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Having a strategic plan for TT may be even more important than in any other R&D activities, since it involves so many different parties with different functions. In our own case, I had very little understanding of this type of planning, so I called in a consultant whom I had heard speak on the subject at a Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) meeting. As I understand the subject now, it basically takes the overall mission, breaks it down into specific goals, and then breaks these out into tasks, which are then spelled out as projects assigned to specific people. This allows the manager to then make specific assignments of people and resources, and to set time tables for each project. It gives the manager a much clearer picture of where the money, time, and effort are going, and whether they are producing the desired results.
The Strategic Plan we developed for our group is shown in Appendix J. It can be seen that the goal of bringing products to market has been broken down into Product Recruitment (where the project originates), Product Evaluation (which weeds out the probable losers), and Product Availability (finishing the job). Each of these, in turn, has been divided into specific projects or tasks. The final planning step of assigning people and time is shown in the listing of staff and personnel on the same page, and spells out just what activities are expected to take place in each case. This chart represents only the product side of our dual mission and does not address the publication and public relations side. Further, since this is a plan for the future, the FTE totals do not correspond to those of our current TT staff.
It is most important that the entire TT group be involved in the planning process, so that everyone has "bought into" the plan before it is implemented. Then, there can be specific assignments and regular reporting (probably verbal) to make sure that things are progressing as planned. The Strategic Plan, in fact, cannot be cast in concrete at any stage, since situations change, and the plan must be continually modified as necessary to meet these changes.
Another aspect of strategic planning has to do with the "big picture" of what the effort is all about. For example, as of this writing, there are several recent and current events and activities that must have an impact on what we are attempting to do in TT here in California. Consider the following list:
Let us ask what these all have in common in terms of underlying threads. With some imagination, we might come up, for example, with the following topics:
This list, in turn, might suggest some possible working partners, such as aircraft manufacturers, train and bus manufacturers, lift manufacturers, Department of Transportation, NASA, etc. In addition, it might suggest some new or broader applications of our rehabilitation technology, or some new ways of looking at rehabilitation problems. For example, is it possible (and legal) for a government laboratory to set up an Industrial Affiliates program (perhaps through a nonprofit foundation) for commercializing products?
One example of a new approach to an old rehabilitation problem is the following: It has always seemed to me that the bus lift for wheelchairs is not an intelligent or efficient solution to the problem of getting a disabled person and his/her wheelchair aboard the bus! Wouldnt it make more sense to consider a redesign of the wheelchair (or perhaps the lift) so that the person and the wheelchair might be separately handled by a simpler system? Then, perhaps the person could even be placed in a normal seat and the wheelchair temporarily collapsed and stowed. (The basic seat portion of the chair might stay with the user in this operation.) Such a system might be somewhat limited to, say, persons with paraplegia, while persons with quadraplegia might still need to use a lift, but one might then think in terms of fewer buses having to be equipped with a full lift system. That may or may not be practical, but the idea is to broaden ones view of the overall problem in order to see new opportunities for collaborations and for solutions to more general problems. Another possibility is the so-called kneeling bus which can accommodate not only wheelchairs but elderly infirm persons who may have difficulty negotiating the high stairs in the entrance.
This type of thinking or planning might well lead to interdisciplinary brainstorming sessions which could produce interesting and productive collaborative projects, thus broadening both our technology and our TT efforts. But these endeavors would of course require the support and cooperation of the RR&D Center Director, not to mention the technical staff.
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