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U.S. Department of Commerce

• Bureaus and Offices

Office of Policy and Strategic Planning

The Office of Policy and Strategic Planning develops strategic policy priorities and provides policy counsel to the leadership of the Department of Commerce. Specifically, we work with the department's leadership by:

Strategic Planning

• Developing strategic policy priorities
• Planning and coordinating the implementation of policy initiatives that support these priorities

Policy Counsel

• Supplying timely and actionable policy advice to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary
• Working with bureau leadership and experts regarding administration and department perspectives

Policy Coordination

• Engaging bureaus within the department to coordinate and integrate policy initiatives with secretarial and administration objectives
• Leading cross-bureau initiatives and supporting the implementation of bureau-led policy initiatives
• Offering policy input into secretarial communications by coordinating bureau policy input

Policy Outreach

• Synthesizing input and ideas from the administration, the private sector, non-profit organizations and the academic community to inform the department's policy formulation process

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Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation

Division of Strategic Planning

The Division of Strategic Planning strengthens the capacity of HHS to develop strategic plans that accelerate impact, improve outcomes, and achieve the HHS mission. The Division leads the development of the HHS Strategic Plan and guides HHS workgroups in developing topic-specific strategic plans, by integrating leadership priorities with data, evidence, and staff expertise.

HHS Strategic Plan The Division leads the development of the HHS Strategic Plan , ensuring it reflects the activities that HHS is undertaking over the next four years. The Division aligns the HHS Strategic Plan's goals and objectives with our Priority Goals, the Secretary’s priorities, and other, topic-specific strategic plans implemented by the Department. The HHS Strategic Plan is concise, web-based, and can be updated as conditions change. The plan includes hyperlinks to more details about the Department’s activities.

• FY 2014-2018
• FY 2010-2015
• FY 2007-2012
• FY 2004-2009

HHS Topic-Specific Plans The Division works to ensure HHS topic-specific strategic plans on critical health, public health, and human services topics are supported with strong implementation plans. The Division provides technical assistance to strategic planning workgroups to improve the quality of strategic planning efforts and execution of plans addressing everything from vaccines, to health disparities, to preventing heart attacks and strokes, ensuring that HHS agencies can regularly track progress on these plans. In support of the Department’s strategic management approach, the Division aims to integrate performance measurement, risk management, evidence and evaluation, and budget information into topic-specific strategic plans to ensure they are ambitious, but achievable, and that threats to performance and goal achievement can be identified and mitigated quickly.

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Policy Analysis and Strategic Planning

T he U.S. DOT Volpe Center’s Policy Analysis and Strategic Planning Division provides expertise across all aspects of transportation policymaking and program/project delivery lifecycle, including interpretation, implementation, evaluation, and adaptation.

Our team of experts and specialists, include policy analysts, data scientists, geographic information system (GIS) and geospatial specialists, community planners, geographers, environmental protection specialists, and strategic planners to carry out work on a range of transportation-related topics, building and sustaining high-impact programs. We collaborate with our sponsors, such as FHWA, FTA, and National Park Service, to build strong relationships and yield high-impact outcomes.

The goal of our work is to visualize, analyze, and better understand all aspects of transportation to empower our sponsors to streamline processes and make informed, data-driven management and transportation planning decisions.

Our Capabilities

Economic and policy analysis.

• L everage a variety of techniques to address today’s transportation policy questions with focus areas including National Environmental Protection Act and permitting, infrastructure resilience, sustainability, noise, and air quality.
• Initiate, facilitate, and implement strategic planning efforts and provide targeted program design support related to policy implementation, rulemakings, and working groups.

Applied Data Science

• Use cutting-edge skills to gather, manage, visualize, and analyze data.
• Translate, simplify, and effectively communicate the data to a wide audience.
• Use numerous forms of mapping to advance spatial analysis and tools.

Impartial Investigations and Program Evaluations

• Conduct research, analysis, and evaluation on a range of project components, including interview and survey design, policy analysis, statistical analysis, qualitative data analysis, surveying and forecasting, and GIS.
• Build, sustain, and evaluate impactful programs by incorporating strategic planning into everything we do.

Meet Our Team

View selected staff biographies.

Rachel Strauss McBrien

Chief 

Rachel Strauss McBrien is chief of the Policy Analysis and Strategic Planning Division at the U.S. DOT Volpe Center in Cambridge, MA. She was formerly a community planner in the Program Development and Capacity Building Division where she worked with a range of federal agencies, including FAA, FHWA, FTA, National Park Service, and the U.S. DOT Office of the Secretary for Policy, to promote strategies and activities that advance the work of their offices and support efforts that encourage information-sharing and foster dialogue.

McBrien has extensive experience in facilitating interagency coordination to achieve a common goal. In addition, she develops and delivers products, including written materials, workshops, and webinars, that showcase best practices in transportation planning and project delivery across the United States. McBrien’s current work includes projects related to transportation planning capacity building, air tour management planning, scenario planning, and environmental streamlining and stewardship.

McBrien holds a master’s degree in city planning from the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA), with a concentration in sustainable transportation and infrastructure planning, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Boston College (Newton, MA) with a BA in English. She is also a member of the American Planning Association (APA), serving on the APA Massachusetts Chapter’s Transportation Committee. .She is certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners.

Jhoset Burgos-Rodriguez 

Policy Analyst JD, University of Puerto Rico MS Biology and Environmental Science, University of Rhode Island BS Integrative Biology, University of Puerto Rico 

Jhoset Burgos Rodríguez is a policy analyst in the Policy Analysis and Strategic Planning Division at the U.S. DOT Volpe Center. He has worked at the U.S. DOT Volpe Center since 2022. Rodriguez’s work focuses on environmental permitting and compliance, regulatory analysis, equity and language accessibility, health and transportation policy, and infrastructure project delivery acceleration.  

He holds a law degree from the University of Puerto Rico (San Juan, PR), a master’s degree in biology and environmental science from the University of Rhode Island (Kingston, RI), and a bachelor’s degree in integrative biology from the University of Puerto Rico. Before joining the U.S. DOT Volpe Center, Rodriguez was a judicial law clerk at the Puerto Rico Supreme Court, a quarantine officer with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and a senior policy analyst and Sea Grant Knauss Fellow at the U.S. Department of the Interior. He also worked on science and environmental law and policy at local NGOs including the Puerto Rico Science, Technology & Research Trust and Para la Naturaleza. He is an admitted member of the Puerto Rico Bar.  

Joan F. Chu 

Environmental Protection Specialist JD, University of Maryland School of Law MPA, Cornell University BA Government and Politics; Sociology, University of Maryland 

 Joan Chu works as an environmental protection specialist at the U.S. DOT Volpe Center. She advises on matters relating to law, policy, regulations, and other directives involving environmental and climate issues for various modes within U.S. DOT. Chu’s background is public interest-facing and includes matters of administrative and environmental law, prevention, and enforcement and compliance work. 

Prior to joining the U.S. DOT Volpe, she worked in Washington, D.C. supporting CAFE enforcement and compliance activities. Chu is an attorney and received her JD from the University of Maryland School of Law (Baltimore, MD) with a concentration in environmental law. She holds a master’s degree in public administration from Cornell University (Ithaca, NY) and dual baccalaureates in government and politics, as well as sociology from the University of Maryland (College Park, MD). 

Gina Filosa 

Gina Filosa joined the U.S. DOT Volpe Center in 2006. She provides technical research and policy support focused on resilient transportation, environmental stewardship, and energy. Filosa has also led several policy and program evaluations, including an assessment of FTA’s Environmental Management System Technical Assistance and Training Program and an evaluation of FHWA’s eNEPA, an online workspace and collaboration tool used to facilitate the environment review process. She recently led a programmatic assessment of greenhouse gas emissions from transit projects and developed a greenhouse gas estimator tool that enables users to estimate the partial lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions generated from the construction, operations, and maintenance phases of projects across select transit modes.

Filosa holds a master’s degree in urban and environmental policy and planning from Tufts University (Medford, MA) and a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from Providence College (Providence, RI).

Zoe McAlear

Zoe McAlear has worked as a policy analyst at the U.S. DOT Volpe Center since 2020. Her work has supported FHWA, Office of the Secretary, the National Park Service, and other federal agencies on research, policy analysis, and program development. McAlear is interested in environmental policy and planning, with a focus on environmental protection and climate change mitigation and adaptation in the transportation sector. Prior to joining the U.S. DOT Volpe Center, she was an AmeriCorps VISTA at a community development corporation in East Boston. McAlear holds a master’s degree in city planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA) and a bachelor’s degree in urban studies from Haverford College (Haverford, PA).  

Amy Plovnick 

Policy Analyst Master of City Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology MCP Environmental Policy and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology BA Political Science and Environmental Studies, Washington University in St. Louis 

Amy Plovnick has worked as a community planner at the U.S. DOT Volpe Center since 2016. She supports FHWA, National Park Service, and other federal agencies on research, program implementation, and policy analysis work. Plovnick is interested in the connections between transportation and the environment, and much of her work focuses on infrastructure resilience, sustainability, active transportation, and public health.

Previously, Plovnick worked on renewable energy and energy efficiency policy at two nonprofit organizations in Washington, D.C. She holds a master’s degree in city planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA) and a bachelor’s degree in political science and environmental studies from Washington University in St. Louis (St. Louis, MO).

Carson Poe 

Carson Poe is a transportation industry analyst in the U.S. DOT Volpe Center’s Center for Planning, Policy, and Environment. His areas of expertise include climate change mitigation, innovative and sustainable use of transportation right-of-way, and pipeline emergency response. Poe has led research efforts to explore the implications of sustainable land management practices along highways, including carbon sequestration and accommodating photovoltaic noise barriers, among other sustainability-minded technologies.

Poe holds a master’s degree in energy and environmental analysis from Boston University (Boston, MA) and a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies/environmental policy and planning from Appalachian State University (Boone, NC).

Gina Barberio Solman 

Gina Solman is a senior project manager and environmental protection specialist who has worked at the U.S. DOT Volpe Center since 2005. She solves complex problems across all modes of transportation, analyzing policy and building consensus on technical topics of national concern.

Solman specializes in noise policy and facilitates interagency coordination on a range of topics. She leads multidisciplinary teams of engineers, scientists, and planners to serve clients and the public good. Solman conducts research to inform the development of policies, regulation, and guidance in support of FHWA, FAA, FRA, and Department of Housing and Urban Development to assess transportation-related noise and other technical areas. This work includes strategic design, qualitative and quantitative analysis, evaluation and risk assessment, facilitation, and technical writing. 

She is the U.S. DOT Volpe Center’s Federal Women’s Program Manager and a representative on the U.S. DOT Volpe Center’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Work Group. 

GIS Team 

Geospatial Team Leader MA Software Engineering, Harvard Extension School BS Geography, University of Massachusetts

Gary Baker joined the U.S. DOT Volpe Center as a GIS specialist in 1996. He is the GIS team leader and has more than 20 years of experience working with GIS. Baker also has extensive software development and data science skills. Since joining U.S. DOT, he has provided expertise in mapping, spatial analysis, and custom GIS solution development for all modes of transportation, from the local to global scale. Baker now leads a team of GIS specialists, working directly with sponsors and providing critical expertise throughout Volpe on all aspects of geospatial visualization and analyses.

Selected projects that Baker has been involved with include:

• Alternative Fuel Transportation Optimization Tool (AFTOT)
• National Park Air Tour Management Plans (ATMP)
• Aviation Environmental Design Tool (AEDT)
• Management of FAA’s unstaffed infrastructure (UISGIS)
• Assessing aviation's global emissions
• Noise modeling and measurement in Grand Canyon and Southern Florida
• Rail traffic simulations
• GIS web-based FRA grant tracking
• Positive train control and hazmat risk analyses
• Highway rail crossing and historical rail incident geolocation

Alexander Oberg

Alexander Oberg joined the U.S. DOT Volpe Center as a geospatial specialist in 2016. He has an extensive background in GIS, and prior to joining the U.S. DOT Volpe Center, was a GIS support associate for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries. Oberg provided front-line reference and one-on-one research consultation support to a broad GIS user community, including current and future professionals in transportation, urban planning, and environmental fields. He also prepared and led GIS presentations and workshops to illustrate and explain GIS analyses, tools, models, and applications.

In addition, Oberg has two years of environmental consulting experience in the private sector, primarily involving contracts with federal agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement. His work included GIS analysis, mapping and relational database creation, and maintenance.

Sara Secunda

GIS Specialist MA Geography, Portland State University BS Geography, University of Vermont

Sara Secunda joined the U.S. DOT Volpe Center as a GIS specialist in 2000. She has been involved in GIS-based analyses and developing customized GIS solutions for various modes of transportation. As project lead for FHWA’s HEPGIS mapping website , Secunda assisted in development of the interactive mapping application, which serves maps and provides an analysis tool for transportation planners. She is currently the website manager, updating and maintaining the website’s functionality, maps, and data.

Since joining U.S. DOT, Secunda has provided GIS analysis and support for the National Park Service and FAA’s National Park Air Tour Management Plans (ATMP) program. This support includes mapping air tour and air flight layers, and generating various input to noise models. She also provides GIS analysis and mapping for FHWA’s Alternative Fuel Corridors project. Before joining the U.S. DOT Volpe Center, Secunda worked for 11 years as a GIS specialist in federal and local government and private industry.

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The Office of Policy and Strategic Planning develops strategic policy priorities and provides policy counsel to the leadership of the Department of Commerce. Specifically, the Office of Policy and Strategic Planning works with the Department's leadership by:

Strategic Planning

• Developing strategic policy priorities
• Planning and coordinating the implementation of policy initiatives that support these priorities

Policy Counsel

• Supplying timely and relevant policy advice to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary
• Providing feedback to Bureau leadership regarding Administration and Department perspectives

Policy Coordination

• Engaging bureaus within the Department to ensure coordination and integration of policy initiatives with secretarial and Administration objectives
• Leading cross-bureau initiatives and supporting the implementation of bureau-led policy initiatives
• Offering policy input into secretarial communications by coordinating bureau policy input

Policy Outreach

• Synthesizing input and ideas from the Administration, the private sector, non-profit organizations and the academic community to inform the Department's policy formulation process
• John Ratliff — Director of Policy and Strategic Planning; Senior Advisor to the Secretary
• Catherine Barrett — Deputy Director of Policy and Strategic Planning
• Samuel Fuller — Interagency Fellow
• Andrew Grotto — Senior Advisor for Technology
• Scott Handler — Special Advisor
• David Langdon — Senior Advisor for Economics and Statistics
• Sara Li — Confidential Assistant
• Joshua Mandell — Senior Advisor for Innovation and Competitiveness
• Erin Sparks — Senior Advisor for Manufacturing
• David Talbot — Special Assistant
• Jeff Weiss — Senior Advisor for Standards and Global Regulatory Policy
• Thomas Wyler — Senior Advisor for Trade and Investment

Contact Information

Office phone: 202-482-4127 202-482-4636 (FAX)

Mailing Address: 1401 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20230

For information about news releases and speeches, please visit the newsroom or contact the Office of Public Affairs at 202-482-4883.

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Strategic Planning Process

The Common Fund is intended to be a flexible resource for NIH to make strategic investments in programs that will have high impact NIH-wide. Strategic planning is undertaken regularly to identify research areas that address key roadblocks in biomedical research or that represent emerging scientific opportunities ripe for Common Fund investment.

Common Fund programs are evaluated throughout the lifecycle as the need arises:

PLANNING: PHASES 1 AND 2 (18 MONTHS).

Strategic planning involves the identification of trans-NIH challenges and opportunities that address the Common Fund criteria . Broad topics identified in Phase 1 (Idea Gathering) are refined into a series of well-defined programs and initiatives in Phase 2 (Strategy Development). In Phase 1, ideas for potential new Common Fund programs may be solicited from NIH Leadership, NIH Institute, Center, and Office Directors, and members of the broad scientific community. In Phase 2, refinement of ideas may include analyses of the NIH, national, and international research portfolios; workshops and meetings with scientific experts in the field; and input from scientific leaders across the NIH. The Council of Councils for the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives (DPCPSI) acts as an external advisory panel to the DPCPSI and NIH Directors for consideration of potential new Common Fund programs. Final decisions on new Common Fund programs are made by NIH Leadership, with input from DPCPSI and NIH Institute and Center Directors.

IMPLEMENTATION (5-10 YEARS)

As each Common Fund program is unique, the implementation of each program varies. To read more about the currently supported Common Fund programs, see Common Fund Programs.

TRANSITION (OVER 10 YEARS)

Common Fund programs are designed to achieve a set of high-impact goals within a 5-10 year time frame. At the conclusion of each program, deliverables will either stimulate IC-funded research or will transition to support by ICs or other entities that find these resources useful. Programs that have transitioned from Common Fund support can be found on the Former Programs page.

This page last reviewed on April 25, 2024

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Strategic Planning: Why It Makes a Difference, and How to Do It

Short abstract.

Take action before problems reach crisis level. Strategic planning provides the structure to make day-to-day decisions that follow a larger vision, creates a direction for your practice, and maximizes your options for influencing your environment.

In oncology practice, where dramatic changes in reimbursement, technology, and the marketplace are just a few of the driving forces, “the future,” as Yogi Berra once said, “ain't what it used to be.” You may not be able to control the future, but strategic planning can create a direction for your practice and maximize your options for influencing your environment. Without it, your group will likely take action only to address immediate problems—a kind of crisis management approach. Strategic planning gives a practice the structure to make day-to-day decisions that follow a larger vision. This article presents the principles of strategic planning and outlines processes that your practice can adapt for short- or long-term planning. Strategic decision making is needed now more than ever for success in oncology practice.

A strategic plan is a tool that moves your practice toward a goal you have set. However, the definition of a strategic plan differs among different people, according to management consultant Teri Guidi, MBA. Guidi, chief executive officer of Oncology Management Consulting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, points out that although there is “no wrong idea” of what a strategic plan encompasses, people often do have misconceptions about it. “Some expect a strategic plan to be precise—it's not. Some think that it will take you forward forever—it won't. The biggest mistake people make is already having the end result in mind when they start.”

Of all the compelling reasons for your group to engage in strategic planning, perhaps the most critical is the speed at which forces in your environment are changing. “Physicians who try to keep practicing as they have in the last five years will be at a disadvantage,” says Dawn Holcombe, MBA, president of DGH Consulting in South Windsor, Connecticut. “The world swirling around oncologists is changing, and things they may not even know about will affect their practice.”

Engaging in the process of strategic planning has benefits in addition to the plan that comes out of it. For starters, having everyone in the same room fosters collegiality and creates a milieu in which you can focus on the direction of your practice, away from patient care and other duties. In addition, the process promotes the open and creative exchange of ideas, including putting disagreements on the table and working out effective solutions.

Short- and Long-Term Planning

Establishing the direction of your practice and identifying overarching goals provide the foundation for strategic planning, whether short or long term. In the field of health care today, a long-term plan will likely address no more than the next 3 years. After the strategic course is determined in the initial planning session, the group should meet at least annually. During these sessions, the partners should revisit the practice goals, update the environmental assessment with new data, and identify strategies needed to address issues that will arise within the next 12 months. For example, as the retirement of one or more partners approaches, a succession plan may need to be developed (as described in related article on page 136). Meanwhile, growth in patient volume may call for recruitment strategies for both physicians and midlevel providers.

Should You Use a Consultant?

Although use of an outside facilitator entails expense, turning to a strategic planning professional has a number of advantages that can contribute greatly to success, especially if you are undertaking strategic planning for the first time. A professional has done this before—many times—and thus can direct the process efficiently. He or she knows how to collect and analyze diverse information—opinions, practice data, and market reports, for example—and present it in a concise way, thereby saving you and your administrator many hours of work. As a moderator, a consultant knows how to keep a group moving forward, prevent it from getting bogged down in side issues, and objectively help participants resolve disagreements and develop effective solutions.

Perhaps the biggest value added by a consultant is guidance in assessing your environment. A well-qualified strategic planning consultant should have a thorough and current knowledge of national trends in medicine as well as detailed knowledge about oncology practice. Regarding your community, although your group naturally knows the local marketplace well, an outsider can provide a fresh and objective perspective; in fact, the familiarity of physicians with the local scene may create blind spots. Similarly, in assessing the strengths and limitations of a group, a consultant can contribute objectivity and should be able to provide national benchmarks for objective comparison.

In choosing a consultant, look for an individual or firm that will contribute valuable knowledge about national reimbursement, patient care, and business initiatives and trends affecting oncology practice. Many management consultant firms offer strategic planning services, but you will be best served by a consultant who has worked with physician practices and has significant recent experience with oncology practice.

Scheduling a Strategic Planning Session: Who, When, and Where

Just as there is no one way to define strategic planning, there is no single way of doing it. Examples and guidelines are presented here that you may draw on to implement a process that makes sense for your practice.

The decision makers of the practice should be the ones who conduct strategic planning. If your practice is so large that including all partners could make a meeting unwieldy, it might make sense to have a smaller group, such as the executive board, do the planning. In addition to shareholders, you may want physician associates and key managers to participate. Inclusion of individuals who are not partners, at least for some parts of the meeting, may also have advantages. This can foster buy-in to the strategic direction, thereby contributing to the success of the resulting action plan. The oncology group at the Toledo Clinic, a large multispecialty center in Toledo, Ohio, found it beneficial to include the executive director of the clinic. By participating, the director gained valuable insight into the special administrative and practice needs of oncology.

Setting aside at least one day for strategic planning is recommended, especially if this is the first time your group has undertaken it. Distribute an agenda ahead of time, and use a moderator to keep the meeting on track. The location should be comfortable and private. The participants must be able to focus solely on strategic planning, without interruption, so arrange to have patient-related calls covered. Members of the Toledo Clinic used a consultant to guide them through strategic planning, and the consultant facilitated a one-day retreat at a country club. The meeting began around 9 am , after physician rounds, and the nurse practitioners of the group provided patient coverage. Other oncology groups may have conference space available in their office. A half-day meeting can be adequate for groups that have been doing strategic planning for many years.

Starting Point: Mission and Values

Developing a mission statement for your practice—a statement of its basic purpose—is the first step of strategic planning and provides the foundation for the entire process. You may think that putting your mission in writing is a bureaucratic waste of time, but in fact, determining how to articulate your mission is a productive experience. It sets the stage for later prioritization, and the process compels the shareholders to reflect on and express the purpose of the practice. Is providing high-quality care to patients with cancer your entire mission? What about research? Does your practice have a mission to serve the community through education? Answering questions such as these helps spell out the core mission of the group.

Once you succinctly define the mission of your organization, you should develop value statements expressing your core beliefs regarding issues such as patient care, interaction with the community, and how members of the practice work together. In the framework of a traditional strategic plan, the mission statement is concisely expressed in not more than one or two sentences, with value statements articulated separately. However, some organizations combine the mission and values into a narrative of one or more paragraphs. The format used is inconsequential; most important is that your group express the enduring elements of your practice, which will form the foundation on which the practice direction and strategies are expounded.

For a practice that is hospital based or part of a larger organization, the mission and values of the group should be consistent with those of the larger organization. Your group may want to state its own distinct mission or simply adopt that of the larger organization, as did the group of nine oncologists affiliated with the Toledo Clinic. “In practices like ours, which are within a larger organization, it's important to support the larger organization's mission,” says Peggy Barton, group manager. “It could lead to confusion if the broad organization and the practice are going in different directions.”

Vision: Where Do You Want to Go?

With the mission and values defined, the next step for the group is determining what kind of practice you want in the future. Again, the words of Yogi Berra apply: “If you don't know where you're going, you'll wind up somewhere else.” A vision statement—whether just a few words or a longer document—creates the desired image of the future state of your practice. Do you want to be recognized for treatment of a certain type of cancer? Is your vision to be the leader in clinical research in your state? Do you want to grow larger and have a network of practice sites? The vision of the group must complement your practice environment, so you may find that your review of internal and external information (described in SWOT Analysis) leads you to revise your vision statement to some extent as you continue planning strategically.

The vision statement for your group should be painted in broad strokes, not in detail, and it should represent the end point, not the strategy for achieving it. For example, your vision may be to provide multidisciplinary services to your community, but your vision statement would not include a specific strategy, such as merging with a certain radiology group or recruiting two physicians. When developing a vision statement, an atmosphere of openness should prevail to encourage creativity and thinking beyond current boundaries.

As in all stages of strategic planning, disagreements may surface. “Different opinions about the direction of a practice are very healthy,” says Guidi. “The ideas might be in conflict, but getting them out on the table helps [you] to see what is really important.”

Barton agrees. “One purpose of the strategic planning meeting was to get everyone in the room at the same time to identify where we agree and disagree and to reach compromise. The process encouraged input from everyone, and the group made some important decisions that have helped them over the past year.”

SWOT Analysis

The SWOT analysis—an assessment of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of your practice—is a staple of strategic planning. This analysis uses a mix of quantitative and qualitative information, most of which should be gathered and analyzed before the planning meeting. The process for gathering information and performing a SWOT analysis varies greatly, and there is no single correct method. The size of the group, the frequency of strategic planning meetings, and how fast changes are taking place both nationally and locally are all significant factors affecting the process.

Internal Assessment: Strengths and Weaknesses

In identifying internal strengths and weaknesses, include hard data such as the number of new consults, cost of drugs per full-time-equivalent physician, and financial reports. It is useful to benchmark aspects of the quality and efficiency of the practice against data on other oncology practices (Sources for Benchmarking Data provides references for locating this information).

If possible, investigate the perceptions of individuals outside the practice—patients, hospital administrators, and referring physicians, for example. A consultant naturally has an advantage in gathering candid assessments from such individuals, unless an anonymous survey is used. How others view the practice can be critical to performing an accurate SWOT analysis, as demonstrated in an experience reported by consultant Guidi. In one practice that had rather long wait times, the physicians believed that the patients did not mind, because “they know that when it's their turn, they'll get just as much attention as the patient before.” But the patients interviewed by Guidi cited long wait times as a top complaint and said they would mention it to others considering the practice for treatment.

Gather qualitative information and opinions from physicians and staff. What do they see as the top issues facing the practice, and what do they consider to be the strengths and weaknesses of the practice? These perspectives can be provided during the meeting, but it is useful to collect information ahead of time, so a larger group can be polled, and anonymity can be assured. Holcombe distributes a questionnaire to solicit information from each physician and also interviews key individuals. Her summary is then reviewed and discussed during the strategic planning retreat.

Sources for Benchmarking Data

• ASCO Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI). http://qopi.asco.org
• Medical Group Management Association: Performance and practices of successful medical groups. www.mgma.com/surveys or call 877-275-6462
• American College of Physicians: Practice management check up: Examining the business health of your practice. www.acponline.org/pmc/new_checkup.htm
• Akscin J, Barr TR, Towle EL: Benchmarking practice operations: Results from a survey of office-based oncology practices. J Oncol Pract 3:9-12, 2007
• Akscin J, Barr TR, Towle EL: Key practice indicators in office-based oncology practices: 2007 report on 2006 data. J Oncol Pract 3:200-203, 2007
• Barr TR, Towle EL, Jordan W: The 2007 National Practice Benchmark: Results of a national survey of oncology practices. J Oncol Pract 4:178-183, 2008

Oncology Associates in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, uses its face-to-face planning meeting to share personal perspectives about the practice. The group is small—currently five oncologists—and has been doing strategic planning for many years. SWOT data for analysis is gathered ahead of time, but at the beginning of the meeting, each physician discusses how he feels about his own practice, including his workload, his satisfaction with the schedule, and other aspects of practice. “With everyone in the room, they all hear each other's perspective, which helps later on when we are talking about the practice as a whole and making decisions about issues such as expanding services or recruiting a new provider,” says Carole Dzingle, practice manager.

A third method is used at the Mark H. Zangmeister Center in Columbus, Ohio. The executive board of the 16-oncologist practice holds an annual strategic planning session. Glenn Balasky, executive director, obtains input from six or seven staff managers and works with the managing partner to complete a SWOT analysis that is presented at the meeting.

External Assessment: Opportunities and Threats

Data about the marketplace of the practice, such as demographics, economic trends, referral patterns, and competition, should be analyzed in light of whether they represent threats or opportunities. In addition to the local picture, the broader environment, including the regional health care system and approaching changes in reimbursement and regulation, should also be assessed. Although the physicians and staff in some groups stay abreast of local, regional, and national trends, a consultant knowledgeable about oncology market forces is often needed to provide an analysis of the environment. The Toledo Clinic found the report on the national picture prepared by the consultant significantly helpful.

Some groups work to keep up with trends on their own through active involvement in state and national oncology societies. The physicians of Oncology Associates are active in ASCO as well as in the Iowa Oncology Society, and the staff managers are involved with organizations such as the Association of Community Cancer Centers and the Medical Group Management Association. Physicians and staff leaders at the Zangmeister Center are involved with the Community Oncology Alliance and other oncology organizations at both national and state levels, and each staff manager actively participates in a professional organization. Monitoring the environment takes energy and commitment, but it produces advantages, according to Balasky. “It pays off in the raw market intelligence we get, and we stay in touch continually rather than having a once-a-year report.”

Developing Strategies

Once a clear picture of the practice and its environment has been established, the group should develop strategic options for moving the practice from its current status toward the desired future position. Be alert to the pitfalls of discussing operational issues and trying to decide on tactics instead of identifying strategies. For example, a strategic decision may be to go forward with implementing an electronic medical record system, but the strategic planning meeting is not the place to discuss available systems, preferred data fields, or training required. Managing these kinds of details will be the responsibility of individuals assigned in the action plan.

In some cases, the SWOT analysis can reveal weaknesses that call for implementing one or more strategic priorities before pursuing others. Practices sometimes realize they need to create the infrastructure necessary to reach their goals. For example, they may not have systems in place to provide data that will be needed to remain competitive.

In other cases, the group may come up with many strategies that need to be prioritized during the meeting or at a subsequent meeting. To narrow down big lists, Guidi describes two approaches that work well when groups meet more than once. One mechanism she uses is to put all the strategies in writing after the first meeting; she then asks individuals via e-mail to score the importance, difficulty, and cost of each strategy on a scale of one to five. In another approach, after one or two brainstorming sessions, Guidi boils down the information to three or four overarching goals for additional discussion by the group. Guidi finds that several short strategic planning sessions are often more productive than is a full- or half-day retreat, and in the end, the shorter sessions call for about the same total hours of physician time.

More Information About Strategic Planning

• Soper WD: The meeting you won't want to miss: Annual strategic planning. www.aafp.org/fpm/20010200/28them.html
• Holcombe D: Strategic planning and retreats for practices. www.dghconsulting.net/images/holcombe_strategic_planning_0908.pdf
• McNamara C: Strategic planning (in nonprofit or for-profit organizations). www.managementhelp.org/plan_dec/str_plan/str_plan.htm

Action Plan

The outcome of developing strategies should be the prioritization of a few (ie, two to five) achievable strategies and creation of related action plans. Many strategic plans have faltered or failed because they were too ambitious or too complex. Do not try to take advantage of every opportunity or address every limitation identified in your SWOT analysis. Some goals may be important but can be scheduled for implementation in a year or two. By having an annual strategic planning meeting to update your plan, these goals will stay in sight and can be addressed successfully.

Create an action plan to address each strategic priority within the next 12 months. Spell out steps to be taken, who will have the lead responsibility, and the milestones that will show progress. For example, a strategy of adding midlevel providers might have a work plan with dates and assignments for finalizing a position description, creating a compensation package, recruiting, hiring, and conducting orientation. A strategy of building a new facility or merging with another practice will ultimately involve complex actions, but initially, the work plan might specify only the steps involved in finding and retaining a consultant to present a business plan by a certain date. Make sure the action plan is in a format that can and will be used by those with responsibility for implementation.

Communicate the strategic goals and action plan to all clinical and administrative staff. Everyone in the practice should know the goals and clearly understand his or her role in implementing strategies to achieve them. Effective communication and cultivation of a team culture are especially important if your strategic planning results in changes or begins moving the practice in a new direction.

Keep in mind that a strategic plan does not have to involve a lot of paperwork or a big report. The mission, values, and vision of the practice should be documented, and the group should revisit them at the beginning of subsequent strategic planning meetings to validate them or make revisions if appropriate. A summary of the SWOT analysis should be included, but this may be brief, with the data that went into it provided as appendices or even stored elsewhere while remaining easily available for updating. The action plan must be available for tracking progress. Your strategic plan must be a living document—a roadmap that guides what happens in your practice on a day-to-day basis—not a report that sits on a shelf.

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Statement from u.s. secretary of commerce wilbur ross on earl comstock, digital trade in north america, women in stem: 2017 update, foreign direct investment in the united states, the employment impact of autonomous vehicles, new insights on retail e-commerce, american workforce policy advisory board, share this page.

Certification of Health IT

Health information technology advisory committee (hitac), health equity, hti-1 final rule, information blocking, interoperability, patient access to health records, clinical quality and safety, health it and health information exchange basics, health it in health care settings, health it resources, laws, regulation, and policy, onc funding opportunities, onc hitech programs, privacy, security, and hipaa, scientific initiatives, standards & technology, usability and provider burden, draft 2024-2030 federal health it strategic plan.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC), released the draft 2024-2030 Federal Health IT Strategic Plan for public comment. The draft plan was developed in collaboration with more than 25 federal organizations that regulate, purchase, develop, and use health IT to help deliver care and improve patient health. 

2024-2030 Draft Federal Health IT Strategic Plan [PDF - 2.3 MB]

The draft plan defines a set of goals, objectives, and strategies the federal government will pursue to improve health experiences and outcomes for individuals, populations, and communities while also promoting opportunities for improving health equity, advancing scientific discovery and innovation, and modernizing the nation’s public health infrastructure. The draft plan also places an emphasis on addressing the policy and technology components essential for securely catering to the diverse data requirements of all health IT users. 

The final 2024-2030 strategic plan will serve as a roadmap for federal agencies and a catalyst for alignment outside the federal government. Federal organizations will be able to utilize the final plan to prioritize resources, align and coordinate efforts across agencies, signal priorities to the private sector, and benchmark and assess progress over time. 

ONC encourages review and comments on the draft plan. Please submit your comments via our feedback form . Attachments should be in Microsoft Word, Excel, PPT, or Adobe PDF format. The comment period is open for 60 days and the deadline for submission is May 28, 2024 at 11:59:59 PM ET .  

Submit Comments

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Baha Azimirad joined the Senior Executive Service in 2023 as the Director of the Policy and Planning Staff (PPS) within the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO). He oversees business operations of OCIO’s more than $750 million annual budget.  PPS provides leadership and expertise across the Department in the areas of IT budget, finance, procurement, policy, strategic planning, workforce management, and program oversight. Mr. Azimirad spent more than 20 years supporting the federal government in analysis and leadership positions at industry firms such as Deloitte Consulting, BearingPoint, and Lockheed Martin Corporation. He has served the Department for the past 15 years, working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Justice Management Division, and U.S. Marshals Service. Mr. Azimirad received a Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland Global Campus and Bachelor of Science in Finance from the Catholic University of America.

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• The following considerations for a Legionnaires' disease outbreak investigation aren't exhaustive.
• They're intended to help epidemiologists and other public health personnel make decisions as they investigate common outbreak scenarios.

The investigative steps described on this page aren't linear. Public health personnel may have already performed several steps during their routine evaluation of Legionnaires’ disease case reports. Many steps will occur simultaneously or in a sequence that varies during the course of an investigation.

Every outbreak investigation is unique. Each requires careful planning and periodic reassessments to determine the most appropriate response. Give consideration to personnel, resources, or other competing priorities within the state, territorial, or local health department.

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In general, state, territorial, and local health departments are best positioned to provide oversight for each step of the investigation process. This oversight helps ensure adherence to public health recommendations.

However, health departments without the necessary resources to conduct every step may defer certain responsibilities to the building owner/manager. For example, the health department may not have personnel with environmental expertise specific to Legionella or particular equipment.

In some situations, hiring professionals with specific expertise in managing Legionella may also be helpful for building owners. See these factors to consider when working with Legionella consultants .

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The first step is to determine if a full investigation is needed.

The terms "outbreak investigation" and "full investigation" are used interchangeably. The steps of an outbreak investigation are the same for a full investigation in response to a single, presumptive healthcare-associated case.

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Once public health personnel determine a full investigation is needed, a series of steps should take place.

Collect case information

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Develop a line list of cases associated with the common exposure setting or geographic area. Download CDC's line list templates .

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Conduct active case surveillance to identify new cases as quickly as possible. Learn why it's also important for healthcare facilities .

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Consider recommendations for restricting water exposures or other immediate control measures .

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Pentagon Official: Partnerships Key to Bolstering Defense Industry, Meeting Warfighting Needs

The Defense Department remains focused on working with allies to build robust defense production capabilities, the Pentagon's top acquisition official said yesterday.  

In testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee's Defense Subcommittee, William A. LaPlante, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, said the war in Ukraine has underscored the value of countries working together to produce key munitions. 

He noted DOD's work with European allies to co-produce 155 mm artillery shells — a capability that remains in high demand on the front lines of Ukraine.  

Spotlight: Support for Ukraine

The U.S., he said, is beginning to apply those lessons to other weapons systems as a key strategy to deter conflict across the globe. The Army plans to begin co-producing on Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System and Precision Strike Missile munitions with key allies. The U.S. will also soon partner with Japan of the development and production on the next generation of missile defense interceptors.  

"That's where this is all headed," LaPlante said. "You're going to see much more co-production, co-development and co-sustainment with allies and partners."  

The trend is driven in part by a recognition among allies of the need to shore up their defense industrial bases. 

"Allies and partners are recognizing — in Europe and in [the] Indo-Pacific — that they need an industrial base, basically restart," LaPlante said. "For all of the criticism that we give ourselves, rightfully so, they're envious of what the United States has been able to do. We're talking to each of these countries." 

Spotlight: Focus on Indo-Pacific

This recognition comes as Russia and other potential adversaries dramatically increase their weapons output.  

"We're all monitoring, both in open source and other places, what is Russia doing [with] its industrial base," LaPlante said. "We saw that Putin just replaced his minister of defense with an economist. I think a lot of us have taken away that this is not — they're not in it for the short term." 

He said estimates now place Russia's military spending at 7% of their gross domestic product, a substantial increase over previous years.  

"They're on a wartime footing," he said.  

Analysts have also noted a steep rise in China's military output in recent years, emphasizing the Chinese Communist Party's military-civil fusion development strategy under its aim of building an advanced military capable of projecting power globally. 

Defense officials have long recognized the critical role defense acquisition and sustainment plays in deterring conflict. 

LaPlante said yesterday that the Defense Department has focused on effectively capturing the most pressing needs of the warfighter and improving its ability to rapidly field key capabilities through acquisition pathways that aim to reduce bureaucracy.  

He also underscored the need to send a steady demand signal to the defense industrial base to ensure the right workforce and production capabilities remain in place to meet warfighter needs.  

"When you're talking about acquisition, there's really three legs to the stool," he said. "One leg is acquisition, which is the contract. The second is the requirement, and this is about [...] getting what the department needs right for the warfighter. And the third is having money in the right year. 

"Those three legs of the stool — moving across all three in an agile fashion — is the secret of really effective acquisition," he said.

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Treasury announces 2024 national illicit finance strategy.

Strategy Highlights Recent Reforms to Close Loopholes Exploited by Illicit Actors; Recommendations Include Increasing Transparency, Leveraging Partnerships, and Supporting Responsible Technological Innovation 

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued the 2024 National Strategy for Combatting Terrorist and Other Illicit Financing (2024 Strategy), which provides a blueprint of the U.S. government’s goals, objectives, and priorities to disrupt and prevent illicit financial activities. The 2024 Strategy addresses the key risks from the  2024 National Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and Proliferation Financing Risk Assessments (2024 National Risk Assessments) and details how the United States will build on recent historic efforts to modernize the U.S. anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime, enhance operational effectiveness in combating illicit actors, and embrace technological innovation to mitigate risks.

“In this critical moment for our national and economic security, we need to continue to close the pathways that illicit actors seek to exploit for their schemes,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson. “We recognize the threat illicit financial activity represents to our national security, economic prosperity, and our democratic values, and are focused on addressing both the challenges of today and emerging concerns.”

The 2024 Strategy addresses key illicit finance threats related to large-scale fraud schemes, potent ransomware attacks, an opioid-driven overdose epidemic, foreign and domestic terrorist attacks, corruption, and illicit exploitation of technological advances in payments and financial products and services. Hamas’ financing of its brutal terrorist attack on Israel and Russia’s financing of its continued full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including Russian elites’ support for the war, demonstrate how key threats to national security can exploit vulnerabilities in the U.S. and global financial system. The 2024 Strategy reflects the commitment of the Biden administration to protect the U.S. financial system from these threats by closing illicit finance pathways and strengthening supervision and enforcement mechanisms.

The 2024 Strategy identifies four priorities and 15 supporting actions to guide U.S. government efforts. The four priority recommendations are:

• close legal and regulatory gaps in the U.S. AML/CFT framework that illicit actors exploit to anonymously access the U.S. financial system by operationalizing the beneficial ownership information registry for law enforcement, national security, and intelligence use; finalizing rules related to the residential real estate and investment adviser sectors; and assessing other sectors that may be vulnerable to illicit finance;
• promote a more effective and risk-focused U.S. AML/CFT regulatory and supervisory framework for financial institutions to make them more efficient and effective in preventing illicit finance by providing clear compliance guidance, sharing information appropriately, and ensuring adequate resourcing for supervisory and enforcement functions; 
• enhance the operational effectiveness of law enforcement, other U.S. government agencies, and international partnerships in combating illicit finance so threat actors cannot find safe havens for their operations; and 
• realize the benefits of responsible technological innovation in the United States by developing new payments technology, supporting the use of new mechanisms for private sector compliance, and utilizing automation and innovation to find novel ways to combat illicit finance.

The 2024 Strategy, along with the 2024 National Risk Assessments, aims to support the public and private sectors in effectively focusing resources against the most significant illicit finance risks to the U.S. financial system. Treasury’s Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes prepared the 2024 Strategy in consultation with office and bureaus in the Treasury Department, and the agencies, bureaus, and departments of the federal government that also have roles in combating illicit finance.

Click here to read the 2024 National Strategy for Combatting Terrorist and Other Illicit Financing .