Policy
Directive
Effective Date: November 05, 2024
Expiration Date: November 05, 2029
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NASA Policy Directive |
NPD 8600.1A Effective Date: November 05, 2024 Expiration Date: November 05, 2029 |
a. This directive establishes policy for the implementation and use of Capability Portfolio (CP) Management. Refer to Attachment A for definitions for capability, capability portfolio, capability component, and capability domain.
b. For CPs1 determined by the Mission Support Council (MSC) Chair to be of strategic importance to the Agency, NASA policy is to:
(1) Strategically and centrally manage2 capability portfolios under the direct authority of specific Mission Directorates, which are accountable for their performance.
(2) Designate a CP Manager to lead this activity for each CP with decision-making authority.2
(3) Provide strategy, planning, and management processes for each CP that applies to Mission Directorates, Centers, and other key stakeholders (e.g., Office of the Chief Information Officer for cybersecurity planning) for integrated decision-making to achieve Agency-level strategic priorities and mission requirements within budget constraints.
(4) Prioritize portfolio content and investments to support NASA's missions; address emergent needs, risks, affordability, and opportunity costs; and leverage external capabilities when in the best interest of the Agency. The intended outcomes are to increase overall Agency efficiency and effectiveness and eliminate unneeded redundancy.
(5) Redeploy and rebalance resources within each CP to align with current and future mission requirements.
(6) Utilize integrated Agency decision making when seeking to build or develop new capabilities, improve existing capabilities, or divest of existing capabilities for Agency investments in both NASA and non-NASA capabilities.2 This relies on Agency strategy and plans that apply to each CP and their capability domain. This applies to acquisition strategies and procurements, as well as internal and external agreements.
(7) Leverage short- and long-range plans that describe the needed future state for capability portfolios along with the process and approach to evolve capability components to better support current and future customers and requirements. Areas addressed include: the in-house workforce with needed competences and skill sets, infrastructure investments and divestments (that inform and align with Agency Master Plans), new and emerging technologies, and information systems (i.e., digital infrastructure and data management).
(8) Achieve integrated Agency decision making2 when obtaining products and services from external capabilities3 or committing the use of a portfolio's capability components. This applies to acquisition strategies and procurements, as well as internal and external agreements. This may be done at the individual strategy, procurement, or agreement level or at an integrated Center level on a periodic basis.
(9) Enable capability component sustainment through a combination of funding model and charging practices for CP services.2
(10) Achieve required operational readiness for capability components within each CP to achieve needed Agency capacity.
(11) Promote the implementation of common approaches (e.g., processes, instrumentation, data standards) within capability portfolios.
(12) Leverage expertise within capability portfolios to evaluate and make recommendations on proposals from other NASA organizations that involve changes and acquisition within their capability domain.2 This includes decisions within the Agency that involve changes and acquisition of services that fall within the capability domain. This ensures that decisions are consistent with established and approved plans and direction of the affected CP for investments, divestments, acquisition strategies, procurements, or internal and external agreements.
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1See the official list of capability portfolios at https://nodis dms.gsfc.nasa.gov/NASA_Wide/restricted_directives/OSI_rep/OSI_list.cfm.
2 Details specific to each capability portfolio are provided in their approved management plans. Requirements, format, and approval process for management plans are provided in NPR 8600.1, NASA Capability Portfolio Management Requirements. Management plans detail governance, processes, domain, thresholds, funding model, and charging practices for each capability portfolio.
3 Products and services from external capabilities that are procurement line items included in a product delivery are excluded, e.g., delivery of a spacecraft built and fully tested to meet the procurement specification.
a. This NPD is applicable to NASA Headquarters and NASA Centers including Component Facilities and Technical and Service Support Centers, and other contractors, recipients of grants, cooperative agreements, or other agreements only to the extent specified or referenced in the applicable contracts, grants, or agreements.
b. This NPD is applicable to capability portfolios approved by the MSC Chair. The list of capability portfolios is maintained by the Office of Strategic Infrastructure (OSI) Assistant Administrator.
c. In this NPD, 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" or "is" denote descriptive material.
d. In this NPD, all document citations are assumed to be the latest version unless otherwise noted.
National Aeronautics and Space Act, as amended, 51 U.S.C. § 20113(a).
None.
a. The MSC Chair, OSI Assistant Administrator, Mission Directorate Associate Administrators4 (MDAAs), NASA Chief Financial Officer, NASA Chief Information Officer, Center Directors, program and project managers, and CP managers are responsible for promoting policies, procedural requirements, guidance, and best practices in their areas of responsibility under this NPD and in accordance with NPR 8600.1, NASA Capability Portfolio Management Requirements. The roles and responsibilities of NASA management are defined in NPD 1000.0, NASA Governance and Strategic Management Handbook, and further detailed in NPD 1000.3, The NASA Organization.
b. The MSC Chair:5
(1) Approves the establishment and termination of CPs.
(2) Approves the governance and authorities structure for the capability portfolios.
(3) Assigns the Sponsoring Mission Directorate (MD) to be responsible for strategic and centralized management of a specific CP.
(4) Oversees CPs at the Agency level consistent with Agency Capability Portfolio Management (CPM) CPM policy directives (i.e., this NPD and NPR 8600.1).
(5) Ensures that CP managers maintain an Agency perspective and objectivity in decision making.
c. The OSI Assistant Administrator:
(1) Establishes and maintains CPM policies, procedural requirements, and guidance.
(2) Ensures that Agency CPM goals, objectives, policies, procedural requirements, guidance, and best practices are established and compatible with established policy that includes NPD 1001.0, NASA Strategic Plan, NPD 1000.3, and NPD 1000.0.
(3) Ensures the integration of CPM requirements into OSI's business processes (e.g., Agency Master Planning, construction of facilities, facility maintenance, logistics).
(4) Advises senior officials and the MSC on matters pertaining to CPM policy.
d. The Chief Financial Officer advises and supports development and implementation of processes used by Mission Directorates, Centers, and CP managers to fund capability components within CPs.
e. The NASA Chief Information Officer advises the MSC whether a CP or part of a capability portfolio is inherently information technology.
f. Sponsoring MDAAs:
(1) Govern, oversee, and review the operation and sustainment of their sponsored capability portfolio(s) to meet current and future cross-Agency needs.
(2) Clarify, develop, and/or establish a governance and authorities (i.e., programmatic, institutional, governance, line, budget) structure for integrated agency decision making needed to effectively operate the capability portfolio. Areas of decision making covered include sustainment funding, charging practices at Centers, and facility investments and divestment.
g. MDAAs:
(1) Provide the MDAA's near- and long-term strategic requirements associated with planned programs and projects that involve the capability domain.
(2) Provide the CP manager with strategic guidance regarding capability requirements, gaps, technology trends and shortfalls, opportunities, threats, and changes to the internal and external environment for the capability.
(3) Support implementation and operation of CPM processes and development of strategy and plans for each CP.2
(4) Support the Sponsoring MDAA in clarifying, developing, and/or establishing a governance and authorities structure for the capability portfolio.
h. Center Directors:
(1) Establish, develop, and maintain the institutional capabilities (processes and procedures, workforce, facilities, and infrastructure) required for the operation and maintenance of the portfolio capability components that reside at their Center.6, in alignment with approved strategy and plan for the capability portfolio.
(2) Provide the CP manager with advice and recommendations regarding capability gaps, technology trends, new external sources, opportunities, threats, and changes to the internal and external environment for the capability.
(3) Support implementation and operation of CPM processes and development of strategy and plans for each CP.2 This includes providing advice and recommendations on improving CP processes, procedures, and the capability domain for Center users.
(4) Coordinate with the CP Manager and ensure plans and activities of all programs and projects that reside at the Center are consistent with approved strategy and plans of the capability portfolios for investments, acquisition, procurements, and internal and external agreements.
(5) Provide ongoing insight to the CP manager on Center plans, activities, investments, and divestments that may impact the capability components and capability domain at the Center.
(6) Provide CP-requested management information required to support strategy, plans, and decision making for the capability domain.
(7) Support the Sponsoring MDAA in clarifying, developing, and/or establishing a governance and authorities structure for the capability portfolio.
i. Program and project managers:7
(1) Support CPM processes for integrated Agency decision making.
(2) Coordinate with the CP Manager and ensure plans and activities within their program or project are consistent with approved strategy and plans of the capability portfolios for investments, acquisition, procurements, and internal and external agreements.
(3) Provide ongoing insight to the CP manager on plans, activities, investments, and divestments that may impact the capability components and capability domain.
j. CP managers:8
(1) Manage the CP as a strategic Agency resource and serve as Agency strategist and planner for the CP and capability domain.
(2) Ensure continued relevance of the CP by developing short- and long-range plans for the CP that are consistent with NPD 1001.0 (e.g., work products to be used for Agency Master Planning).
(3) Ensure that capability components within the portfolio either have mission requirements or strategic stakeholder requirements or have been identified as potentially required for future missions and are being sustained for risk mitigation purposes pending mission requirement maturation.
(4) Monitor and report how portfolio capability components contribute to the Agency's mission.
(5) Develop and implement Agency strategy and plans that apply to the CP and capability domain.
(6) Coordinate with Center Directors and program and project managers to ensure their plans and activities are consistent with approved strategy and plans of the CP for investments, acquisition, procurements, and internal and external agreements.
(7) Develop and operate CPM processes for integrated Agency decision making.2
(8) Coordinate with Mission Directorates, Centers, and other key stakeholders to identify and plan for annual sustainment funding of capability components to achieve needed operational readiness.
(9) Maintain awareness and insight into external capabilities that fall within the capability domain.
(10) Serve as the Agency's principal advocate and authority for the CP and its components both internal to the Agency and with external partners. With this delegated authority, the CP manager initiates decisions and processes for investment and divestment within the CP and capability domain.
(11) Serve as an advisor to the MSC Chair and other senior officials on matters pertaining to their CP and capability domain.
(12) Collaborate with the Sponsoring MDAA to clarify, develop, and/or establish a governance and authorities structure for the CP.
(13) Provides concurrence (or non-concurrence) on all capital planning and capital investment proposals and decisions within the CP and capability domain. Capital planning and capital investment processes are described in NPR 8810.1 which includes detailed CP manager responsibilities and delegated authorities.
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4 Including the Mission Support Directorate (MSD) Associate Administrator.
5 The MSC Chair may delegate responsibilities to the chair of another decision-making body (e.g., Sponsoring Mission Directorate's Program Management Council).
6 Center Directors execute this responsibility in a manner consistent with NPD 1000.3, Section 5.1 - Roles and Responsibilities Common to Center Directors. Given the complexity of the Agency operating model, Center Directors also coordinate with other entities when those entities have all or some authorities (i.e., budget, line) needed to fully execute this responsibility.
7 Center Directors may assume these responsibilities on behalf of program and project managers as agreed to in the capability portfolio's approved management plans.
8 CP managers collaborate with Center Directors, MDAAs, and, in some cases, program and project managers on responsibilities and may delegate specific responsibilities to them.
None.
None.
NPD 8600. 1, NASA Capability Portfolio Management, dated November 30, 2018.
Agreement. The statement (oral or written) of an exchange of promises. Parties to a binding agreement can be held accountable for its proper execution, and a change to the agreement requires a mutual modification or amendment to the agreement or a new agreement.
Asset. An item of economic value including facilities and equipment and excluding personnel.
Capability. The ability of a system comprising workforce (civil servants and contractors) competencies, assets, equipment, processes, and technologies to provide products and services to achieve objectives or meet requirements. See also "Technical Capability."
Capability Component. An individual capability within a capability portfolio or the larger capability domain. It is a system comprising people (civil servants and contractors), equipment, facilities, processes, resources, competencies, and technologies that deliver products and services; for example, a wind tunnel and the workforce that manages, operates, and maintains it or a complex dedicated to an end-to-end process.
Capability Domain. The in-house and external capabilities that characterize the broad realm of technical activities and associated products and services within which a capability portfolio falls. For example, the Aerosciences Evaluation and Test Capabilities (AETC) portfolio falls within the domain of wind tunnel and aero-propulsion testing.
Capability Portfolio. A specific collection of functionally similar, site-specific capability components and enabling infrastructure strategically managed together to meet NASA's strategic goals and objectives. For example, the Aerosciences Evaluation and Test Capabilities (AETC) portfolio includes selected NASA wind tunnels and aero-propulsion testing capability components. A capability portfolio may be structured to include groupings of capability components (e.g., grouped by primary customer such as a Mission Directorate, grouped by unique requirement such as In-Situ Resource Utilization testing).
Capability Portfolio Management. The centralized and strategic management of capability portfolios to achieve NASA strategic goals and objectives.
Capability Portfolio Manager. A person assigned to manage a capability portfolio strategically and centrally..
Centralized Management. A management, reporting, and communications approach led by a central authority to ensure tactical and strategic decisions are made at the appropriate levels and provide an integrated Agency perspective.
Divestment. The permanent removal of a capability component from the responsibility of a Federal entity through conveyance to another entity or destruction. Conveyance includes transfer of ownership or conversion to personal property. Destruction includes demolition, deconstruction, and natural or man-made events such as fire, earthquake, flood, or explosion.
Enabling Infrastructure. Lesser facilities, structures, retention, supply, distribution, and control systems that are not directly part of a capability component or component facilities but are essential for its operations, such as gases and support fluids, propellants, high-pressure water, steam, pumping stations, high-voltage power systems, and equipment.
Evaluation. The continual, self- and independent (i.e., outside the advocacy chain of the capability portfolio) assessment of the performance of a capability portfolio and incorporation of the evaluation findings to ensure adequacy of planning and execution according to plan. Investment. A resource and financial commitment made by the Agency, Mission Directorate, program, project, or Center.
Mission. A major activity required to accomplish an Agency goal or to effectively pursue a scientific, technological, or engineering opportunity directly related to an Agency goal.
Mission Support Council. The Agency's senior decision-making body for the integrated Agency mission support portfolio. The council members are advisors to the MSC Chair.
• The MSC assesses and determines mission support requirements to enable successful accomplishment of the Agency's mission.
• The MSC is the governing council for capability portfolios, initiates efforts to establish capability portfolios, and assigns capability portfolios to sponsoring Mission Directorates. It is the senior management group responsible for providing management oversight of a capability portfolio, its capability components, and related projects.
• The council has the responsibility of periodically evaluating the cost, schedule, risk, and performance of capability portfolios under its purview. The evaluation focuses on whether the capability portfolio is meeting its commitments to the Agency and is following appropriate management processes.
The MSC Chair may delegate decision authority to another decision-making body (e.g., Sponsoring Mission Directorate's Program Management Council).
Partner. An entity external to NASA with which NASA enters into an agreement. The entity may be a domestic non-governmental entity (i.e., academic, non-profit, commercial); a state, local, or Federal Government entity; or a foreign entity (i.e., foreign government, foreign academic, or foreign commercial).
Portfolio. A collection of projects, programs, capability components, sub-portfolios, and/or activities managed as a group to meet NASA's strategic needs, goals, and objectives.
Resource. Budget, workforce, schedule, and other infrastructure elements that support NASA assets and can be used by individuals or organizations to facilitate effective functioning.
Sponsoring Mission Directorate. The Mission Directorate approved by the MSC to provide management and oversight of a capability portfolio. The Sponsoring Mission Directorate has line authority for the Capability Portfolio Manager. Along with Mission Directorates with programmatic authority (Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, Science Mission Directorate, Space Operations Mission Directorate, and Space Technology Mission Directorate), (Mission Support Directorate (MSD) may be assigned a capability portfolio.
Stakeholder. An individual or organization that is materially affected by the outcome or the deliverables of a capability portfolio but is outside the organization doing the work or making the decision; e.g., customers, beneficiaries, and organizations that work on or provide support to the capability portfolio.
Strategic Management (function). A series of integrated efforts that enable the Agency to establish and execute strategy, make decisions, allocate resources, develop and implement plans, and measure performance of the capability portfolio.
Technical Capability. The equipment, facilities, infrastructure, property, support, and workforce required to meet technical requirements or mitigate risks for a program or project.
CP Capability Portfolio
CPM Capability Portfolio Management
MD Mission Directorate
MDAA Mission Directorate Associate Administrator
MSC Mission Support Council
MSD Mission Support Directorate
NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NPD NASA Policy Directive N
PR NASA Procedural Requirements
OSI NASA Office of Strategic Infrastructure
U.S.C. United States Code
C.1 NPD 1000.0, NASA Governance and Strategic Management Handbook
C.2 NPD 1000.3, The NASA Organization
C.3 NPD 1001.0, NASA Strategic Plan
C.4 NPR 8600.1, NASA Capability Portfolio Management
None.
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.