Scenario

You are a newly appointed director at California Weights and Measures, a small state agency with approximately 300 employees, responsible for the delivery of programs and services that ensure the integrity and accuracy of trade measurement in California. Division of Measurement Standards (DMS): https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/dms/

The Agency's business is broadly separated according to compliance and enforcement activities their respective laws and their associated regulations, with its core operations organized around premarket approval or post-market inspection activities. The Agency also has dedicated teams in digital transformation, legislative policy and regulatory affairs, corporate functions as well as an auditing function under the Inspector General.

As director, your primary role is to contribute to the Agency providing key technical expertise to assist in the delivery of post-market compliance and enforcement activities in energy or weights and measures. You are part of the senior leadership of the Agency. Your team consists of approximately 12 full-time experienced employees with a wide range of knowledge on current and new technologies as well as trends in the market; your operational budget is approximately $75,000.You work with other directors within the Directorate to support the delivery of a risk-based inspection program, and remain abreast of emerging issues, trends and priorities by engaging with colleagues in other sections of the Agency.

Over the past six months, the Agency has been working to implement a new organizational structure to realign its business functions and achieve the following desired outcomes:

• a more responsive, effective, and risk-based oversight and enforcement model;
• increased presence in the California marketplace and with the Californian public;
• a digital infrastructure to meet current and future needs of the emerging digital economy, along with digital tools to modernize the services provided by employees in the field as well as agile regulations that are adaptive and responsive to emerging trade sectors;
• initiatives and activities in line with the state government Clean Fuels and Zero-Emission Vehicles agenda; and
• a diverse workforce that is empowered with increased knowledge, training and resources in order to deliver on the demands of the future and collaborate with partners throughout the trade measurement community.

While the organizational realignment has created new opportunities and some progress has been made, there are still significant challenges ahead. Notably, there is still work needed to realign operations from a regionally delivered model to one delivered through a national model. Moreover, new teams were created but they are not yet fully staffed, and how they will function within the new organizational structure remains to be developed.

Furthermore, in your organization, there is limited bilingual capacity in your staff as well as insufficient staff meeting the requirements of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) which you see needs to be addressed in the short term for succession planning.

Task

Your Vice-President is preparing for an in-depth discussion about your team with the newly appointed President of California Division of Measurement Standards (DMS). Based on the above scenario and on the actual California DMS strategic plan and vision, prepare:

1. A summary document (four pages maximum) summarizing your key priorities and how your short and long-term plans will support the Agency in delivering its mandate under the new organizational structure. You should include in your summary any risks and risk mitigation strategies as well potential opportunities or new activities.