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February 1, 2004
I am pleased to announce the successful completion of the Marine Biological Laboratory's first strategic planning initiative and to declare the process a great success, thanks in large part to the participation and commitment of hundreds of members of the MBL Community. This letter describes the two-year effort, summarizes the recommendations that arose from various strategic planning task forces and were endorsed by the Board of Trustees, and notes the steps we've already begun taking towards implementing a very ambitious, yet achievable, 10-year vision for this institution.
Initial Steps
The satisfactory completion of the Marine Biological Laboratory's Capital Campaign in December 2000 and the recognition that the Laboratory was in a strong position financially, programmatically, and spiritually created a climate conducive to contemplation. As a result, the Board of Trustees decided in 2001 to begin a review process that would result in the creation of a five- to ten-year strategic vision for the MBL.
The Board asked MBL President John Dowling and me to assume responsibility for directing the planning process and selected the international consulting firm of McKinsey and Company to assist us in the effort. In commissioning the strategic plan, the Board asked that we assess both the reputation and the impact of the MBL within the broader scientific community. They asked us to develop a clear vision for how we will maintain and build on our research and educational strengths. This includes our aspirations for areas we will focus on, a description of how we will organize, and a plan to meet our financial requirements.
During the first phase of the process we established a 19-person Steering Committee composed largely of members of the MBL Board of Trustees. The McKinsey group also interviewed individuals representing the MBL's various constituencies to gather background data on the laboratory and perspectives on MBL strategy today and in the future.
In early November of 2001, the Steering Committee met for the first time. We discussed the preliminary data gathered by the McKinsey team and developed a set of shared beliefs and values that would help focus the planning process.
Shared Beliefs
• The MBL is a year-round institution
• The summer research and education programs set the MBL apart from every other institution in the world
• The MBL should make a disproportionate contribution to the advancement of the biological sciences
• MBL leadership should actively enhance the collaborative strength of the institution
• External talent should be more proactively recruited
• The MBL should focus on building its external reputation
• The MBL should continue to build the effectiveness of its governing bodies
• Growth of the MBL should be managed to ensure the Laboratory retains the culture and character that allow it to make its unique contributions to science
• Growth of the MBL must be done in a way that is consistent with the local environment and sensitive to the Woods Hole community
Building on these shared beliefs, the Committee also developed a vision statement designed to help guide the Laboratory's strategy in the years to come.
Vision Statement
Our aspiration is to be recognized for having a disproportionate impact on the advancement of biological sciences that improve the human condition. The MBL will achieve this impact in two, interdependent, ways:
• Driving fundamental advances in biological sciences through both resident and visiting research. The MBL will target areas where it has (or can reasonably develop) a distinctive position that benefits from the collaborative and cross-disciplinary strengths of the MBL.
• Catalyzing the scientific careers and contributions of the most promising and important scientists in the biological sciences by providing a unique opportunity to interact with leading scientists and collaborate across disciplines. The MBL's educational programs, its research programs, and its scientific interactions are all expected to contribute to this mission.
Task Forces Established
Phase I
During the spring of 2002, three task forces were established and charged with addressing a series of "researchable questions" regarding the laboratory's research and educational programs. The first, charged with looking at the resident research programs, recommended that our year-round research initiatives be developed following the Center model and that within five to ten years the MBL host four major resident research Centers in the broad fields of molecular (Bay Paul Center), cellular (a proposed Cell Dynamics and Imaging Center), organismal (Marine Resources Center), and systems science (The Ecosystems Center). Joint Ph.D. programs should be developed to provide a source of graduate students for these Centers, and interdisciplinary research opportunities should be fostered among centers, with the education program, and among summer and visiting scientists. Finally, industrial alliances should be encouraged and functional services such as animal care, sequencing, imaging, and information technology, etc. should be linked to a center but administered to assure availability to the entire community.
A second task force explored ways to ensure continued excellence in education. It recommended that the MBL focus on graduate and post-graduate education year-round, with the understanding that some undergraduate programs may exist. It strongly suggested that we establish a joint Ph.D. program(s) to provide a source of graduate students for our research programs, requiring a restructuring of the administrative organization that oversees education and the hiring of a Dean/Provost. In addition, the scope of the Education Committee's assessment responsibilities should be broadened to cover all educational activities. Rigorous assessment criteria must be developed to ensure the distinctiveness and impact of MBL courses relative to the MBL's overall mission. Finally, the task force noted that institutional support for the education program should be expanded, especially in the areas of leadership, administrative support, housing and transportation, and modernized facilities.
A third task force looked at attracting the next generation of scientists to the summer and visiting research program. The group strongly encouraged the MBL to leverage the existing strength and uniqueness of the summer research program, which has made us world famous. We must also create more favorable conditions to attract the next generation of scientists by encouraging collaboration among scientists. This task force said this could be accomplished by focusing on major research themes; attracting new magnet scientists to move beyond current activities; providing additional fellowship funds; renovating the Whitman building; and developing a plan to address governance and administrative support issues for this activity.
Phase II
During the summer of 2002 four additional task forces were established to build on the work of the earlier groups. A task force on governance was charged with recommending refinements to the MBL’s governance and administrative structure. It recommended creating a Center for Summer/Visiting Research and hiring a part-time director for that program; codifying the process by which Centers are established, reviewed and terminated; eliminating the Board of Overseers, which duplicates the efforts of the Decennial Review Committee; hiring a Chief Scientific and Academic Officer and broadening the scope of the Education Committee so they are responsible for all undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate educational activities at the Laboratory; expanding the number of Trustees to create flexibility and enhance fundraising capabilities; further defining the role of the President of the Corporation; restructuring the Standing Committees of the Board of Trustees; and affirming that the Science Council serves in an advisory capacity to the Director/CEO.
Another task force was asked to recommend affiliations to support the proposed graduate program and the overall mission of the Laboratory. The group suggested that we begin the process of becoming a degree-granting institution by amending the MBL Charter to allow us to grant degrees and beginning the accreditation process with New England Association of Schools and Colleges. It also recommended that we begin negotiations with potential affiliates.
A third task force on facilities was charged with developing a preliminary plan for expanding or modifying facilities, housing, and support services, based on the data produced earlier in the strategic planning process. The group recommended drafting a comprehensive site master plan for the campus that takes into consideration strategic planning initiatives yet recognizes the unique quality of life issues within the Woods Hole community; renovating the Whitman, Loeb, and Swope buildings; providing additional off-campus housing and parking; creating a new animal care facility; and reconfiguring the Library to accommodate new digital library initiatives and information commons area, moving under-utilized materials off site, and providing additional research and office space. The issues addressed by this task force are ongoing, and will continue to be discussed by members of the Trustees' Campus Planning and Physical Assets Committee.
Finally, a fourth task force on finances was asked to quantify financial requirements and funding options to facilitate an informed prioritization of resources relative to the strategic vision. The group developed a flexible model to determine what it will cost to implement various components of the strategic plan and the requirements to sustain the program efforts. A final financial analysis will not be available until decisions concerning facilities and programs are finalized, however initial estimates indicate that we will need to embark on a campaign to raise at least $100 million to fund the priorities emerging from the strategic planning effort. Again, the work of this group is ongoing and is now being addressed by the Trustees' Finance Committee.
Objectives Established
The Trustees have endorsed the Task Forces’ overarching assessment that our three core activities—Visiting (Summer) Research, Resident Research, and Education—are key to the future of the institution. They also agree that these activities need to be strengthened with respect to quality and impact and should be more closely linked, reinforcing one of the MBL’s most treasured traits—the personal interactions across disciplines and generations—and bolstering initiatives in one area with the capabilities of the others. The Board believes that the MBL leadership must be more rigorous in determining whether a proposed research activity or new course meets the tests of distinctiveness and furthers our goal towards having a disproportionate impact on
the advancement of the biological sciences.
Resident Research
Specifically, the Board recognizes that our resident research program will be an increasingly important part of the MBL’s mission over the coming decade. We envision growing from a core group of 31 PIs to 45 PIs over the next ten years. Our research will focus on areas in which the MBL can lead and will be built around centers and programs that have the critical mass to meet the impact test. The current plan is to add two centers—one in Cell Dynamics and another in Marine Resources—to the two that currently exist (Bay Paul and Ecosystems). We recognize that some research activities will continue to exist outside of these centers, but our intent is to cluster the MBL’s investments in PI positions and fundraising around these four major areas.
Because The Ecosystems Center is already well established, growth here will be modest, with the number of PIs increasing from 11 to 14 over the next ten years. This Center will continue to build upon its talented and highly interactive set of researchers in the areas of coastal zone studies, global climate change, conservation, and ecological policy.
Much of the MBL’s growth in resident research will occur at the interfaces of molecular evolution, biodiversity, and parasitology, the aim being to catalyze research activities across the Woods Hole community. We anticipate that the total research staff of the Bay Paul Center will more than double over the next ten years, growing from 5 to 12 PIs. Much of this growth will be in the area of global infectious disease.
The MBL will build on its strong tradition of cellular imaging by establishing a new Center that pulls together researchers focused on understanding the chemistry and biophysics of the living cell. The growth of this program will likely take advantage of the MBL’s close ties with commercial leaders in instrumentation.
Finally, we anticipate that growth in the programs within the Marine Resources building over the next decade will result in those combined programs being given Center status. We will continue to take advantage of our unique facilities and location by focusing on integrative organismal biology of marine animals and continue to provide them as models for research and education. Growth in this area could be significant, especially among the non-PI research staff, with a focus on scientific aquaculture, behavioral ecology, population genetics,
and conservation.
Education
The MBL’s activities in Education will increase significantly in the next decade and will focus on graduate and post-graduate education. MBL will develop a joint Ph.D. program with one or more leading degree-granting institutions, and, when fully established, anticipate hosting up to 25 graduate students a year. To ensure distinctiveness in graduate education, we will implement an upgraded leadership and administrative approach and rigorously evaluate the quality of all educational activities at the MBL.
Visiting Research
Along with the growth in resident research and graduate education, it is critical that the MBL retain its traditional source of distinctiveness—the summer and visiting research program. To ensure critical mass in the most important and exciting areas of science, we will cluster summer research activities, whenever appropriate, in collaborative groups established around themes and perhaps “magnet” scientists. The Whitman building, and eventually the Loeb building, will be renovated to ensure that the MBL remains an attractive and effective home for visiting science and education.
Meeting The Objectives
In December 2002, with the approval of the Board of Trustees, we established a list of objectives for the next 18 to 24 months. I’m pleased to report that we have already made significant progress towards meeting these objectives.
During the spring of 2003, Clerk of the Corporation Thomas Crane worked with us to rewrite the MBL’s bylaws to enable us to meet some of the needs of the strategic vision. These changes, which were voted by the Trustees in July, include expanding the number of Trustees.
The MBL began exploring affiliations with a number of institutions. In the summer of 2003 we signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish an affiliation with Brown University to develop a joint graduate program in biological and environmental science at the MBL. We expect to admit the program’s first graduate students in Fall 2004.
We also began the search for a Chief Academic and Scientific Officer (CASO). The CASO will report to the Director and CEO and will oversee all research and educational programs at the MBL. I am pleased to announce that William Beers will serve as the MBL’s first Chief Academic and Scientific Officer. He will join the staff in the spring of 2004.
The Board of Trustees agreed that the Whitman building should be renovated and expanded and authorized the hiring of an architect. In March 2003, the MBL selected the architectural firm of Tsoi/Kobus & Associates of Cambridge, MA. The Board also agreed to create the Whitman Center for summer and visiting research and asked that an interim director of the Whitman Center be appointed and an advisory committee be established to help with the redesign effort. In the fall of 2003, summer investigator Robert Goldman of Northwestern University agreed to serve as Director of the Whitman Center.
With preliminary designs for the Whitman renovation in hand and approval from the Board of Trustees, we will now begin fundraising for the project, which is currently estimated to cost $20 million, including a program endowment and building maintenance fund. We must have a considerable portion of these funds raised before construction can begin. If fundraising is successful, we hope to begin renovating the Whitman Building in the spring of 2005. The project is being designed and scheduled in a way that will minimize the impact on summer research activities even during actual construction.
Our efforts to establish a Cellular Dynamics Center, which will build on the MBL’s strong tradition of cellular imaging, has begun. A committee, chaired by John Dowling, has been established to better define this initiative and to begin searching for a Director for this program. We hope to have this new Center established by the end of 2004.
In response to the recommendation that visiting science be organized when possible around themes, summer investigators began establishing research “clusters” in the Whitman Center during the summer of 2003. These groups included the Neural Imaging Cluster, the Clam Cluster, and the Innate Immunity Cluster. More clusters are being proposed for 2004. The MBL has also established, with the help of the Grass Foundation, The Neuroscience Institute. The goal of this virtual institute is to bring all of neuroscience at the MBL under a central umbrella to foster collaboration and promote the presence, prominence and growth of neuroscience at the MBL.
Finally, we have engaged Tsoi-Kobus & Associates to help us develop a ten-year site master plan for the campus, both in the village and on a 29-acre parcel between Fay and Oyster Pond Roads. The site plan will help us consider ways to reconfigure and renovate space to meet the scientific needs outlined in the strategic plan. A preliminary site plan was presented and approved by the Board of Trustees at their November 8, 2003, meeting.
Conclusion
I want to thank the many individuals who participated in the Strategic Planning process. This plan is clearly a work in progress, something that is likely to evolve with time. However, it should provide the Laboratory with a useful roadmap as we move forward. As always, your thoughts and comments are most welcome.
Best Wishes for the New Year,
William T. Speck
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