Safety and Risk Management Intranet

Presidential Metrics

I wanted to take a moment to to let you know that at least some part of what we do is a priority of Dr. Rao’s and is being tracked as one of Meredith Weiss’ metrics of performance. In much the same way that all of us have cascading goals, Meredith meets quarterly with the President and the status of each of her performance metrics is discussed. The inclusion of BioRaft implementation as one of her performance metrics was her idea and for the first time in my career, something I’m responsible for – other than something blowing up or catching on fire – has Presidential visibility. Please see below for the exact language:

 

Key Presidential Priority?	Priority and Goal	THRESHOLD Minimum Expectation	TARGET Meets Expectation	MAXIMUM Exceeds Expectation
YES	Accessible and Real-World Learning in an Urban Research University. Efforts to support and promote the transformation of the educational learning experience at VCU (through academics, technology, and/or human resource initiatives)	25% implementation of BioRaft Management Software for research laboratories that will allow inventory control; inspection finding management; and compliance controls accessible by researchers across the enterprise.	50% implementation of BioRaft Management Software for research laboratories that will allow inventory control; inspection finding management; and compliance controls accessible by researchers across the enterprise.	80% implementation of BioRaft Management Software for research laboratories that will allow inventory control; inspection finding management; and compliance controls accessible by researchers across the enterprise.

 

Why is this important? Because when researchers and others ask why they have to do this, we should start with the fact that it’s a valuable tool that will ultimately make their management of the laboratory easier. However, for the truly recalcitrant, perhaps letting them know that this is a Presidential priority may be helpful. The unintended consequence though is that we have to perform. We have to do everything in our power to make sure that what we said we’re going to do actually gets done.

You have the more difficult task of dealing with the researchers and others of the University community on a daily basis. I understand that I’m pretty far removed from that reality .. I haven’t done a laboratory or facility inspection in 15 years. You’re the experts on how to implement the President’s goal and I’m sorry you’re the ones tasked with implementing something that is such a drastic cultural change for our community. However, I hope you understand that this is ultimately a good process that will improve our support of VCU. We have to be champions of this process.