What happened in Space Life Sciences and how did we respond to it?

Jeffrey R. Davis, MD

Strategic Development and Open Innovation in Space Life Sciences

The mission of NASA Space Life Sciences is to optimize human health and productivity

for space exploration. We aim to develop

a complete human system for spaceflight.

Jeffrey R. Davis, MD3

• Vision for Space Exploration > new goals• Approach driven by reduced/scarce resources (after

2005 R&D budget reduction)• Visioning exercise > future scenario to seek

alliances to complete our life sciences capabilities• Rapid external pace of change requires

collaboration to facilitate innovation

Background to Change

Jeffrey R. Davis, MD

Strategic Goals

• SLSD identified four key goals in the strategic plan:– The definition and management of the SLSD portfolio– To drive advances in health innovations– To drive advances in human system technologies– To ensure multidisciplinary life sciences training, a legacy of life

science expertise, and an infusion of space life science into all aspects of spaceflight

Jeffrey R. Davis, MD

Challenges for the Future

• SLSD identified seven challenges to accomplishing the goals:

– How to identify external technologies/innovation more quickly and effectively– How to encourage internal collaboration and inter-disciplinary innovation– How to overcome the norm of single-discipline ownership of risks and

stove-piping of solutions– How to incentivize organizational boundary crossing– How to partner externally in a cost-contained environment– How to demonstrate value to our customers (flight

programs and space flight crews)– How to create a definitive repository of knowledge that captures the current

state of evidence

Jeffrey R. Davis, MD

Strategies for Change

• Leadership chose to pursue strategic alliances that could– Build the directorate’s technical skill base– Meet our deliverables

• Communication > biggest opportunity for change• The six key strategies for change identified included:

– Adopting an integrated human system risk management approach– Developing and maintaining core capabilities and core competencies– Establishing strategic relationships– Developing and implementing an improved business model– Improving our customer focus– Enhancing internal and external communication

Jeffrey R. Davis, MD7

• Purpose > medical operations + biomedical research + habitability/environmental factors = human system

• Parallel focus on strategy of risk management to integrate and improve current services

Strategy Execution

Jeffrey R. Davis, MD

Health and Medical Technical Authority

• Established in spring 2006 at JSC to provide technical expertise and oversight to – 2 flight programs (SSP and ISS)– 1 development program (CxP)– 1 research and development program (HRP)

• Life sciences = engineering, safety and mission assurance

Jeffrey R. Davis, MD

Spaceflight Human Systems Standards

• Developed by JSC at OCHMO direction• Owned at the agency level > strengthened life sciences

by having agency level technical standards, policy and oversight

– Volume 1 (Crew Health)– Volume 2 (Habitability and Environmental Health)– Volume 3: Crew Medical Standards (certification and re-certification of

astronauts)

Jeffrey R. Davis, MD

Risk Management

• IOM > evidence-based Risk Management approach with a Risk Management Analysis Tool (RMAT)

• SLSD developed 90 key human system risks across three primary human spaceflight threats: – remote deployment (medical care, behavioral health & performance)– closed/hostile environment (air/water/radiation, etc.) – hyper/hypo gravity (physiological changes to human body)

Jeffrey R. Davis, MD

Benchmarking

• “Our job is to find the best solution, not do all of the work ourselves”

• JSC Center Director required all directors to benchmark against at least two organizations with best practices in the director’s technical portfolio

• SLSD partnered with Advanced Planning Office• Benchmarked with ~20 external academic, industrial, and

government organizations– All are skilled at forming/maintaining alliances– All identified collaboration as means to facilitate innovation and

remain competitive

Jeffrey R. Davis, MD12

Harvard Business School (HBS) approach

Managing Innovation

architectural innovation (incremental/CPI

innovation of large organizations)

disruptive innovation (more characteristic of

smaller, startup organizations)

The Human System OrganizationEvolution of Change

SLSD

Human SystemRisk Board (HSRB)

DevelopmentTeams

Disruptive Innovation(New Org, Part of Org?)- Flexible- Fast-“Out of the Box”- High Risk- Fail Forward, Fail Fast, Fail Often (Failure is Acceptable)

New Org (Structural)- Flat- Integrated- Aligned Incentives- Delivery of best product- Value Proposition- “Failure Not an Option”

SEIO

SEIO

Management Tag+

Strategic Portfolio Forum

TODAY DEMONSTRATION/LEARNING

FUTURE STATE

Jeffrey R. Davis, MD

SEIO: Strategy Execution and Implementation

• Institutionalize the strategic efforts with team support: – Strategic alliances (original strategic portfolio team);– Human system integration (Human System Risk Board)– Innovation (four new teams)– Education (continuation of the original education team)– Communication (new team, major opportunity for change)

Jeffrey R. Davis, MD

Human System Risk Board

• Forum to integrate research + operations • Forum to implement risk management approach to the risks• Chaired by the JSC CMO with active participation of HRP

program manager• Integration by mutual agreement and joint decision-making• Approach > embodiment of the incremental organizational

innovation of products for existing customers• Culture = risk-averse “failure is not an option”

Jeffrey R. Davis, MD

Innovation Teams

• Capacity for “disruptive innovation” = quickly develop more radical innovative solutions to existing technical/research/service gaps

• Culture = “fail forward, fail fast, fail often”• 4 cross-disciplinary innovation development teams were

formed: • Open innovation• Venture entrepreneurship/industry engagement• Institutional change/barriers• Social innovation

Jeffrey R. Davis, MD17

• Develop hybrid organization to manage current work and future innovation successfully

• Change parent organization’s barriers into the innovative organization’s enablers

• Portfolio mapping exercise (July 7) with Dr. Gary Pisano to map our resource gaps into open or closed, hierarchical or flat solutions

• Outcome > rationalized internal and external portfolio, with maximum leverage of external development in the commercial world

Next Steps

Questions?