Procedural
Requirements
Effective Date: September 23, 2024
Expiration Date: September 23, 2029
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NASA Procedural Requirements |
NPR 1152.1 Effective Date: September 23, 2024 Expiration Date: September 23, 2029 |
| | TOC | Preface | Chapter1 | Chapter2 | AppendixA | AppendixB | AppendixC | AppendixD | AppendixE | ALL | |
Requirements in this chapter apply only to Agency Governance Councils with charters published in NPD 1000.3, Chapter 3. Chairs of other NASA governing bodies should, however, evaluate the requirements for applicability and suitability for their chartered bodies.
2.1.1 OES maintains a long lead forecast of potential or required Council topics and makes this available to senior officials and certain senior staff. The subset of topics which have been confirmed per 2.2.1 below is also made available to the NASA workforce on the NASA intranet. The forecast is maintained, at minimum, for requirements within the next twelve months. Potential forecasted content includes, but is not limited to:
a. Program/Project Key Decision Points (KDPs) within the Associate Administrator’s decision authority, with timing as reported in the annual independent review assessment manifest, as updated in regular Baseline Performance Reviews, as reported at prior KDPs, or as communicated directly by Mission Directorates to OES.
b. Acquisition strategy decision framing and decision topics collected through an annual data call to Mission Directorates for programs or projects in pre-formulation.
c. Potential topics identified through regular discussion between Agency Council Executives and Executives for chartered Boards which report directly to the Council.
d. Topics that occur on a regular cadence, or topics actioned by a prior Council topic, via topic closeout procedures in 2.2.4 below.
e. Significant one-time responses due to the Executive Office of the President (EOP) in response to actions by Offices or Councils within the EOP.
f. Other forecasted potential requirements or requests as communicated by Office of the Administrator Principals, senior advisors, or HQ Officials-in-Charge or Center Directors.
2.1.2 Officials-in-Charge of Headquarters Offices and Center Directors are responsible for communicating potential Council topic requirements, changes to topic requirements, or requests directly to OES no less than three months before an anticipated need date, per the Council topic lifecycle in 2.2 below.
2.1.3 OES establishes and releases calendar holds and invites for Councils on a managed schedule. When directed by the Chief of Staff, OES attempts to maintain these on designated day-of-week and time slots to minimize conflicts with organizations’ planning and internal meetings. OES uses the following terminology within its published calendar invites and forecasts:
a. HOLD. Calendar holds are placed on pre-designated Agency Council time slots no less than six months in advance. These are released (cancelled) four weeks before the HOLD if there are no planned requirements. Organizations should consult OES before scheduling significant meetings or events over these HOLDs which would encumber Office of the Administrator Principals or other Agency Council members.
b. HOLD FOR (TOPIC). An organization has identified a desire for a specific Council date, and OES is actively working with the organization and Chair to confirm and schedule the topic per 2.2.1 below. Organizations should not schedule significant meetings or events over these HOLD FORs which would encumber Office of the Administrator Principals or other Agency Council members.
c. (COUNCIL): (TOPIC). A Council topic has been confirmed for the designated date, and there is high confidence that the meeting will not be rescheduled. Organizations must not schedule significant meetings or events over scheduled Councils which would encumber Office of the Administrator Principals or other Agency Council members.
A typical Council topic has a four-month lifecycle including three months of preparation and one month for closeout. The duration and rigor of requirements below are consistent with NPD 1152.1, 1.b, which favors the direct line authority of organizations whenever possible within the Agency Governance System, and reserves Councils for exceptional topics.
Per NPD 1152.1, all Council topics are recommended by a Council member. Topics are not confirmed (scheduled) until the recommending member, OES, and the Chair agree on the scope, plan, and schedule for the topic, per 2.2.1 below.
Specific procedures, requirements, and responsibilities of OES; the recommending organization; and Council members for each phase below follow NAII 1152.2.
2.2.1 Proposal and Confirmation. During the proposal and confirmation phase, the recommending office supports OES in developing a formal Topic Proposal for the Chair which represents an agreement between the recommending Official-in-Charge or Center Director and the Chair on the framing, content, stakeholder consultation approach, schedule drivers, sensitivity, internal deadlines, and meeting approach for the topic. When the Council Executive determines that a Topic Proposal is ready, the Executive recommends the Proposal to the Chair. Once the Topic Proposal is confirmed by the Chair, OES commits a scheduling date.
Topics are confirmed by a Chair no less than seven weeks before a planned Council meeting date. In rare events when a schedule driver is identified by the Chair which precludes seven weeks preparation time, the recommending Official-in-Charge, OES, and the Chair will tailor requirements to support the schedule.
2.2.2 Development. During the development phase, responsibility is primarily with the recommending office. The office is developing a storyboard for their briefing following the outcomes, decision framing questions, or decision criteria in the Topic Proposal; assembling data and evidence to support its recommendation; executing its stakeholder consultation plan; and building draft charts. OES schedules one or more check-in meetings to review and discuss progress relative to the Topic Proposal.
2.2.3 Final Preparation. Final preparation begins approximately two weeks prior to a Council meeting and must be completed no later than three business days before the Council meeting. This phase ensures alignment with the confirmed Topic Proposal, ensures that sensitive materials are appropriately protected, ensures Council Chair and Council members readiness and appropriate inclusion, and ensures the integrity of the decision-making process. As such, it is critical that all deadlines associated with the Council during this phase are met by the recommending organization, participating Council members, and OES.
2.2.4 Closeout. Closeout activities are primarily conducted by OES. This phase ensures that meeting direction, decisions and actions are expediently communicated to Council members for implementation, that the integrity of the in-board decision-making process is maintained, that records are prepared for long-term retrieval and archival, and that follow-on implementation is monitored. All closeout activities, including but not limited to those in 2.6 and 2.7 of this NPR, are to be completed within 30 days of a Council meeting.
Agency Councils do not support an open “New Business” portion of their agenda. Decisional items may not be addressed in Agency Councils without following the confirmation process above.
2.3.1 Each Council chair establishes a standard attendance policy for their Council and tailors it appropriately for specific meetings based on the sensitivity of content and within the flexibilities allowed by the Council charter. These policies are subject to requirements documented in this NPR.
2.3.2 OES communicates the attendance policy for each specific meeting in all calendar invites, supporting websites, or other OES publications. Recipients may forward invites only as per the published attendance policy. Individuals may not share remote meeting details included in non-forwardable invites with anyone other than addressees.
2.3.3 When attendance is restricted to specific named individuals or roles, OES issues an RSVP request to the executive assistants of invited Council members no less than one week before the meeting. Members are responsible for replying to the RSVP by the specified due date. Substitution by individuals on the pre-approved delegates list maintained by OES does not require Chair approval. Substitution by individuals other than pre-approved delegates requires Chair approval through the Council Executive. For these meetings, OES records attendance and includes attendance in minutes.
2.3.5 When Council subject matter is marked Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), attendees are expected to have a reasonable need to actively participate in the Council discussion.
2.3.6 Contractors, in general, may not attend Agency Governance Council meetings. The following exceptions may apply:
a. Senior officials of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, when invited per NPD 1000.3, Chapter 6, subject to restrictions in NPI 1000.99, and per Appendix E.7 below.
b. Specific contractors invited by the Chair to contribute specific information to the Council, subject to 2.3.7 and Appendix E.7 below.
c. Certain logistics support contractors who support the physical or electronic management of the Council meeting, subject to verification of their signed Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs). For Headquarters support, OES is responsible for verifying NDAs. For participating Centers (e.g., to support remote conference rooms), the participating Center is responsible.
2.3.7 If an individual other than a NASA civil servant is requested by the recommending organization, consistent with Appendix E.7 below, the following procedures apply:
a. The request should be made as part of the Topic Proposal and confirmation and should never be made less than seven days before the Council meeting.
b. The Chair evaluates requests based on specific facts and purposes of the Council meeting. If necessary, OES consults the Office of the General Counsel and/or Office of Procurement for recommendations associated with the specific circumstance.
c. If approved, OES coordinates with the Chair and structures the Council meeting agenda to ensure that discussion in portions including external parties is strictly limited to sharing of information and fact-finding, and that the meeting transitions to a NASA civil-servant-only executive session for purposes of deliberation and final decision.
2.3.8 OES is responsible for identifying any participants who join a remote meeting via a phone number (rather than Agency login account) and communicating this to Council members. The Council Executive may pause a meeting to identify such participants.
2.4.1. OES is responsible for limiting access to sensitive or pre-decisional materials to those specifically needed to support each Council discussion or decision. This is accomplished through management of specific access control lists which consider an individual’s role in the governance process and status as a civil servant. The Chief of Staff determines the level to which various role-based access groups are permitted access to certain types of documents based on their sensitivity.
2.4.2. Individuals with access to sensitive materials via OES access groups or direct permissions are not authorized by the Office of the Administrator to redistribute materials to others. These individuals must request permission from the briefing organization before redistributing materials to any individual who is not provided access by OES.
2.4.3 OES may only redistribute materials marked sensitive by a recommending organization to those roles or individuals approved and granted access for the related specific meeting. Requests for such materials for any other purposes must be made directly to the recommending organization.
2.4.4. All briefing materials must be properly marked for sensitivity as in NAII 1152.2. Briefing materials may not use CUI Limited Dissemination Controls; access controls for Councils are role- and sensitivity-based as established by the Chief of Staff and per above, further redistribution is not allowed.
2.4.5. Materials marked CUI // SP-SSEL are only authorized for use in the Acquisition Strategy Council (ASC). OES must provide a list of potentially interested parties well in advance of the meeting to allow for self-recusal of participants who may have conflicts of interest. The list is also reviewed at the beginning of the associated ASC meeting.
2.4.6. Some materials may be designated embargoed by the Chair prior to specific events, such as the release of a President’s Budget Request or notification to Congress of a significant decision. OES is responsible for identifying a date certain or event-based trigger for removal of the embargo with the recommending organization and adjusting access controls to an appropriate sensitivity level at that time.
2.4.7. Notwithstanding allowances in NPD 2530.1G, Monitoring or Recording of Telephone or Other Conversations, recording of Agency Council meetings by either OES or attendees is not permitted.
2.5.1 All briefing materials are considered pre-decisional and are not part of the final record of a Council decision. Minutes and associated Decision Memoranda are the final record. Minutes and Decision Memoranda may not cite content in briefing charts by reference; content to be made part of the permanent record must be incorporated into the minutes.
2.5.2 All briefing materials should follow formatting and writing standards in NAII 1152.2.
2.5.3 Briefing materials are not posted on the open NASA intranet (OneNASA) unless specifically directed by the Chair.
2.6.1 Final Product. Minutes and Decision Memoranda (see below) are incorporated into a single document which is the final product for a Council meeting. In preparing and handling final products:
a. The document is formatted with a page break between minutes and Decision Memoranda to allow subsequent severability when needed.
b. Minutes and Decision Memoranda are completed and published no later than 30 days after the associated Council meeting unless a delay is authorized by the Chair.
c. Minutes documents, to include any Decision Memoranda, are the final documents used for records management. OES is the author and responsible for records management per NPR 1441.1E and NRRS 1441.1, 01/014.0.B.01, and is responsible for any decontrol of any minutes or Decision Memoranda marked Sensitive But Unclassified or Controlled Unclassified Information prior to archival.
d. While minutes and Decision Memoranda may be final products for Council meetings, in certain limited cases, these may in-turn be pre-decisional towards a future final decision or artifact, such as a Request for Proposal. OES is responsible for assessment and recommendation to the NASA Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Official of any potential FOIA exemptions (including but not limited to FOIA exemption 5) applicable to requested Council documents. OES is responsible for recommending any redactions needed to meet the intent of FOIA.
2.6.2 Minutes. Minutes shall be prepared for all Agency Council meetings. To implement NASA policy in NPD 1152.1:
a. The Council Executive is the author and editor of minutes, subject to review by the Director, OES or designee, any Office of the Administrator Senior Advisor(s) designated by the Chair, and the Chair. Briefing organizations may request an opportunity to review for factual inaccuracies.
b. To support policy objectives around transparency, minutes which cannot be fully written without CUI markings will be supplemented by a redacted version which can be posted on the NASA intranet (OneNASA). The unredacted version is the version of record.
c. To support open discussion, capture of Council member discussion in minutes should be non-attributional, except when a member’s comment is directly representational of their organization’s assigned sphere of responsibility.
2.6.3 Decision Memoranda. Decision Memoranda are incorporated into final products when a Council issues a specific decision. Per Council charters in NPD 1000.3, decisions are final subject to reclama only under specific circumstances and via defined procedures. To implement NASA policy in NPD 1152.1:
a. Decisions as documented in Council meetings are final. In exceptional circumstances where a Chair directs post-meeting review or adjustment of decision language, Council Executives notify all Council participants of specific changes. Consult each Council’s charter for procedures associated with requesting appeal of decisions in the event that significant underlying facts have changed.
b. Per Council charters, the Chair is the sole decision authority; all other members are advisory. The Chair is the only required signature authority. If significant concerns are expressed by Council members during a Council meeting associated with a decision, the Council Executive will contact members and offer them an opportunity to record concerns or dissent in the minutes. Such concerns or opinions are due within five business days of the request and must be limited to concerns discussed during the Council meeting.
Note: Recording of concerns is distinct from the Formal Dissent process specified in NPD 1000.0, which in Agency Governance Councils is implemented through the procedures specified in the “Meetings: Appeal of Decisions” section of each Council’s charter.
c. Decisions must be specific, actionable, and implementable by a date certain. General outcomes such as “the Council endorsed” or “the Council supported” are not considered decisions; rather, they may be captured in the Council’s minutes.
d. Decision Memoranda may not cite other documents, including briefing charts, by reference. A Decision Memorandum must state what was specifically approved by a Council. In certain infrequent cases of approval of a long-form narrative document, such as an implementation plan, the document may be incorporated in its entirety into the decision as an attachment. Briefing charts should never be included as such attachments.
e. Decision Memoranda for all Agency Councils follow a standard format as in Appendix E. Certain Agency Program Management Council Decision Memoranda formats (for KDPs) have been tailored in coordination with the Chief Program Management Officer (CPMO). OES maintains configuration control of these templates to ensure alignment with Appendix E.
f. If draft Decision Memoranda are circulated for review prior to a meeting, each reviewing Council member is responsible for coordinating their internal review and submitting a single, integrated, deconflicted summary of feedback.
2.7.1 OES manages and tracks Council actions on behalf of each Council chair. To implement NASA policy in NPD 1152.1:
a. OES records actions in an action management system made available to all Council members, delegates, and key support staff in their organizations. Action capture follows standards in Appendix E, below. Within the action management system, OES records original due dates, any current extended due date, and the number of extensions granted by the Chair per process below.
b. OES establishes check-in dates for action progress with primary Points of Contact (POCs). POCs are responsible for timely response on action status.
c. Actioned offices are responsible for requesting extensions well before the action due date. Extension requests must be made to the OES Council Executive and include a rationale for the extension and assessment of its impact on other activities or the schedule for final implementation of a Council decision.
d. The Council Executive may grant administrative extensions directly when the actioned office is substantively on track but barred from timely completion by factors outside their organization’s ability to influence, such as factors external to NASA, and, the action extension does not adversely impact the schedule of other activities dependent on its completion. Dependency on other NASA organizations for action completion is not grounds for an administrative extension.
e. For all other extension requests, the OES Council Executive recommends an extension position to the Chair, incorporating the actioned office’s request and rationale, and an assessment of the extension’s impact on other dependent activities, such as other Council decisions, implementation of the Council decision, related or required policy updates, responses to audit corrective actions, or other activities.
f. When ready for closure, the actioned office provides a closure rationale to the Council Executive and must include one or more closure artifacts associated with the action. For actions marked informal, the Council Executive works with the Chair to close actions out of board. For actions marked formal, the Council Executive schedules a concise informational out-brief at a future Council meeting. When closed, the Council Executive stores the closure artifact in the meeting collaboration folder associated with the actioning meeting and links it to the associated meeting webpage.
g. The Council Executive reviews the status of overdue and coming-due actions at the beginning of each Council meeting.
2.8.1 The Chief of Staff:
a. Provides direction to the Director, OES, on the application of the Administrator’s expectations for the Agency’s senior leadership decision-making process to be applied consistently across Agency Governance Councils.
b. Determines standard levels of access provided to Council members and senior staff based on the sensitivity of subject material.
c. As Convener of the Executive Council, adjudicates, when needed, questions of decision authority between the Executive Council and its subordinate Councils chartered in NPD 1000.3.
2.8.2 Council Chairs:
a. Ensure their Charters are reviewed to meet their expectations and the current needs of the Agency.
b. Encourage open and direct discussion by Council members during meetings.
c. Exercise risk leadership in making evidence-based Council decisions, balancing Agency mission needs, institutional capability considerations, stakeholder inputs, and other factors.
d. Render final decisions during Council meetings and support timely communication of outcomes, decisions, and actions after meetings.
e. Confirm Topic Proposals as briefed by the Council Executive, providing feedback and adjustments as needed.
f. Establish appropriate attendance policies for each meeting consistent with this NPR and within the flexibilities provided by their Council charters in NPD 1000.3.
2.8.3 Recommending Officials in Charge or Center Directors:
a. Support the Council Executive in developing a complete Topic Proposal to support confirmation by the Chair no less than seven weeks before a desired Council date.
b. Ensure all deadlines are met as agreed to in the Topic Proposal, including attendee requests, lists of interested parties (when needed), draft decision language, draft briefing charts, and final briefing charts.
c. Ensure timely execution of stakeholder engagement plans agreed to in the Topic Proposal, to include completing any pre-briefs (including their own) prior to the delivery of final charts.
d. Ensure the Council Executive is included in meetings related to the topic with Office of the Administrator Principals or senior advisors, or in formal pre-board meetings within their organizations.
e. Relative to feedback by the Council Executive:
(1) When feedback by the Council Executive is characterized as direction (whether to align with the Topic Proposal, or as relayed from the Chair), ensures that such feedback is implemented.
(2) When feedback by the Council Executive is characterized as optional, strongly considers implementing the feedback.
f. Notify the Chair, through OES, of significant delays in implementation of Council decisions or actions.
g. Follow requirements in NAII 1152.2 in preparing final chart packages.
2.8.4 The Director, OES, through Council Executives:
a. Negotiates agreement and commitment between the recommending Council member and the Chair on Council topic framing, approach, and schedule and documents these in a binding commitment (the Topic Proposal).
b. Implements procedures and schedules which ensure that Council decisions are correctly framed, are supported by sufficient evidence, consider necessary stakeholder inputs, and are actionable and implementable within desired timeframes.
c. Provides feedback during Council topic development to ensure alignment with the confirmed topic proposal and clearly communicates whether this is direction based on prior discussion with the Chair or an OES recommendation.
d. Ensures, to the maximum extent practicable, that Council minutes, decisions, and actions are communicated and published in a timely way after Council meetings and are made available, or redacted and made available, to the NASA workforce.
e. Ensures actions and their suspense dates support timely implementation of Council decisions to support Agency policy, priorities, and initiatives.
f. Monitors Council actions, recommends action closure to the Chair, ensures documentation of action outcomes through appropriate artifacts, and negotiates action extensions between the actioned organization and the Chair prior to their due date.
g. Establishes and maintains a current long-lead forecast of Council requirements.
h. Implements a Council planning, scheduling, and agenda management approach which enables long-lead planning for both the Office of the Administrator and Council members, respects senior officials’ time, and supports decision velocity in making time-sensitive decisions.
i. Ensures that appropriate Council attendance and access controls are in place to maintain the confidentiality and integrity of the Government decision-making process, and to protect sensitive and/or pre-decisional materials.
2.8.5 Participating Council Members:
a. Participate in Council Meetings as advisors to the Chair, representing both their organizational interest and the NASA enterprise interest.
b. Come prepared to Council meetings, having participated in any formal comments process (if used), reviewed the topic background, and reviewed the draft and/or final briefing charts before the meeting.
c. Support their front office staff in responding to RSVP/delegate requests for restricted access meetings by established deadlines.
d. Respect the Chair’s directed attendance policies when making special requests for additional support staff attendance to restricted access meetings.
e. Support their staff in following guidance in 2.1.3 above for consultation before, or avoidance of, scheduling significant meetings that would encumber Office of the Administrator Principals or other Council members over Council holds or invitations.
2.8.6 The Chief Program Management Officer:
a. Recommends tailoring of the Decision Memorandum format (Appendix E) for specific programmatic milestones to the Director, OES.
b. Maintains and distributes a configuration-controlled collection of approved KDP Decision Memorandum templates.
| TOC | Preface | Chapter1 | Chapter2 | AppendixA | AppendixB | AppendixC | AppendixD | AppendixE | ALL | |
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