Innovation-Driven Enhancements for Advancement (IDEA-SIG)

The Innovation-Driven Enhancements for Advancement Scientific Interest Group (IDEA-SIG) provides a platform and safe space for the development of creative ideas through the exchange of information among NIH employees who have training and/or an interest in leadership/management/business acumen. The mission of the group is to offer NIH faculty, staff, and trainees an opportunity to network, problem-solve and gain access to business and management ideas, approaches, and analyses that can be used to address current challenges at the NIH and beyond. Techniques the group will employ include, but not limited to, the 3-lenses approach, five forces analysis, catalytic questioning, cooperative conversations, go and see approach, understanding the jobs-to-be-done, question bursts, dynamic work design, collaborative iteration, adaptable visions and challenge driven leadership for transformational change.

The full group meets every other month on the NIH Bethesda campus and maintains a listserv for more frequent communication between meetings. Meetings are available on Zoom. Smaller project based working groups are advised to meet as needed. Presentation formats and topics may include (but are not limited to): leadership and management strategies and approaches, case studies, guest speakers, and panel discussions. The group is open to NIH employees at all levels and from all backgrounds. Special attention is paid to inclusion of postdocs, clinical trainees, staff scientists/clinicians, and administrative leadership and staff but also to principal investigators interested in gaining knowledge and experience relevant to scientific leadership positions.

Background
The Innovation Driven Enterprise-wide Advancements Scientific Interest Group (IDEA-SIG) was established in April 2021. It was founded by Michael A. Solomon, MD, MBA (Senior Research Physician, CC), Andrew Mannes, MD, MBA (Chief, Perioperative Medicine, CC), and Jessica Chertow, PhD (Deputy Scientific Director, NHLBI), who all serve on the Steering Committee.

Purpose
The Innovation Driven Enterprise-wide Advancements Scientific Interest Group (IDEA-SIG) will cultivate and connect those with discovery skills, delivery skills and the courage to innovate (delivery-oriented innovators and discovery-oriented executors) and has three main purposes:

1. To offer crowd sourcing opportunities to help solve present day challenges at the NIH.
2. To offer a platform to share information on leadership practices, business acumen, innovation and entrepreneurship.
3. To lead across boundaries by promoting psychological safe spaces, building networks, enabling knowledge sharing, fostering an adaptable vision and encouraging collaborative iteration.

The IDEA-SIG will offer opportunities for diverse groups of people with varied backgrounds and experiences to collaborate in order to creatively solve problems that are brought to the attention of the group through various channels (i.e., from group members, from non-group individuals, from front-line staff to leadership). Guidelines for project selection and member engagement will be available. All proposed projects will be vetted and approved by the Steering Committee of this group.

Aims
The aims of the IDEA-SIG include:

• Identify opportunities to work on challenges that will result in recommendations to leadership at various levels and sectors
• To create and capture value for NIH employees and the NIH leadership
• Categorizing and coordinating information about relevant leadership, management, business tools, research, and training resources (i.e., website or dashboard)
• Communicating opportunities for training and mentorship
• Identifying opportunities for collaboration and possible partnerships
• Encouraging the development of Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) including standard language and review criteria
• Creating an IDEA-SIG website (public access), email, listserv, and Teams site (listserv and Teams site are internal use only) to share information about lectures, studies, and related items of interest to enhance communication.
• Hosting an IDEA-SIG Seminar Series
• Developing IDEA-SIG Networking Events
• Steering Committee

The Steering Committee will act as the overarching leadership group of the IDEA-SIG. Steering Committee members are (alphabetical order):

Jessica Chertow, PhD, Executive MBA candidate (’23) — jessica.chertow@nih.gov
Andrew Mannes, MD, MBA — amannes@mail.nih.gov
Michael A. Solomon, MD, MBA — msolomon@cc.nih.gov