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**OFFICE WORK INSTRUCTION**

**OBTAIN APPROVAL**

**FOR RELEASE OF**

**SOLICITATION INSTRUMENT**

**(Conforming to ISO 9001 Quality System Requirements)**

**Original Signed By:**

**Ghassem R. Asrar**

**Associate Administrator, Office of Earth Science**

**DOCUMENT HISTORY LOG**

+---------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| Status  | Do     | Eff    | Description                             |
|         | cument | ective |                                         |
| (Ba     |        |        |                                         |
| seline/ | Re     | Date   |                                         |
|         | vision |        |                                         |
| Re      |        |        |                                         |
| vision/ |        |        |                                         |
|         |        |        |                                         |
| Ca      |        |        |                                         |
| nceled) |        |        |                                         |
+---------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| B       |        | 11     |                                         |
| aseline |        | /30/98 |                                         |
+---------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| R       | A      | 4      | Document History Log: Remove \"Draft\"  |
| evision |        | /30/99 | as a Status option.                     |
|         |        |        |                                         |
|         |        |        | Section 2.0: Renamed section to \"Scope |
|         |        |        | and Applicability.\"                    |
|         |        |        |                                         |
|         |        |        | Section 4.0: Removed references not     |
|         |        |        | specifically called out in procedure.   |
|         |        |        |                                         |
|         |        |        | Section 5.0: Removed \"Original\" from  |
|         |        |        | title of Quality Record of Activity \#  |
|         |        |        | 8 to be consistent with referencing     |
|         |        |        | HQOWIs. Deleted output of Activity \#   |
|         |        |        | 20, \"Released Solicitation Package,\"  |
|         |        |        | since it was a conceptual product.      |
|         |        |        |                                         |
|         |        |        | Section 6.0: Added language to          |
|         |        |        | Activities \# 2 and \# 6 indicating the |
|         |        |        | concurrence cover sheet stays with the  |
|         |        |        | draft solicitation package until all    |
|         |        |        | concurrences are received. Provided     |
|         |        |        | more detail on the structure of the     |
|         |        |        | solicitation number and the logging in  |
|         |        |        | of solicitation packages in Activity \# |
|         |        |        | 7. Added information from NFS 1835 on   |
|         |        |        | the contents of a CBD synopsis in       |
|         |        |        | Activity \# 11. Added notification of   |
|         |        |        | CBD synopsis posting in Activity \# 12. |
|         |        |        |                                         |
|         |        |        | Section 7.0: Added NPG 1441.1           |
|         |        |        | reference. Removed \"Original\" from    |
|         |        |        | the title of the Quality Record.        |
|         |        |        | Changed mapping from NPG Schedule 5,    |
|         |        |        | "Industry Relations and Procurement,"   |
|         |        |        | to NPG Schedule 7, "Program Formulation |
|         |        |        | Records."                               |
+---------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
| R       | B      | 5      | Section 4, 5, 6 & 7 amended to reflect  |
| evision |        | /12/00 | new requirement to provide GSFC with    |
|         |        |        | NPG 7120.5 Certification.               |
+---------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
|         |        |        |                                         |
+---------+--------+--------+-----------------------------------------+

**PREFACE**

The NASA Office Work Instruction (OWI) for Obtain Approval for Release
of Solicitation Instrument documents the tasks and activities in
conformance with the International Organization for Standardization's
(ISO) 9001 requirements for quality systems. The OWI supplements the
*NASA Strategic Plan*, the *NASA Strategic Management Handbook*, and
other higher level NASA directives, which form the basis for how NASA
conducts business.

This OWI is not intended to duplicate or contradict any other NASA
policy, procedures or guidelines, which currently exist. As such, the
OWI will reference prevailing documents where a topic is addressed and
existing coverage is deemed adequate. Additional information provided
within is intended to supplement existing documentation regarding
Headquarters (HQ) implementation of strategic and program/project
management, as well as HQ conformance with the ISO 9001 Quality
Management System (QMS) requirements.

**TABLE OF CONTENTS**

[PARAGRAPH]{.underline} PAGE

**1.0 PURPOSE [5](#purpose)**

2.0 SCOPE and Applicability [5](#scope-and-applicability)

3.0 DEFINITIONS [5](#definitions)

4.0 references [5](#references)

5.0 FLOWchart [6](#flowchart)

6.0 PROcedure [10](#procedure)

7.0 QUALITY RECORDS [13](#quality-records)

#   {#section .unnumbered}

# 1.0 PURPOSE

This OWI documents the NASA Earth Science Enterprise (ESE) procedure for
releasing solicitation instruments.

# 2.0 SCOPE and Applicability

2.1 [Scope]{.underline}. The ESE procedure for obtaining approval for
public release of a solicitation includes receiving the draft
solicitation package and checking it for completeness, obtaining
required concurrence and revising as necessary, obtaining the ESE
Associate Administrator's (AA's) approval, printing and distributing the
solicitation, posting the solicitation announcement in the Commerce
Business Daily (CBD), and posting the solicitation itself on the ESE
Home Page. This process applies to the release of NASA Research
Announcements (NRAs), Announcements of Opportunity (AOs), and
Cooperative Agreement Notifications (CANs).

The ESE obtains approval for solicitation release as part of
solicitation development procedures. As such, ESE executes this process
in support of higher-level processes as documented by HQOWI 7120-Y003,
*Formulate and Approve Flight Missions,* and HQOWI 8310-Y005, *Solicit
and Select Science, Applications, Education, and Technology
Investigations.*

The solicitation initiator and the Research Opportunity Administrator
play primary roles in this procedure. The solicitation initiator is
usually a science, applications, education, or technology program
manager, but could be a division director, deputy division director, or
someone such as a discipline scientist who is not a program manager. The
Research Opportunity Administrator from the Business Management Division
(Code YB) provides administrative support.

2.2 [Applicability]{.underline}. This work instruction for Obtain
Approval for Release of Solicitation Instrument applies to the NASA
Office of Earth Science (OES, Code Y) offices and divisions. The
Associate Administrator for Earth Science is responsible for maintaining
this document. The controlled version of this OWI is available on the
World Wide Web (WWW) via the HQ ISO 9000 Document Library at
[http://hqiso9000.hq.nasa.gov]{.underline}. Any printed version of this
OWI is uncontrolled (reference: HCP 1400.1, *Document and Data
Control*). Proposed revisions will be accomplished by following HQOWI
1410-Y015, *Approve Quality Documents*.

# 3.0 DEFINITIONS

Appendix B of the *Earth Science Enterprise Management Handbook*
provides ESE-specific terms and definitions.

# 4.0 references

The following documents contain provisions that, through reference in
this OWI or in policy or procedure documents, constitute the basis for
the documented procedure:

> NFS Part 1835 NASA FAR Supplement, Part 1835, Research and Development
> Contracting
>
> NFS Part 1871 NASA FAR Supplement, Part 1871, MidRange Procurement
> Procedures

NFS Part 1872 NASA FAR Supplement, Part 1872, Acquisition of
Investigations

> NPG 5800.1 Grant and Cooperative Agreement Handbook
>
> NPG 7120.5 NASA Program and Project Management Processes and
> Requirements

# 5.0 FLOWchart

The following flowchart depicts the procedure described in Section 6.
The output in boldface type represents the quality record listed in
Section 7.

![](media/image2.wmf)

5.0 FLOWchart (CONTINUED)

![](media/image3.wmf)

5.0 FLOWchart (CONTINUED)

![](media/image4.wmf)

# 6.0 PROcedure

The following table describes the flowchart of Section 5.

+--------------+----+--------------------------------------------------+
| Actionee     |    | Action                                           |
+--------------+----+--------------------------------------------------+
| Research     | 1  | [Check Solicitation Package for                  |
| Opportunity  |    | Completeness]{.underline}. The Research          |
| A            |    | Opportunity Administrator receives a draft       |
| dministrator |    | solicitation package from the solicitation       |
|              |    | initiator and reviews the package for            |
|              |    | completeness. In particular, the Research        |
|              |    | Opportunity Administrator checks for the         |
|              |    | following:                                       |
|              |    |                                                  |
|              |    | -   Solicitation cover page,                     |
|              |    |                                                  |
|              |    | -   Instructions for responding to the           |
|              |    |     solicitation,                                |
|              |    |                                                  |
|              |    | -   Investigation requirements,                  |
|              |    |                                                  |
|              |    | -   Proposal cover sheet,                        |
|              |    |                                                  |
|              |    | -   Certification templates,                     |
|              |    |                                                  |
|              |    | -   Budget summary template and instructions for |
|              |    |     completing the budget summary,               |
|              |    |                                                  |
|              |    | -   Concurrence sheet,                           |
|              |    |                                                  |
|              |    | -   Request for electronic letter of intent,     |
|              |    |                                                  |
|              |    | -   Guidelines for foreign participation, and    |
|              |    |                                                  |
|              |    | -   Sample CBD synopsis text and format.         |
|              |    |                                                  |
|              |    | If the solicitation package is incomplete, the   |
|              |    | Research Opportunity Administrator provides      |
|              |    | guidance and works with the solicitation         |
|              |    | initiator to produce a complete solicitation     |
|              |    | package.                                         |
+--------------+----+--------------------------------------------------+
| Research     | 2  | [Obtain Required Concurrence]{.underline}. Once  |
| Opportunity  |    | the solicitation package is complete, the        |
| A            |    | Research Opportunity Administrator distributes   |
| dministrator |    | the solicitation package to the individuals and  |
|              |    | offices indicated on the concurrence sheet. The  |
|              |    | concurrence sheet is kept with the draft         |
|              |    | solicitation package and signed as indicated     |
|              |    | reviewers concur with the content.               |
|              |    |                                                  |
|              |    | Some concurrences may be obtained in parallel    |
|              |    | using duplicate packages, but others must be     |
|              |    | obtained in series. It is usual to obtain all    |
|              |    | but the final Code Y concurrence before seeking  |
|              |    | concurrence from Codes I, H and G (External      |
|              |    | Relations, Business Office, and General Counsel  |
|              |    | respectively). At a minimum, the concurring      |
|              |    | individuals within the originating division      |
|              |    | should include the solicitation initiator and    |
|              |    | the appropriate division director.               |
+--------------+----+--------------------------------------------------+
| Research     | 3  | [Review Requests for Revisions]{.underline}. The |
| Opportunity  |    | Research Opportunity Administrator receives the  |
| A            |    | signed concurrence cover sheets and reviews any  |
| dministrator |    | requests for revisions. If the revisions are     |
|              |    | administrative in nature, the Research           |
|              |    | Opportunity Administrator will make the          |
|              |    | necessary changes (see Activity 5). If the       |
|              |    | revisions are for technical changes, the         |
|              |    | Research Opportunity Administrator will pass the |
|              |    | requests to the solicitation initiator who will  |
|              |    | make the appropriate changes (see Activity 4).   |
|              |    | If there are no revisions, the process proceeds  |
|              |    | directly to Activity 7, Assign Solicitation      |
|              |    | Number.                                          |
+--------------+----+--------------------------------------------------+
| Solicitation | 4  | [Make Technical Revisions]{.underline}. In the   |
| Initiator    |    | event that the concurrence process resulted in   |
|              |    | requests for technical revisions to the          |
|              |    | solicitation package, the solicitation initiator |
|              |    | reviews the requests and, based on his or her    |
|              |    | professional judgment, makes changes. In some    |
|              |    | cases, this will require additional analysis and |
|              |    | coordination.                                    |
+--------------+----+--------------------------------------------------+
| Research     | 5  | [Make Administrative or Non-Technical            |
| Opportunity  |    | Revisions]{.underline}. If the requests for      |
| A            |    | revisions are administrative or non-technical in |
| dministrator |    | nature, the Research Opportunity Administrator   |
|              |    | reviews the requests and, based on his or her    |
|              |    | professional judgment, makes the changes to the  |
|              |    | solicitation package. In some cases, this will   |
|              |    | require additional analysis and coordination.    |
+--------------+----+--------------------------------------------------+
| Research     | 6  | [Confirm and Coordinate Requested                |
| Opportunity  |    | Changes]{.underline}. Together, the Research     |
| A            |    | Opportunity Administrator and the solicitation   |
| dministrator |    | initiator review the resulting changes, confirm  |
|              |    | they were made and are appropriate, and engage   |
| Solicitation |    | in any additional coordination or follow-up      |
| Initiator    |    | activities necessary to complete the             |
|              |    | solicitation package prior to review by the ESE  |
|              |    | AA. Follow-up activities include ensuring all    |
|              |    | concurrence signatures have been obtained on the |
|              |    | solicitation package\'s concurrence sheet.       |
+--------------+----+--------------------------------------------------+
| Research     | 7  | [Assign Solicitation Number]{.underline}. Once   |
| Opportunity  |    | the solicitation package is completed and        |
| A            |    | coordinated, the Research Opportunity            |
| dministrator |    | Administrator assigns a solicitation number. The |
|              |    | solicitation numbers indicate the type of        |
|              |    | solicitation instrument, the year of the         |
|              |    | solicitation, the enterprise responsible for the |
|              |    | solicitation (Office of Earth Science (OES)),    |
|              |    | and the sequence of the solicitation. For        |
|              |    | example, the following are the first             |
|              |    | solicitation numbers in 1999 for NRAs, AOs, and  |
|              |    | CANs respectively: NRA99OES01, AO99OES01, and    |
|              |    | CAN99OES01.                                      |
|              |    |                                                  |
|              |    | The Research Opportunity Administrator also logs |
|              |    | in the solicitation package. This is done in an  |
|              |    | Excel spreadsheet file maintained exclusively by |
|              |    | the Research Opportunity Administrator. The      |
|              |    | minimum information recorded includes: the       |
|              |    | solicitation title, the solicitation number, the |
|              |    | name of the solicitation initiator, and the      |
|              |    | solicitation release date.                       |
+--------------+----+--------------------------------------------------+
| Research     | 8  | [Send to ESE AA for Approval]{.underline}. The   |
| Opportunity  |    | Research Opportunity Administrator sends the     |
| A            |    | completed solicitation package to the ESE AA for |
| dministrator |    | review and approval. If the ESE AA signs the     |
|              |    | concurrence cover sheet then the process         |
|              |    | proceeds to the steps associated with releasing  |
|              |    | the solicitation (see Activities 11, 15, and     |
|              |    | 19). If the ESE AA requests revisions, then the  |
|              |    | Research Opportunity Administrator makes         |
|              |    | administrative or non-technical changes to the   |
|              |    | solicitation package (see Activity 10), while    |
|              |    | the solicitation initiator makes technical       |
|              |    | changes (see Activity 9). After the changes are  |
|              |    | made the solicitation package is sent back to    |
|              |    | the ESE AA.                                      |
+--------------+----+--------------------------------------------------+
| Solicitation | 9  | [Make Technical Revisions]{.underline}. In the   |
| Initiator    |    | event that the ESE AA requests technical         |
|              |    | revisions to the solicitation package, the       |
|              |    | solicitation initiator reviews the requests      |
|              |    | makes the requested changes. In some cases, this |
|              |    | will require additional analysis and             |
|              |    | coordination.                                    |
+--------------+----+--------------------------------------------------+
| Research     | 10 | [Make Administrative or Non-Technical            |
| Opportunity  |    | Revisions]{.underline}. If the requests for      |
| A            |    | revisions are administrative or non-technical in |
| dministrator |    | nature, the Research Opportunity Administrator   |
|              |    | reviews the requests and makes the requested     |
|              |    | changes. In some cases, this will require        |
|              |    | additional analysis and coordination.            |
+--------------+----+--------------------------------------------------+
| Research     | 11 | [Prepare and Send CBD Synopsis to GFSC Grants    |
| Opportunity  |    | Administration Office]{.underline}. Together,    |
| A            |    | the Research Opportunity Administrator and       |
| dministrator |    | solicitation initiator prepare a brief synopsis  |
|              |    | of the solicitation for inclusion in the CBD.    |
| Solicitation |    | The technical section of the synopsis shall      |
| Initiator    |    | contain no more than 50 words (reference NFS     |
|              |    | 1835.016-70(b)(2)). This synopsis is sent to     |
|              |    | Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Headquarters  |
|              |    | Acquisition Branch (Code 210.H), Grants          |
|              |    | Administration Office electronically. A signed   |
|              |    | copy of NPG 7120.5 Certification for Release of  |
|              |    | Solicitation is faxed to GSFC Grants             |
|              |    | Administration Office and the original is kept   |
|              |    | with the Solicitation Package by the Research    |
|              |    | Opportunity Administrator. The GSFC Grants       |
|              |    | Administration Office is responsible for         |
|              |    | ensuring the synopsis gets posted in the CBD.    |
+--------------+----+--------------------------------------------------+
| Goddard      | 12 | [Post Synopsis in CBD]{.underline}. GSFC Grants  |
| Space Flight |    | Administration Office posts the solicitation     |
| Center       |    | synopsis in the CBD 15 days prior to release of  |
| Grants       |    | the solicitation. The GSFC Grants Administration |
| Ad           |    | Office then sends an email to the Research       |
| ministration |    | Opportunity Administrator indicating the CBD     |
| Office       |    | synopsis has been posted.                        |
+--------------+----+--------------------------------------------------+
| Research     | 13 | [Notify IR&MS Contractor of CBD                  |
| Opportunity  |    | Posting]{.underline}. The Research Opportunity   |
| A            |    | Administrator receives an email via the NASA     |
| dministrator |    | Automated Information System (NAIS) that         |
|              |    | indicates the solicitation synopsis has been     |
|              |    | posted in the CBD. At that time, the Research    |
|              |    | Opportunity Administrator sends the CBD synopsis |
|              |    | to the NASA HQ Information Resources and         |
|              |    | Management Support (IR&MS) contractor.           |
+--------------+----+--------------------------------------------------+
| IR&MS        | 14 | [Post CBD Synopsis on ESE Home                   |
| Contractor   |    | Page]{.underline}. Upon notification from the    |
|              |    | Research Opportunity Administrator that the      |
|              |    | solicitation synopsis has been posted in the     |
|              |    | CBD, the NASA HQ IR&MS contractor posts the      |
|              |    | synopsis on the ESE Home Page.                   |
+--------------+----+--------------------------------------------------+
| Research     | 15 | [Send Electronic Copy of Solicitation Package to |
| Opportunity  |    | Service Support Contractor]{.underline}. After   |
| A            |    | the ESE AA approves the solicitation package by  |
| dministrator |    | signing the concurrence cover sheet (see         |
|              |    | Activity 8), the Research Opportunity            |
|              |    | Administrator sends an electronic copy of the    |
|              |    | solicitation package to ESE's Service Support    |
|              |    | Contractor for conversion into multiple          |
|              |    | electronic formats.                              |
+--------------+----+--------------------------------------------------+
| Service      | 16 | [Convert Final Solicitation Package to Multiple  |
| Support      |    | Electronic Formats]{.underline}. The Service     |
| Contractor   |    | Support Contractor, upon receipt of an           |
|              |    | electronic version of the approved solicitation  |
|              |    | package, converts the solicitation package into  |
|              |    | multiple formats. These formats include          |
|              |    | postscript, HTML, PDF, MS Word, and ASCII Text.  |
|              |    | These multiple representations of the            |
|              |    | solicitation package are then sent to the IR&MS  |
|              |    | contractor.                                      |
+--------------+----+--------------------------------------------------+

+--------------+----+--------------------------------------------------+
| IR&MS        | 17 | [Post Final Solicitation Package on a Restricted |
| Contractor   |    | Web Page]{.underline}. The IR&MS contractor      |
|              |    | posts the final solicitation package in its many |
|              |    | formats on a restricted web page that can be     |
|              |    | accessed only by the IR&MS contractor and the    |
|              |    | Research Opportunity Administrator.              |
+--------------+----+--------------------------------------------------+
| Research     | 18 | [Confirm Conversions]{.underline}. The Research  |
| Opportunity  |    | Opportunity Administrator and solicitation       |
| A            |    | initiator review the format conversions for      |
| dministrator |    | accuracy. At the appropriate time, the Research  |
|              |    | Opportunity Administrator forwards the multiple  |
| Solicitation |    | formats to the IR&MS contractor for posting on   |
| Initiator    |    | the ESE Home Page (no sooner than 15 days after  |
|              |    | the CBD announcement).                           |
+--------------+----+--------------------------------------------------+
| Research     | 19 | [Print, Copy, and Distribute Final Solicitation  |
| Opportunity  |    | Package]{.underline}. After the ESE AA approves  |
| A            |    | the solicitation package by signing the          |
| dministrator |    | concurrence cover sheet (see Activity 8), the    |
|              |    | Research Opportunity Administrator prints a copy |
|              |    | of the final solicitation package and has hard   |
|              |    | copies made using the NASA HQ internal printing  |
|              |    | capabilities. Typically, the Research            |
|              |    | Opportunity Administrator makes and distributes  |
|              |    | 10 copies for the solicitation initiator, 15     |
|              |    | copies for the Research Opportunity              |
|              |    | Administrator's files, and 50 copies for the     |
|              |    | Service Support Contractor.                      |
+--------------+----+--------------------------------------------------+
| IR&MS        | 20 | [Release Solicitation Package by Posting on ESE  |
| Contractor   |    | Home Page (15 days after CBD                     |
|              |    | posting)]{.underline}. The IR&MS contractor      |
|              |    | posts the solicitation package on the ESE Home   |
|              |    | Page on the date specified by the Research       |
|              |    | Opportunity Administrator. This date is no less  |
|              |    | than 15 days after the solicitation announcement |
|              |    | in the CBD.                                      |
+--------------+----+--------------------------------------------------+

# 7.0 QUALITY RECORDS

+---------------+-------+---------+--------+----------+-------------+
| RECORD        | OWNER | L       | MEDIA  | SCHEDULE | RETENTION / |
| I             |       | OCATION |        | AND ITEM | DISPOSITION |
| DENTIFICATION |       |         | Elec   | N        |             |
|               |       |         | tronic | UMBERS\* |             |
|               |       |         | or     |          |             |
|               |       |         | Ha     |          |             |
|               |       |         | rdcopy |          |             |
+===============+=======+=========+========+==========+=============+
| Solicitation  | Res   | Kept by | Ha     | Schedule | Transfer    |
| Package       | earch | R       | rdcopy | 7, Item  | all files   |
| (Includes     | O     | esearch |        | 8, "NASA | to the      |
| Signed        | pport | Oppo    |        | Research | responsible |
| Concurrence   | unity | rtunity |        | Announ   | division /  |
| Cover Sheet)  | Adm   | Admini  |        | cement." | project 2   |
|               | inist | strator |        |          | years after |
|               | rator |         |        |          | award.      |
|               |       |         |        |          | Records     |
|               |       |         |        |          | will be     |
|               |       |         |        |          | i           |
|               |       |         |        |          | ncorporated |
|               |       |         |        |          | into the    |
|               |       |         |        |          | official    |
|               |       |         |        |          | project     |
|               |       |         |        |          | file, or    |
|               |       |         |        |          | gra         |
|               |       |         |        |          | nt/contract |
|               |       |         |        |          | file.       |
+---------------+-------+---------+--------+----------+-------------+
| NPG 7120.5    | Res   | Kept by | Ha     | Schedule | Transfer    |
| Certification | earch | R       | rdcopy | 7, Item  | all files   |
| for Release   | O     | esearch |        | 8, "NASA | to the      |
| of            | pport | Oppo    |        | Research | responsible |
| Solicitation  | unity | rtunity |        | Announ   | division /  |
|               | Adm   | Admini  |        | cement." | project 2   |
|               | inist | strator |        |          | years after |
|               | rator |         |        |          | award.      |
|               |       |         |        |          | Records     |
|               |       |         |        |          | will be     |
|               |       |         |        |          | i           |
|               |       |         |        |          | ncorporated |
|               |       |         |        |          | into the    |
|               |       |         |        |          | official    |
|               |       |         |        |          | project     |
|               |       |         |        |          | file, or    |
|               |       |         |        |          | gra         |
|               |       |         |        |          | nt/contract |
|               |       |         |        |          | file.       |
+---------------+-------+---------+--------+----------+-------------+

\* Quality Records are retained in accordance with the referenced
schedule and item numbers from NPG 1441.1, *NASA Records Retention
Schedules.*