# Presentation: 868363

## NOAA Policy Directive on Internet Services

- What does it mean to me?
- Susan McLean NESDIS
- Susan.McLean@noaa.gov

## Slide 2

## Slide 3

## Thanks

- Hugh Schratwieser of the NOAA Office of General Counsel and Rashelle Richardson of NOAA’s National Geophysical Data Center are primarily to thank for the development of a JPA template to streamline the process of complying with the NOAA W-5 Policy.

## Goals of Talk

- Learn what the NOAA Policy Directive W-5 means
- Learn how this Directive impacts Internet services
- Learn what services might be impacted
- Learn how to mitigate the impact on your operations

## Background

- NOAA currently has 5 Policy Directives
- W-1: Department Policy and Regulations
- NOAA will _comply with all DOC policies_ and best practices
- W-2: Web Asset Management
- NOAA CIOs will _manage Web resources_
- W-3: Corporate Look and Feel
- NOAA Web sites will _comply with the mandatory style elements_ from the NOAA Style Book
- W-4: Registration of Web Assets
- _Yearly certification_ of Web assets through WAMIS
- W-5: Internet Services
- More information:
**http://www.cio.noaa.gov/itmanagement/ciopol.htm**

**Notes:**
Presentation Outline
Brief overview of the 5 NOAA Web Policies
Introduction to Policy on Internet Services - W-5
How W-5 might impact services provided by and for NOAA Line Offices
How W-5 might impact collaboration with non-governmental organizations
What can be done to minimize the impact of W-5
Description of the W-5 agreement template developed by NOAA General Counsel
Presentation Abstract
On September 29, 2003 the NOAA Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) adopted a new Policy Directive, W-5 NOAA Internet Presence: Internet Services.  This Policy, which must be complied with by 1 October 2004, directs that an agreement between organizations is required for NOAA to provide Internet services for an external organization or to accept Internet services from an external organization.  The policy further states that the agreement must be reviewed and approved by the NOAA Office of the General Counsel.  What does this Directive mean?  What “Internet Services” are covered by this Directive?  What is an “external organization”?  What kind of an agreement do I need? How do I know if the General Counsel will approve my agreement?  Is compliance with this Directive going to impact my Labs ability to collaborate with non-government organizations?  This presentation will attempt to answer these and other questions regarding the Internet Services Directive and offer a template, approved by the General Counsel, to help streamline the review process.

## W-5 Internet Services

- An agreement between the organizations is required for NOAA to provide Internet services for an external organization.  An agreement between the organizations is likewise required for an organization to provide NOAA Internet services.
- Effective 1 October 2004, agreements for Internet services are required.

## W-5 Details

- The agreement must:
- Be reviewed and approved by the NOAA Office of the General Counsel
- Be authorized under applicable transactional and programmatic legal authorities
- For Joint Project Agreements, demonstrate a mutual interest can be shown and costs are equitably apportioned
- For Economy Act Agreements, show that the services being obtained from the agency could not be obtained from a private source for a lower cost
- Clearly delineate sources of information to be provided
- Address how content will be managed by the parties
- Assure NOAA content complies with applicable NOAA policies and regulations

**Notes:**
Key – but not only - requirements

## More Details

- The noaa.gov domain name may only be used for sites that are fully compliant with NOAA policy.  Sites using the noaa.gov domain shall contain only NOAA mission-related content.
- Internet services apply to
- hosting of Web pages,
- Web sites,
- Internet discussion forums,
- list servers,
- email based collaboration services, and
- any Internet based service.

## All Clear?

## What Does This Policy Mean?

- If a non-federal government agency is providing services to you, or you are providing services to them, you need an agreement in place, approved by the NOAA Office of General Counsel.
- NOAA content must meet all NOAA / DOC / Federal Government regulations.
- NOAA content must be clearly distinguished from non-NOAA content.

## What Does This Impact?

- In general, if you are doing U.S. Government to U.S. Government or collaborations with commercial entities, you already have an agreement that can be modified to include Internet services. No new agreement is required.
- This policy mostly impacts activities involving non-federal government research agencies, universities, and non-profit partners.

- This policy is so broad and the possible collaborations so varied, it is easier to look at some examples and ask your CIO for guidance.

## Some Examples Requiring an Agreement

- A University is hosting data and Web site for NOAA.
- NOAA hosts a Web site and distributes data for an international not-for-profit research association partner
- NOAA hosts an email listserver for a formal research project involving non-government participants
- A foreign science agency mirrors a NOAA FTP and Web site.

## What Do I Do First?

- Identify the Internet services you provide or are provided for you by non-NOAA organizations
- Ensure that all of these activities:
- Support the mission
- Involve appropriate partners
- Share costs equitably or recover costs
- Develop an appropriate agreement, modify an existing agreement, or stop doing the activity

## How do I Proceed?

- There are several forms a Web hosting agreement might take, depending on the type of organization involved and the nature of the relationship with NOAA.
- Most of these will involve research, public (i.e. state and local government), or non-profit organizations
- These can be covered using a Joint Project Agreement (JPA)

## When Can I Use a JPA?

- The other party is a non-profit, research, or public organizations
- The costs of the project are equitably shared
- Service is mutually beneficial
- Project participation supports NOAA’s mission goals
- In general, no money is exchanged

## What Does a JPA Look Like?

- _Identifies the parties involved_, including type of partner (non-profit, research, public organization)
- _Defines_ clearly the _responsibility_ of both parties
- _Explains_ the _mutual benefit_ and how this furthers NOAA’s mission and goals
- _Defines the equitable_ apportionment of _costs_

## Sample JPA

- A Joint Project Agreement consists of 9 sections – most of which is boiler plate. The following sample takes a total of 2 pages, front and back.
- The sections which were “filled-in” are emphasized.

## Part I of IX: Parties

- This document constitutes an agreement between the National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) of the National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service (NESDIS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy (IAGA), which is a non-profit scientific organization.

## II. AUTHORITIES
NGDC/NESDIS has authority to participate in the project to collect and distribute geomagnetic data using Internet services with IAGA under:
15 U.S.C. Section 1525, the Department's Joint Project Authority, which provides that the Department may enter into joint projects with nonprofit, research, or public organizations on matters of mutual interest, the cost of which is equitably apportioned.
33 U.S.C. § 883c, which authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to collect, correlate, and disseminate geomagnetic data from domestic and foreign sources in order to assure that such data shall be readily available to Government and private agencies and individuals.

- NGDC/NESDIS has authority to participate in the project to collect and distribute geomagnetic data using Internet services with IAGA under:
- 15 U.S.C. Section 1525, the Department's Joint Project Authority, which provides that the Department may enter into joint projects with nonprofit, research, or public organizations on matters of mutual interest, the cost of which is equitably apportioned.
- 33 U.S.C. § 883c, which authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to collect, correlate, and disseminate geomagnetic data from domestic and foreign sources in order to assure that such data shall be readily available to Government and private agencies and individuals.

- Part II of IX: Authorities

## Part III of IX: Purpose

- Pursuant to this agreement, the parties will cooperate to provide the highest quality geomagnetic indices, data, and models via the IAGA Web site hosted by NOAA.  These activities support basic research as well as improving the safety of astronauts, the operation of electronics on satellites, minimizing the damage to power systems, disruption of communications, and degradation of high-tech navigation systems.  NOAA provides Web support on existing equipment and Web oversight to ensure content meet all applicable regulations and best practices.  IAGA, in partnership with NOAA, provides scientific review of data and information.
- This project is necessary and essential to further the mission of NOAA / DOC in that it will improve the operation of NOAA satellites essential to monitoring our environment, provide for safe navigation of ship and aircraft, and further research into our space, near-space, and Earth environment.  NGDC/NESDIS has determined that this project cannot be done at all or done as effectively without the participation of IAGA because of the global nature of the science.  IAGA is the primary international organization and a critical scientific partner for research related to geomagnetism and aeronomy.

## Part IV of IX: Mutual Interest

- This Web hosting is of mutual interest to the parties because it provides NOAA with global data and information essential to its mission and partnership in the international activities related to its mission for Climate and Commerce and Transportation .  It provides IAGA with reliable high-quality Web services for the distribution of data and information.

## V. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE PARTIES
NGDC/NESDIS agrees to perform the following activities and provide the following resources in support of the IAGA Web services:
a. Provide reliable Web hosting for IAGA relating to geomagnetic data, indices, and models; including review of all materials posted to ensure quality meets acceptable standards for NOAA/DOC.

IAGA agrees to perform the following activities and provide the following resources in support of IAGA Web services:
a. Provide scientific review and approval for data and information distributed from the Web site.

- NGDC/NESDIS agrees to perform the following activities and provide the following resources in support of the IAGA Web services:
- a. Provide reliable Web hosting for IAGA relating to geomagnetic data, indices, and models; including review of all materials posted to ensure quality meets acceptable standards for NOAA/DOC.
- IAGA agrees to perform the following activities and provide the following resources in support of IAGA Web services:
- a. Provide scientific review and approval for data and information distributed from the Web site.

- Part V of IX: Responsibilities

## Part VI of IX: Costs

- The costs of this activity are equitably apportioned.  NOAA’s estimated percentage of total costs of this project is less than 20%.  IAGA members support the majority of the cost of this project to acquire and review the data and information.

## VII. CONTACTS
“boiler plate”

VIII. PERIOD OF AGREEMENT AND MODIFICATION/TERMINATION
“boiler plate”

IX. OTHER PROVISIONS
“boiler plate”

- “boiler plate”
- _VIII. PERIOD OF AGREEMENT AND MODIFICATION/TERMINATION_
- “boiler plate”
- _IX. OTHER PROVISIONS_
- “boiler plate”

- Boiler Plate

## Summary

- W5-Internet Hosting requires a formal contract, approved by the NOAA GC, for you to provide Internet services to an external organization or for an external organization to provide Internet services to you.
- W5 impacts all types of Internet services including Web and FTP hosting, discussion forums, and e-mail listservers.
- If you have an existing agreement, modify it – don’t create a new one.
- If your activity meets the follow, use the JPA template:
- Other party is non-profit, research, or public
- Service is mutually beneficial
- No money exchanged

## Conclusion

- W-5 Policy Directive has wide-reaching impact on how NOAA is currently doing business.
- If in doubt, check with your CIO
- Most of our Internet services involve research, public, or non-profit organizations
- These can be covered under a simple JPA
- The NOAA GC is available to assist, but it is the responsibility of the LO to put forward a draft.
- Start now – deadline is 1 October!

## The W-5 JPA Template will be made available from the conference Web site.