Office of Naval Research recognized with workforce development award

Adding to a list of recent honors, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) is scheduled to receive a bronze award for workforce development on Nov. 3 at the Program Executive Officers/Systems Command Commanders Conference on Fort Belvoir, Va.

The award was announced Oct. 12 by the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics.

The award supports the chief of naval research's priority of "taking care of our people," and validates ONR's professional development programs, said Will Brown, ONR's talent manager and deputy director of business operations and services.

"Initiatives such as the ONR Academy of Learning, Virtual Employee Program, Hiring for Cognitive Diversity and the Leadership Development Program create an environment for us to continue recruiting the best and brightest and maintaining our tradition of innovative ideas," Brown said. "These programs are part of the reason why ONR has consistently ranked as one of the best places to work in the federal government by the Office of Personnel Management."

A panel of judges from academia, industry and corporate learning organizations independently conducted the awards evaluation process, Brown said. They ranked submissions based on the workforce development program's objectives, best practices and the benefits realized. Organizations were also ranked on workforce development climate, training offered, academic affiliations and partnerships and alignment of workforce initiatives with the organization's mission.

ONR's other accolades include leading the Navy agency subcomponents category of the 2010 Best Places to Work in the Federal Government index, being named a 2010 Best Diversity Company and hailed as a 2010 Top Supporter of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Provided by Office of Naval Research