ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN INITIATIVE

CLIENT:

A federal medical and scientific research agency

Context / Challenge: Over two decades, a federal medical and scientific research agency experienced significant growth (55%) in its scope and budget, reaching $1.8 billion for R&D. However, the agency's staff and organizational structure remained stagnant. Recognizing the necessity for change, the agency embarked on organizational redesigns, seeking assistance from our organizational design experts to establish strategies and develop plans. The agency's entrenched culture created internal resistance, complicating efforts to change structures and processes.

Approach: I led a team to conduct a thorough review of the current organizational structure, gathering feedback from key stakeholders and benchmarking against leading research organizations. Collaborating with the leadership team, we established design principles and defined end-state functions and an operating model to guide organizational layer designs. Through leadership workshops and individual meetings, we crafted a new organizational structure outlining roles, responsibilities, and decision rights. Additionally, the team developed a comprehensive communication and change management plan, supported by tools, templates, and training sessions to ensure a seamless implementation process.

Impact: The redesign enhanced decision-making agility and efficiency, fostering clearer communication and accountability. Direct reports to the agency director were reduced by 40%, with senior management restructured into six units. Implementation of OKRs and decision rights improved staff alignment with organizational goals. Overall, productivity, innovation, and effectiveness in managing the $1.8 billion R&D budget increased significantly.