Recommendation: 

NASA RESPONSE 

NASA Advisory Council Recommendation 

Education and Public Outreach Centers of Excellence 

2012-02-04 (EPOC-02) 

NASA should identify "centers of excellence" for Education and Public Outreach (EPO) 

activities with which project teams can coordinate when developing their EPO programs. 

These should include (but not be limited to): social media, web site design, app development, 

data visualization, and video production. 

Major Reasons for the Recommendation: 

Lower costs, reduce duplication of effort, share best practices, move towards consistency in 

communication style and usability. 

Consequences of No Action on the Recommendation: 

NASA will overspend as it continues to "reinvent the wheel" as each project/mission develops 

its own online, mobile and social presence. The various implementations may "speak with 

different voices" and not be aligned with NASA's overall strategic goals. 

NASA Response: . 

The NASA communications community is immersed in the early stages of implementing the 

recommendations approved by the NASA Executive Council February 8, 2012, regarding the 

Agency's communications governance and operational model. This includes changes to the 

approach for planning and implementation of Education and Public Outreach activities. The 

August 18, 2012, release of NASA Procedural Requirement 7120.5E includes a new 

requirement for flight programs and projects to submit Communications and Education Plans. 

Templates for these plans have been developed. Rollout ofthis new requirement to the 

Agency's Communications and Education community has begun with briefings planned for the 

next several weeks, where management will address content, process, roles and responsibilities 

for plan development, approval, and implementation. The expectation is that for development 

and implementation of the Communications Plans, programs/projects will rely on resident staff 

and expertise at the Centers and within the Mission Directorates, who will not only provide the 

support required, but will also be accountable for monitoring and reporting through the new 

Communications Coordinating Council (CCC). Using these plans as well as new annual 

Communications Plans for Mission Directorate and Center efforts, the CCC will develop and 

maintain a NASA Communications Portfolio, which will serve as a comprehensive inventory 

of all communications efforts and products. The Communications Portfolio will be a valuable 

tool for CCC strategic dialogue regarding the Agency's communications investments. Active 

management of the portfolio will provide the CCC with the venue to identify and address gaps, 

leverage resources, eliminate duplication of efforts, ensure all efforts incorporate 

Enclosure 
2 

overarching messages, and align with the Agency's overall strategy and goals. In the context 

of moving to a more effective operational model, the Office of Communications will identify 

and evaluate additional operational changes over the course of the next year. These will 

include developing and establishing common metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of 

communications investments across the portfolio, infrastructural and other operational 

elements. In addition, completing the remaining two actions from the NASA Executive 

Council, to develop and establish a NASA Policy Document and Procedural Requirements for 

Communications, will put into place clarity regarding roles and responsibilities and the policies 

and procedures necessary to more effectively execute the communications function. NASA 

believes the new Agency communications operational model and improved governance will 

meet the intent of the NAC's recommendation. Over the next year, NASA proposes to 

consider the recommendation within the context of the comprehensive set of efforts described 

above and provide an appropriate response by April 30, 2013. 

Enclosure