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NASA Ball NASA
Policy
Directive
NPD 3410.2H
Effective Date: May 20, 2022
Expiration Date: May 20, 2027
COMPLIANCE IS MANDATORY FOR NASA EMPLOYEES

Subject: Employee and Organizational Development

Responsible Office: Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer


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1. POLICY


a. It is NASA policy to support the full utilization of the workforce in achieving the Agency's mission and performance goals. This directive establishes employee and organizational development program policy, responsibilities, and delegations of authority.

b. It is also NASA's Policy to govern the way in which the NASA employee and organizational development programs are conducted and that these programs include the:

(1) Use of a systematic approach to support efficient and effective employee learning and development programs to enhance individual and organizational capabilities in accordance with Merit System Principles, 5 U.S.C. § 2301 (b) (7).

(2) Alignment of training and development with Agency strategic plans that meet the objectives of the Agency's mission and ensure training and developmental opportunities are widely available to employees.

(3) Improvement of organizational performance by building and retaining a skilled and effective workforce. (

4) Expansion of job-related knowledge and competencies through developmental assignments, mentoring, coaching, and formal learning and education programs.

(5) Training compliance of new supervisors, within one year of their initial appointment to a supervisory position within the Federal Government and subsequent retraining in all areas at least once every three years.

(6) Compliance with all Government-wide federally mandated training (i.e., training that is mandated by statute, regulation, or Government-wide policy) and Agency-wide, Center, or Mission Support Enterprise Organizations (MSEO) required training.

2. APPLICABILITY

a. This directive establishes policy for NASA Headquarters and NASA Centers, including Component Facilities and Technical and Service Support Centers.

b. This directive establishes policy for internal NASA requirements and charters developed or revised after the effective date of this NASA PolicyDirective (NPD).

c. This NPD provides a general statement of the principles, fundamental values, and general direction of the Agency or Center that is used to determine present and future decisions. The terms "may" or "can" denote discretionary privilege or permission, "should" denotes a good practice and is recommended, but not required, "will" denotes expected outcome, and "are/is" denotes descriptive material.

d. This NPD does not apply to the Office of the Inspector General (IG), which has independent statutory authority in the management of IG human resources.

e. In this policy document, all document citations are assumed to be the latest version unless otherwise noted.

f. This policy is applicable to NASA directives developed or revised after the effective date of this NPD.

g. Debt waivers for learning and development are covered under NPD 9645.2F.

3. AUTHORITY

a. Appointment, Reassignment, Transfer, and Development in the Senior Executive Service, 5 U.S.C. §§ 3391-3397.

b. Training, 5 U.S.C., Subpart C, ch. 41.

c. Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, Pub. L. 95-452, 5 U.S.C. Appendix.

4. APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS AND FORMS

a. Merit System Principles, 5 U.S.C. 2301.

b. Academic Degree Training, 5 U.S.C. 4107.

c. Payment of Expenses to Obtain Professional Credentials, 5 U.S.C. 5757.

d. Training, 5 CFR pt. 410.

e. Supervisory, Management, and Executive Development, 5 CFR pt. 412.

f. NPD 9645.2F, Claims for Erroneous Payment of Pay and Allowances, Travel and Transportation, Relocation Expenses and Allowances.

g. NASA Shared Services Center Service Delivery Guide NSSDG-3000-0006, Training Administration.

h. NASA Shared Services Center Service Delivery Guide NSSDG-9200-0007, Management of Debt Collection.

5. RESPONSIBILITY

a. The Administrator shall:

Establish the Senior Executive Service (SES), Senior Technical (ST), and Senior Leader (SL) cadres, including their developmental assignments exceeding 120 days, details, and Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) assignments.

b. The Center Directors and Officials-in-Charge of Headquarters Offices shall:

(1) In partnership with the Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO), provide leadership and direction for learning and development within budget resources.

(2) Ensure learning and development plans focus on improving employee and organizational development and are linked to achieving Agency strategic goals.

c. The Chief Human Capital Officer shall:

(1) Manage the SES, ST, and SL cadres, including their developmental assignments exceeding 120 days, details, and IPA assignments.

(2) Provide leadership and direction for requesting and managing resources for learning and development within budget resources. Ensure learning and developmental activities are fully supported and conducted.

(3) Establish policy for employee and organizational learning and development programs and activities.

(4) Provide overall executive leadership and strategic policy direction for the Agency's technical, functional, leadership, and organizational learning and development programs.

(5) Manage corporate learning activities and provide Agency program oversight in accordance with regulatory requirements in Training, 5 CFR pt. 410 and Supervisory, Management, and Executive Development, 5 CFR pt. 412.

(6) Develop and implement the Agency's learning and development programs. Establish programs and requirements for advanced training for all supervisors and managers as needed and continual development and training for Senior Executives.

(7) Develop and implement learning and development for new supervisors to complete key training and subsequent training, consistent with the Agency's and employee's needs, within one year of appointment.

(8) Plan, manage, and execute the Agency's annual learning and development budget by approving and allocating Agency-wide learning and development funds.

(9) Authorize the use of foreign-owned training organizations for employees only when it is fully justified by a requirement that cannot be met by domestically owned organizations or when there is a distinct advantage to the Agency. Review and approve or disapprove foreign learning and development requests.

(10) Establish the Agency annual cap per employee, per fiscal year, for academic education and establish a formal process for consideration of exceptions.

(11) In accordance with the statute on Academic Degree Training, 5 U.S.C 4107, approve or disapprove, if necessary, the use of appropriated or other available funds for an employee's academic education if the education is part of an Agency employee development plan that is linked to accomplishing the Agency's strategic goals, contributes significantly to meeting a learning and development need or a staffing problem, and is provided by an accredited college or university.

(12) According to 5 U.S.C. 5757, may use appropriated funds or funds otherwise available to the Agency to pay for expenses to obtain professional credentials, including expenses for professional accreditation, state-imposed and professional licenses, professional certification, and examinations to obtain such credentials.

(13) Coordinate with authorized procurement and legal officials to attend or deliver promotional learning and development to the extent permitted by training laws, ethics provisions, procurement authority, and travel regulations.

d. The Associate Administrator for International and Interagency Relations shall:

Review and approve or disapprove requests for foreign learning and development and determine whether the training is compatible with current foreign policy objectives.

e. The NASA Shared Services Center Executive Director shall:

(1) Provide Agency-wide training administration support for NASA's Learning Management System, in collaboration with the Agency Application Office (AAO) and Human Capital IT (HCIT).

(2) Process learning and development purchases in accordance with applicable laws, policies, and Agency procedural requirements.

(3) Provide reporting capabilities for Agency's academic education records.

(4) Provide administrative approach to support training administration, as outlined in NASA Shared Services Center Service Delivery Guide, NSSDG-3000- 0006 and NSSDG-9200-0007, according to NPD 9645.2, Claims for Erroneous Payment of Pay and Allowances, Travel and Transportation, Relocation Expenses, and Allowances.

(5) Upon authorization of the cognizant contracting officer or the contracting officer representative, permit NASA contractor personnel to attend authorized NASA training if attendance does not deny civil service employees the training, and/or the training is necessary for Government purposes.

f. The Servicing Human Resources Directors, Center Directors, Officials-in-Charge of Headquarters Offices, and Center/MSEO Learning Officers shall:

(1) In partnership with local management officials, implement an Agency Training Needs Assessment to use for program planning, budget requirements, and evaluation of learning and training needs.

(2) Develop and implement employee and organizational development programs.

(3) Authorize a full- or part-time planned academic education to address identified systemic Agency needs linked to specific Agency strategic goals.

g. The Mission Support Organizations and Disciplines shall: In partnership with OCHCO, provide direction for satisfying legislative, regulatory, and/or administratively mandated training associated with functional responsibility.

h. The Center Directorate Management shall:

In partnership with the servicing Human Resources Office (HRO) and Center/MSEO Learning Officer, finalize an annual learning and development plan for organizations based on a learning and development needs assessment that is linked to the organization's mission and Agency strategic goals. Plans will identify efficient and effective methods to achieve learning objectives and include projected budget requirements.

i. Supervisors shall:

(1) Support employee learning and development, retraining, mentoring, coaching, and organizational development activities that will enhance employee and organizational performance.

(2) In partnership with the servicing HRO/Center/MSEO Learning Officer, support the implementation of the approved annual learning and development plan for employees based on a learning and development needs assessment that is linked to the organization's mission and Agency strategic goals.

(3) Ensure completion of federally mandated and/or required training (e.g., timely completion of new supervisory, information technology, security, and Center-specific required training) and attendance of confirmed training events.

j. Employees shall:

(1) Participate in an annual training assessment by identifying learning and development needed to improve performance and methods to meet those needs, effectively and efficiently.

(2) Complete authorized, federally mandated, required, and confirmed training and fulfill continued service agreements.

6. DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY

Pursuant to Government Organization and Employees, Subpart C, Employee Performance, Training, 5 U.S.C. ch. 41., the Administrator hereby delegates to the specified officials mentioned above the authority to fulfill the duties set forth in Section 5., Responsibility, of this directive.

7. MEASUREMENT/VERIFICATION

The OCHCO will establish Agency program evaluation requirements and conduct periodic reviews to access program effectiveness. Reviews will include the evaluation of the Agency and Center/MSEO learning and development plan to ensure that the Agency is efficiently utilizing learning and development resources.

8. CANCELLATION

NPD 3410.2G, Employee and Organizational Development, dated September 27, 2013.


/s/ Bill Nelson
Administrator



ATTACHMENT A: (TEXT)


ATTACHMENT B: ACRONYMS

AAO Agency Application Office

CFR Code of Federal Regulations

HCIT Human Capital IT

HRO Human Resources Office

IG Inspector General

IPA Intergovernmental Personnel Act

MSEO Mission Support Enterprise Organization

NPD NASA Policy Directive

OCHCO Office of the Chief Human Capital Office

SL Senior Leader

SES Senior Executive Service

ST Senior Technical

U.S.C. United States Code

(URL for Graphic)

None.

DISTRIBUTION:
NODIS


This document does not bind the public, except as authorized by law or as incorporated into a contract. This document is uncontrolled when printed. Check the NASA Online Directives Information System (NODIS) Library to verify that this is the correct version before use: https://nodis3.gsfc.nasa.gov.