Ross & Associates Environmental Consulting, Ltd.

For several years, Ross & Associates has provided strategic planning services for EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality. For example, Ross & Associates conducted a strategic assessment of OTAQ’s activities and emerging new priorities following a period in which the office had completed many of the required regulations mandated under the Clean Air Act of 1990. As such, the strategic direction needed for OTAQ to continue to achieve its mission was likely to require significant organizational and tactical change. Ross & Associates helped in the design of an agenda for a two-day retreat of OTAQ’s senior management and leadership, facilitated the meeting, and tracked the follow-up implementation of the strategic directions resulting from the meeting. One aspect of this follow up included conducting subsequent strategic retreats for several of the divisions within OTAQ, including:

• Facilitation of annual strategic planning retreats for the Transportation and Climate Division, which involve 1-2 day retreats, interviews with all staff, and identification of key strategic discussion topics (2006-2008).
• Facilitation of the Certification and Compliance Division’s strategic planning meeting with senior level staff to identify five-year strategic Division Goals, as well as management and organizational structures and practices, that afforded the greatest opportunity to achieve strategic goals (2004).
• Facilitation of the Laboratory Operations Division (LOD) strategic planning meeting (2003).