Recommendation: 

NASA Advisory Council Recommendation 

Outreach 

2012-03-01 (HEOC-Ol) 

NASA should leverage its contractors in developing its overall outreach strategy. Specifically, 

NASA should develop an integrated outreach plan that includes actions that the Agency and its 

contractors Can perform. NASA should also include a requirement in solicitations for offerors 

to submit their outreach plans as part of their proposal. An offeror'S outreach plan, including 

flow down of the outreach requirements to subcontractors, would be evaluated and factored 

into the overall proposal rating. This activity should be coordinated with the Education and 

Public Outreach Office. 

Major Reasons for Proposing the Recommendation: 

NASA has a multifaceted outreach program. It could be significantly enhanced by leveraging 

this program with a network of NASA's contractors and their numerous sub-contractors. 

Consequences of No Action on the Proposed Recommendation: 

Many Americans are under the mistaken impression that the human spaceflight program has 

been cancelled. We risk losing support for NASA's programs if our stakeholders are not aware 

of the programs. 

NASA Response: 

NASA concurs and is implementing changes to the Agency Communications operational 

model and govemance.incorporating communications plans that include activities to be 

performed by both NASA personnel and our contractors. The NASA Communications 

community is immersed in implementing the recommendations approved by the NASA 

Executive Council on February 8, 2012, regarding the Agency's C()mmunications governance 

and operational model. This includes changes to the approach for planning and implementation 

of Education and Public Outreach activities. The August 14,2012, release of NASA 

Procedural Requirements 7120.5E includes a new requirement for flight programs and projects 

to submit Communications and Education plans. Templates for these plans have been 

developed. Over the past several months, Mission Directorates have initiated work to develop 

and put into place their approaches for Communications Plan development, approval, and 

implementation (including process, roles, and responsibilities). The scope of the 

Program/Project Communications Plan, as defmed in the template, includes identification of 

partners and defmitions of their respective roles and responsibilities in conducting the 

Communications function for the given program or project. This would include the roles and 

responsibilities of contractor teams and staff. The scope of the Communications Plan addresses 

all functions, including media, multimedia, social media and outreach events and activities. 

The goal is for Mission Directorates to have Program/Project Communications Plans completed 

by September 30, 2013. 

Enclosure 
Using the Program/Project Communications Plans, as well as new annual Communications 

Plans for Mission Directorate and Center efforts, the NASA Communications Coordinating 

Council (CCC) will develop and manage an integrated NASA Communications Portfolio. The 

purpose of the portfolio is to provide a clear picture of NASA's Communications investments, 

activities, events, and programs; to facilitate dialogue and decision making within the CCC 

regarding the Agency's communications work; and to ensure NASA develops and implements 

a broad and diverse set of efforts that effectively reaches and engages its stakeholders, 

including employees and the public. Active management of the portfolio will provide the 

venue to identify and address gaps, leverage resources, eliminate duplication of efforts, and 

ensure all efforts incorporate 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. 

2 

These will include developing and establishing common metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of 

Communications investments across the portfolio, including 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 NASA Procedural 

. Requirements for Communications - will provide clarity regarding roles and responsibilities 

and the policies and procedures necessary to more effectively execute the Communications 

function. 

NASA believes these new changes to the Agency Communications operational model and 

governance, once fully implemented, will meet the intent of the NASA Advisory Council 

recommendation.