CSIRO in transition

Reported to be the biggest restructure in a decade, the current proposed plans for rearranging the CSIRO look set to reduce the complexity of the organisation’s management and reinstate collaboration.

According to the CSIRO Staff Association, the proposed new structure would collapse the Matrix organisational system introduced by previous CEO Geoff Garrett.

The Matrix structure currently sits over the 11 research divisions and two national research flagships and has long been maligned by CSIRO staff as inefficient and fragmenting in terms of team building and collaboration.

The new structure would replace the research divisions with nine new flagships and will ideally support research teams in multidisciplinary work. 

In an interview with CEO Dr Megan Clark last week, the Australian Financial Review reported that the nine new flagships will be agricultural productivity, future manufacturing, digital productivity and services, energy, mineral resources, oceans and atmosphere, food and nutrition, land and water, and biosecurity.

Dr Clark will complete her extended term with the organisation in December 2014, having started the role in January 2009. Candidates for the chief executive role are expected to be identified by mid-2014.