At the request of the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the NIH has prepared this response setting forth the actions she can take to simplify personnel administration at the NIH. The NIH believes that the personnel system is one of the greatest impediments to the effective management of its research mission. Significant simplification of this system can be achieved within the Department, even absent legislation to overhaul the Civil Service System. This response to the Secretary describes a process for achieving this end that will ensure compliance with Civil Service laws and regulations and accountability for affirmative action results. Quality control will be accomplished through program oversight, training of managers and supervisors, and development of decision support systems to aid in management decisions. Because of the imminent consolidation of the Office of the Secretary (OS) and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH), this document recommends reduction and elimination of limitations on NIH personnel and human resource management delegations or authority and NIH3 ability to design a system tailored to the needs of its research mission.
             This document first places the request in context by describing a strategic human resource management approach for the NIH that is consistent with its need for flexibility and responsiveness to ensure that the research mission is advanced. The report then describes five general areas in which the Secretary can assist. First are general delegations of authority, where the NIH requests the ability to determine when and to what levels personnel authorities should be delegated. The report then requests Secretarial approval of a number of requests that would simplify personnel administration for line managers, such as simplification of DHHS rules on classification. Next the report outlines delegations that would permit the NIH to develop human resource programs more respons...