# Presentation: 301154

## HQ/GSFC GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS  TRANSITION TO NSSC 

***Nick Etheridge, Procurement Officer***
***Monique Sullivan, Chief, Research Activities Branch***

## AGENDA

- Overview
- Transition Schedule
- Responsibilities – NSSC
- Responsibilities – HQ and Centers
- Technical Requirements Package
- Transmitting Documents to NSSC
- Lessons Learned
- Readiness
- Issues/Concerns
- Risk
- Summary

## OVERVIEW

- NASA has created a Shared Services Center that will perform a variety of transactional activities currently done at each NASA Center in the functional areas of:
- Financial Management
- Human Resources
- Procurement
- Designed to achieve
- Efficient and effective service and standardized processes to streamline NASA Grant and Cooperative Agreement Processing
- NSSC will work collaboratively with Centers to meet their service needs.
- Our objective is to provide support to the NASA research, science and education communities in the award and administration of research, education, training, and facility Grants and Cooperative Agreements.

## Transition Schedule

- Wave I (HQ, GSFC, DFRC, SSC, JPL/NMO)
- May 1, 2006 accept Technical Requirements Packages
- June 8, 2006 award new Grants / Cooperative Agreements
- Wave 2 (ARC, GRC, JSC, LaRC, KSC, MSFC)
- October 1, 2006

## RESPONSIBILITIES - NSSC

- Award and administration of grants and cooperative agreements to institutions of higher education, hospitals, and other non-profit organizations in accordance with Subparts A and B, as defined in 14 CFR Part 1260.4(a), the NASA Grants and Cooperative Agreement Handbook.
- Award and administration of grants with commercial firms in accordance with Subparts A and B, as defined in 14 CFR Part 1260-4(b), the NASA Grants and Cooperative Agreement Handbook.
- Award and administration of grants and cooperative agreements with State, local, and Indian tribal governments in accordance with Subpart C, 14 CFR Part 1273, the NASA Grants and Cooperative Agreement Handbook.

## RESPONSIBILITIES - NSSC

- Award and administration of Earmarks resulting in awards of grants and cooperative agreements
- For FY06 applies to Wave 1 only
- Beginning FY07 applies to all
- Award and administration of unsolicited proposals resulting in grants or cooperative agreements
***NOTE:  Excludes award of cooperative agreements with commercial firms or to establish/maintain science and research institutes, or contracts. ***

## RESPONSIBILITIES - HQ/CENTERS

- Providing to NSSC a Purchase Request Package
- Purchase Request (PR) and Technical Requirement Package (TRP)
- Administration of all existing grants and cooperative agreements (including earmarks and unsolicited proposals) awarded at the Centers through completion of closeout.
- Award and administration of cooperative agreements to establish and/or maintain science and research institutes.
- Award and administration of cooperative agreements to commercial firms.

## RESPONSIBILITIES - HQ/CENTERS

- Award and administration of any Earmarks resulting in in the award of cooperative agreements with commercial firms, or  award to establish and/or maintain science and research institutes, or contracts.
- Award and administration of unsolicited proposals resulting in the award of cooperative agreements with commercial firms, or award to establish and/or maintain science and research institutes, or contracts.
- Prepare and issue own Broad Agency Announcement  (BAA), NASA Research Announcement (NRA), Announcement of Opportunity (AO), and Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN).

## RESPONSIBILITIES - HQ/CENTERS

- Retain program/project management activities (safety, budgeting, funding, costing, property management, patents, new technology, etc.).  (Note:  The Centers finance offices will retain the payment management function (SF-272) and the financial property management reporting function until finance is transitioned to NSSC in FY08)

## TECHNICAL REQUIREMENT PACKAGE

**Required Documentation** **for New Awards/Renewals (including successor grants)**
- SOLICITED:  Technical evaluation/peer review evaluation  and selection documentation
- UNSOLICITED:  Technical evaluation, JAUP and TO’s recommendations
- COPY OF SELECTION LETTER (if one was sent to PI)
- APPROVED DETAILED BUDGET (to include appropriate narrative)
- CERTIFICATIONS

## TECHNICAL REQUIREMENT PACKAGE

**New Awards/Renewals (Continued)**
- ENDORSED PROPOSAL
- COPY OF THE NRA/AO/CAN (cover page only)
- JUSTIFICATION AND OTHER APPROVALS (equipment, travel, subcontract consent, general purpose equipment, etc.)
- SPECIAL LANGUAGE AND/OR REQUIREMENT FOR AWARD (unique reporting requirements, training grant provisions, statement of nature of collaboration for Cooperative Agreements)

## TECHNICAL REQUIREMENT PACKAGE

**Required Documentation** **for Multi-Year Funding Continuations** (i.e, year 2 of 3 or year 3 of 3)
- PROGRESS REPORT
- TECHNICAL EVALUATION MEMORANDUM
- REVISED BUDGET (if changed from the plan when grant was awarded)
- JUSTIFICATIONS AND OTHER APPROVALS (if changes affecting these requirements were made)
- ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE AND/OR REQUIREMENT FOR AWARD (if necessary)

## TECHNICAL REQUIREMENT PACKAGE

**Required Documentation** **for Supplements (Augmentations) **(within original period of performance)
- ENDORSED PROPOSAL FOR ADDITIONAL WORK
- APPROVED DETAILED BUDGET FOR ADDITIONAL WORK
- REVISED BUDGET (if changed from the plan when grant was awarded)
- TECHNICAL EVALUATION AND SELECTION STATEMENT FOR ADDITIONAL WORK

## HOW TO TRANSMIT DOCUMENTS 

- Documents with **no sensitive/proprietary data**:
- Attach documents to PR in SAP
- E-mail documents to NSSC at:
- _[nssc-contactcenter@nasa.gov](mailto:nssc-contactcenter@nasa.gov)_
- Fax documents to:  1-866-779-6772** **
- Mail documents to:
- NASA Shared Service Center
- Attn:  Office of Procurement-SP
-    		Bldg 5100
-      Stennis Space Center, MS 39529

## HOW TO TRANSMIT DOCUMENTS 

- Documents containing **sensitive/proprietary data:**
- Mail to:
- NASA Shared Service Center
- Attn:  Office of Procurement-SP
- Bldg 5100
- Stennis Space Center, MS 39529
-  Encripted e-mail (PKI) to:
-    (name of grant technician) @nasa.gov
*NOTE: NSSC to access documents in NSPIRES directly (Oct-Nov 06)*

## LESSONS LEARNED

- Consolidation of grants at GSFC and GRC
- Communication
- NSCC internal desk top procedures re-enforce the need to maintain communication with the technical officer and the grantee throughout the life of the grant
- NSSC is establishing a web base query system for internal and external customers to report on the status of the grant activities
- NSSC has assigned a Center Liaison at each Center
- NSSC will award and administer only new grants/cooperative agreements
- Effective processes and procedures are in place to perform the work
- General performance will be communicated and reported to HQ/Centers

## READINESS

- Schedule for Grants transition
- May 1st
- NSSC will accept TRP
- GSFC will begin reassigning PRs in SAP to NSSC
- NSSC begins to accept PRs in SAP
- NSSC begins to support pre-award activities
- June 8th
- NSSC makes awards in CMM
- SP Internal desk top procedures
- Distribution lists for each Center
- Grant templates (manual processing for urgent actions)

## READINESS

- Service Provider (SP) Personnel in place
- Award and Administer Grants and Cooperative Agreements
- Operate and query various IT systems
- Perform distribution and records management of awarded Grants and Cooperative Agreements
- Civil Service (CS) Personnel
- Experienced grant officers targeted on board by May 1st
- Experienced contracting officers/volunteers on board by May 1st

## ISSUES/CONCERNS 

- THE FOLLOWING MAIN ISSUES AND CONCERNS WERE RAISED THROUGH THE COMMENTS WE RECEIVED ON THE DRAFT SDG:
- PROCESS AND PROCEDURES
- HANDLING OF SENSITIVE/PROPRIETARY DATA
- COMMUNICATION WITH HQ/CENTERS

## ISSUES/CONCERNS

- Process and Procedures
- Internal process guides
- Desktop procedures
- Model grant documents
- Tech Doc process flows
- Remedy processes
- Service Delivery Guide
- Transition plan
- HANDLING OF SENSITIVE/PROPRIETARY DATA
- Sensitive data can be mailed to NSSC.  Data will be processed by the Document Management Office.   Staff has been trained in the handling of sensitive data.  Staff has signed non-disclosure statement.
- Contract contains appropriate provisions

## ISSUES/CONCERNS

- COMMUNICATION WITH HQ/CENTERS
- The communications strategy includes:
- face-to-face meetings (pre and post transition)
- teleconferences
- quick reference guide
- notices on established websites
- grant transition hotline (228-813-6134)

## Risk Assessment

| Risk Matrix |  |  |  |  |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Probability | 3 | L | L | M | H |
|  | 2 | L | L | M | M |
|  | 1 | L | L | L | L |
|  |  | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|  |  | Consequences |  |  |  |

| 

Description of Risk | Probability | Consequence | Risk | 

Mitigation Strategy |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Ability to staff with qualified personnel | 1 | 3 | L | Extensive training programs, and experienced personnel to provide OJT  |
| Records Management risk in processing manual packages received in piece meal | 3 | 2 | L | All packages processed through TechDoc, labeled
and tracked |
| IT systems not in place and operational with functional interfaces | 1 | 3 | L | Manual processing, and back loading of records in
systems when operational |
| Delay of implementation of the Contract Management Module (CMM) | 2 | 3 | M | Manual processing of Grants and Cooperative 
Agreements via established templates and back 
loaded in system when operational – for any slip beyond 2 weeks NSSC will award in SAP and later convert to CMM |

| Probability of Occurrence
Low
Medium
High
 |
| --- |

| Consequence
Minimal or no impact
Acceptable impact with no change in approach
Acceptable impacts with work arounds
Major impacts in technical, cost, or schedule |
| --- |

**Notes:**
For example, open DR’s, technical impacts, design etc.

## RISKS

- Staffing by qualified personnel (low)
- Training programs in place to train and test personnel.  Experienced personnel with prior experience on staff, with additional members in hiring process.
- Records management (low)
- Processing manual packages possibly received at different times. All packages processed through TechDoc are labeled and consolidated for tracking.
- Communication with centers promoting the need for complete packages being sent at one time.

## RISKS

- IT interface(s) not in place and operational (low)
- Manual processing, and back loading of records in systems when operational
- Contract Management Module delayed  (medium)
- Manual processing of Grants and Cooperative Agreements via established templates
- Back load into SAP when operational
- For any slip beyond a couple of weeks NSSC will award in SAP and later convert to CMM

## Summary

- NSSC is ready to assume award of new Grants and Cooperative Agreements
- Initially there will be substantial paper processing but our goal is to convert to an electronic system in the future