientific and technical staff throughout the
agency (including program, regional, and research offices) have the expertise
necessary to perform their duties whether in support of the agency's research or
in support of its role as a regulatory and policy decision-maker.
 Assuring that the agency has in place a system for quality assurance
and quality control of its scientific and technical work (including a system for
consistent high-quality peer review).
 Assuring that the best available scientific and technical information is
being used to carry out the agency's mission.
 Working to coordinate research and analytic efforts within and outside
the agency to ensure that the best information is used in the most efficient man-
ner.
 Encouraging and supporting interoffice and interagency science col-
laboration in order to solve problems and develop good solutions.
If the occupant of the position is to be successful, he or she will require
sufficient staff and resources to act on behalf of the EPA administrator to im-
plement a coordinated budget and strategic planning process for the regional,
program, and research offices to ensure that appropriate scientific and technical
expertise and capabilities are available and used. The person in this position
would also oversee the policies and procedures that relate to the operation of the
agency's federal advisory committees. The committee specifically recom-
mends that the person in this position and his or her staff create, imple-
ment, and periodically update an integrated, agency-wide multiyear plan
for science, its use, and associated research needs. Such a plan would bring
together ORD, program, and regional science initiatives while being cognizant
of the flexibility that is imparted through bottom-up initiatives undertaken in
ORD, the program offices, and the regions.