| NODIS Library | Organization and Administration(1000s) | Search |

NASA Ball NASA
Policy
Directive
NPD 1385.2I
Effective Date: April 04, 2023
Expiration Date: May 09, 2024
COMPLIANCE IS MANDATORY FOR NASA EMPLOYEES
Printable Format (PDF)

Subject: Public Appearances of NASA Personnel, Including Astronauts

Responsible Office: Office of Communications


1. POLICY

a. It is NASA policy to encourage the acceptance of public speaking engagements by NASA personnel, including astronauts, to ensure the widest dissemination of information about NASA and its programs. For the purpose of this NPD, NASA personnel includes all employees.

b. All public speaking engagements will meet the following criteria prior to acceptance of the invitation. The speaking engagement will:

(1) Be in the best interest of NASA and the Government;

(2) Be accommodated without major interference to the primary NASA duties of the intended speaker;

(3) Have no adverse impact on program activities;

(4) Not exploit NASA or the intended speaker for fundraising or endorsement;

(5) Not cause the speaker to violate 5 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Pt. 2635, Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch;

(6) Not unlawfully discriminate against participants on the basis of race, sex, color, national origin, disability, religion, age, sexual orientation, or status as a parent.

c. Travel expenses incidental to approved official public appearances may be accepted pursuant to NASA Policy Directive (NPD) 9710.1 and NASA Procedural Requirement (NPR) 9790.1.

d. Pursuant to 18 United States Code (U.S.C.) § 209, NASA employees are prohibited from accepting additional compensation for making official public appearances.

2. APPLICABILITY

a. This NPD applies to NASA Headquarters and NASA Centers, including Component Facilities and Technical and Service Support Centers. This language applies to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC), only to the extent specified or referenced in the appropriate contracts, grants, or agreements.

b. In this directive, all mandatory actions (i.e. requirements) are denoted by statements containing the term "shall." 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.

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

3. AUTHORITY

National Aeronautics and Space Act, as amended, 51 U.S.C. § 20113(a).

4. APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS AND FORMS

a. 18 U.S.C. § 209, Salary of Government Officials and Employees Payable Only by United States.

b. 5 CFR Pt. 2635, Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch.

c. NPD 9710.1, Delegation of Authority--to Authorize or Approve Temporary Duty Travel on Official Business and Related Matters.

d. NPR 1385.1, Public Appearances of NASA Astronauts.

e. NPR 9790.1, Payment of Travel Expenses from a Non-Federal Source.

5. RESPONSIBILITY

a. The Associate Administrator (AA) for the Office of Communications, or his/her designee, is responsible for issuing and managing this directive. The AA shall identify an Agency Speakers Bureau Program Manager and a Headquarters Astronaut Appearance Manager to oversee the implementation of this directive as defined in NPR 1385.1.

b. Each NASA Center shall designate a Center Speakers Bureau Coordinator. The Center Speakers Bureau Coordinators will conduct and administer the NASA Speakers Bureau Program within their respective geographic regions under the guidance and direction of the Agency Speakers Bureau Program Manager.

c. The Astronaut Office, NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC), is responsible for managing all domestic and postflight astronaut appearances, except those involving the White House or other U.S. Executive Branch departments or agencies, the U.S. Congress, the Diplomatic Corps (which encompasses embassies or foreign missions and all foreign countries), and educational, press, or community organizations in the metropolitan Washington, DC area. Those appearances are managed by the Headquarters Astronaut Appearance Manager in coordination with the Astronaut Appearance Office at JSC and the Offices of International and Interagency Relations and Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs.

d. Any employee who agrees to do a public appearance, arranged outside of the Speakers Bureau or Astronaut Appearance Programs, is responsible for assuring that the appearance is in compliance with the criteria contained in Section 1 of this NPD. This applies whether the appearance is part of an individual NASA organization's public engagement efforts or in response to a request made directly to the employee. In addition, the employee will also comply with NASA guidance related to the release of information to the public and/or media.

6. DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY

None.

7. MEASUREMENT/VERIFICATION

Monitoring and assessing the Speakers Bureau and Astronaut Appearances Programs will be done in accordance with NPR 1385.1

8. CANCELLATION

NPD 1385.2H, Public Appearances of NASA Astronauts and Other NASA Personnel, dated November 24, 1999.

/s/James F. Bridenstine
Administrator

ATTACHMENT A: DEFINITIONS

Public Appearance: For the purposes of this directive, a public appearance is any appearance before a non-NASA audience, which relates to NASA as an organization, the work done by NASA, the employee's NASA duties, or for which the invitation to appear is extended to the employee because of their position with NASA.

ATTACHMENT B: REFERENCES

B.1. 31 U.S.C. § 1353, Acceptance of Travel and Related Expenses from Non- Federal Sources.

B.2. 41 CFR Chapter 301, Temporary Duty (TDY) Travel Allowances and 41 CFR Chapter 304, Payment of Travel Expenses from a Non-Federal Source.

(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.