NASA Procedural Requirements

NPR 1152.1 Effective Date: September 23, 2024 Expiration Date: September 23, 2029

Subject: NASA Charters and Agency Governance Council Procedural Requirements

Responsible Office: Chief of Staff

Chapter 1. Governance Body Charter Requirements

1.1 Chartering Authority

The NASA Administrator is the formal Agency chartering authority. The Administrator delegates the authority to charter governance bodies as follows, based on responsibilities assigned in NPD 1000.3, Chapters 2-5:

a. Office of the Administrator Principals approve charters authorized under Chapter 2.

b. Agency Governance Council Chairs approve charters authorized under Chapter 3.

c. Officials-in-Charge of Headquarters Offices approve charters authorized under Chapter 4.

d. Center Directors approve charters authorized under Chapter 5.

1.2 Charter Structure and Requirements

1.2.1 Charters establish governing bodies as defined in NPD 1152.1, i.e., Councils, Boards, Committees, Panels, and Working Groups, and are subject to restrictions therein.

1.2.2 Charters shall follow the structure in Appendix D and include any required content specified in Appendix D.

1.2.3 Charters are established only under specific chartering authorities as defined in NPD 1152.1.

1.2.4 When governing bodies are specifically enumerated in NPD 1000.3 (i.e., Councils and certain Boards), their charters shall be published in NODIS.

1.2.5 When specifically enumerated in NPD 1000.3, charters are required to be revalidated every four years.

1.2.6 After any personnel change of the chartering authority, the new authority may further request a review and/or change of any charter created under their authority.

1.2.7 Chairs of authorized bodies may propose charter modifications to the chartering authority at any time. Approval is subject to 1.3, below. After any personnel change of the Chair, the new Chair should review all charters assigned to them.

Note: Per NPI 1000.99, all Boards extant at the time of issuance of this directive and enumerated in NPD 1000.3 were actioned to be updated by December 31, 2024, to include certain language regarding inclusion of participants external to NASA. The four-year revalidation requirement will be applicable to each charter as it is updated in response to the action.

1.3 Charter Approval Process

1.3.1 For Office of the Administrator or Agency Governance Council Chair chartering authority, OES prepares and submits the recommendation, supported by the office assigned to be primarily responsible for the governing body. Specifically:

a. The responsible office reviews NPD 1152.1, this NPR, and NAII 1152.1 and contacts OES to discuss chartering authorities, scope, potential conflicts with other governance bodies, and possible updates needed to NPD 1000.3.

b. The responsible office prepares a discussion draft of the charter and provides to OES for pre-review.

c. OES prepares a draft Action Document Summary (ADS) with routing populated to include the planned body Executive/Manager, the responsible Official-in-Charge, the OES Agency Governance lead, the NASA Executive Secretary, and the authorizing Office of the Administrator Principal. OES will evaluate the draft charter and determine if the Office of the General Counsel or other concurrence is required.

d. The responsible office incorporates OES feedback, consults potential members and other stakeholder organizations, and prepares a revised draft.

e. OES conducts a review of the revised draft and reports back mandatory and suggested edits per 1.4.4.b below.

f. The responsible office provides OES: (1) a final revised draft charter, (2) an ADS with required signatures (prior to OES review) collected by the responsible organization, and (3) a summary or evidence of the process by which the responsible organization consulted and achieved consensus among member organizations on the charter (formal routing to all members is not required).

g. OES prepares a recommendation for the authorizing official based on mandatory review items per 1.4.4.b(1) below, routes the recommendation following standard processes for Office of the Administrator approval, notifies the responsible office when complete, posts the approved Charter in NODIS, and updates NPD 1000.3 if needed.

1.3.2 For other Headquarters Official-in-Charge chartering authority, the procedures are:

a. The responsible office reviews NPD 1152.1, this NPR, and NAII 1152.1.

b. The responsible office identifies the specific authority in NPD 1000.3, Chapter 4, or authority from other NASA directives, that authorizes the body, and prepares a draft charter.

c. The responsible office may consult OES for a courtesy review and feedback relative to NPD 1152.1, this NPR, and NAII 1152.1, or other governance system issues.

d. The responsible office reviews NPD 1000.3, Chapter 6, “Decision Thresholds of Agency Governance Councils,” to determine if the body is requesting delegation of an authority previously reserved for an Agency Governance Council. If so, the responsible office contacts OES to secure the appropriate Chair’s approval and updates NPD 1000.3.

e. The responsible office consults proposed members and affected stakeholders.

f. The responsible office conducts a final review to ensure compliance with NPD 1152.1 and this NPR.

g. The responsible office uses appropriate internal processes to secure the chartering Official-in-Charge’s concurrence.

h. If the body is a Board of Agency-wide significance, the responsible office notifies OES to evaluate whether NPD 1000.3 should be updated and whether the charter should be posted in NODIS.

1.3.3 For Center Director chartering authority, the procedures are:

a. The Center reviews NPD 1152.1, this NPR, and NAII 1152.1.

b. The Center identifies the specific authority or authorities in NPD 1000.3, Chapter 5, or authority from other NASA or Center directives, that authorize the body.

c. The Center Director uses appropriate internal member/stakeholder and final review and concurrence mechanisms.

1.3.4 When new governance bodies are considered as part of, or actioned by, an Agency Governance Council decision:

a. A draft charter shall be supplied as evidence supporting the associated Council decision; this must consider OES feedback.

b. Approval by the Agency Governance Council constitutes approval to proceed with the formal approval process within this NPR. A body is only authorized when its charter has been approved via the formal approval process within this NPR.

1.4 Summary of Roles and Responsibilities

1.4.1 Office of the Administrator Principals, Officials-in-Charge of Headquarters Offices, and Center Directors, as chartering authorities:

a. Ensure that governing bodies chartered under their authority do not overlap in scope or functions with other governing bodies, per NPD 1152.1.

b. Consult with OES to determine or adjudicate the chartering authority for new governing bodies.

c. Notify OES of any newly chartered or decommissioned Boards which may need reconciliation in NPD 1000.3 and NODIS.

1.4.2 Chairs of chartered governing bodies:

a. Ensure that all provisions of their charters are followed and request timely updates from their chartering authorities if provisions change or operating procedures diverge from the published charter.

b. Notify their parent governing body Chair, and/or chartering authority, of any decisions or matters which may trigger any of the broad thresholds for Agency Governance Council consideration in NPD 1152.1, 1.b.(3).

c. Notify their parent governing body Chair, and/or chartering authority, if the body has not convened for a prolonged period, or for an extended period relative to the typical or minimum meeting cadence specified in its charter.

d. Ensure that sensitive and/or pre-decisional materials and content considered by their governing bodies are correctly marked and appropriately protected.

e. Ensure that final outcomes or decisions of their governing bodies are documented and disseminated in a timely way.

f. Ensure that records management responsibilities for their governing bodies are fulfilled.

1.4.3 The NASA Chief of Staff adjudicates questions of governing body chartering authority, as recommended by the Director, OES and with input from appropriate stakeholders.

1.4.4 The Director, OES:

a. Consults with originators of new governing body proposals to advise on approach, recommend an appropriate chartering authority, and provide pre-review of draft charters.

b. For all charters to be established under the authority of NPD 1000.3, Chapter 2 or Chapter 3:

(1) Reviews for, and must concur on:

(a) The appropriateness of chartering authority, based on its Applicability/Scope and Functions.

(b) The lack of conflict with other chartered governing bodies, based on its Applicability/Scope and Functions.

(c) The clarity and specificity of all authorized Functions in the charter.

(d) Any other required elements under NPD 1152.1 or this NPR, to include Appendix D.

(2) May provide courtesy feedback on other content in the charter, per charter writing guidance in NAII 1152.1.

(3) Prepares and submits a formal recommendation to approve the charter, with analysis and rationale, to the Office of the Administrator Principal who holds chartering authority.

(4) Is delegated authority to determine when charter revisions are administrative in nature and do not require formal re-concurrence by the Office of the Administrator Principal who holds chartering authority, and to approve these revisions.

c. For charters to be established under the authority of NPD 1000.3, Chapter 4, upon request provides courtesy feedback to the chartering authority on compliance with NPD 1152.1 and this NPR, or adherence to charter writing guidance in NAII 1152.1.

DISTRIBUTION:
NODIS

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