Competitive Sourcing
Overview -- 2006 NASA FAIR Act Inventory

2006 NASA Federal
Activities Inventory Reform
(FAIR) Act Website

Commercial Activities Inventory Executive Summary

Commercial Activities Inventory Executive Summary Data Table

2006 NASA FAIR Act Inventory of Commercial Activities — New in pdf

2006 NASA FAIR Act Inventory of Inherently Governmental Activities — New in pdf

FAIR Act and Total Workforce Inventory

Points of Contact

Challenges and Appeals

Links

2006 Commercial Activities Inventory
Executive Summary

NASA represents the Nation’s decision to establish and fund a civilian, governmental organization to conduct research and development relating to aeronautics and space. The Agency accomplishes its mission through the combined efforts of civil service employees and a far larger body of scientific, technical, and support personnel sustained through contracts, grants, and other agreements with industry and academia.

Since its inception, this Agency has been closely linked with the private and academic sectors. Historically, NASA has contracted with the private sector for most of the products and services it uses. Less than 16 percent of the Agency’s authorized funding is expended on civil service salaries and benefits. The remainder is dispersed widely in the national economy through NASA contracts, grants and other agreements. Through these expenditures NASA acquires a variety of scientific, technical, and support services for the civilian aeronautics and space programs. The total direct private sector employment that results from NASA expenditures is estimated to exceed 100,000 work years of effort annually (includes 39,129 for contractors performing on or near NASA Centers, and others under contract).

NASA has a planned civil service level of 18,623 full time equivalents (FTE) for FY 2006. Within the civil service workforce, 5,938 FTE are in commercial activities and 12,685 FTE are inherently governmental. The commercial activities FTE are further split between those which the Agency needs to keep in-house (Commercial Reason Code A; 2,036 FTE), those subject to the requirements of OMB Circular A-76 (Commercial Reason Code B; 2,911 FTE), those activities that are the subject of in-progress standard competitions and NASA’s science competitions (Reason Code C; 405 FTE), and those performed by Government personnel as a result of NASA’s science competitions (Reason Code D; 586 FTE). NASA’s science competitions were approved in September 2003 by OMB as an OMB Circular A-76 innovative alternative.

For the Year 2006 inventory, NASA identified all of the functions performed in every organizational unit and determined the number of FTE performing each of those functions. Reason Code B FTE decreased by 494 FTE from FY 2005. In addition, there was a decrease in Reason Codes A by 190 FTE. Reason Code C increased by 83 FTE, and Reason Code D decreased by 123 FTE. There was a modest increase in inherently governmental FTE (6), due to staffing of the new NASA Shared Services Center in the inherently governmental areas including service provider oversight and contract management as the result of the public-private competition for consolidation of human resources, financial management, grant management, and information technology into one location. The changes in FTE are also driven by continuing redeployment of the workforce to effect the restructuring of the aeronautics program, the development and testing of the Space Shuttle follow-on systems, and staffing of new organizations such as the such as the Constellation Program. There is a 12 FTE difference in the NASA workforce total (18,623) vice the comparable control total in the 2.AgBu_spreadsheet (18,611) as supplied by OMB with the FAIR Act Inventory instructions. The difference is due to NASA’s expanded OIG FTE total. Each year’s FAIR Act inventory has resulted in the latest being more accurate due to incremental improvements made in the review process and the guidance issued.

The distribution of FTE by major activity is shown below for the Year 2006 inventory. The inventory shows both civil service FTE and contractor work years. The inventory reflects complete, separable, and recurring commercial functions. It highlights the activities that are commercial in nature, normally needed by any large organization but already obtained commercially by NASA.

Commercial Activities Inventory
Executive Summary Data Table
June 2006

2006 FAIR Act and Commercial and Inherently Governmental Inventories

FAIR Act and Total Workforce Inventory

-        Surveillance activities that enable the government to accept risk associated with processing and/or launch to meet federal acquisition requirements and indemnify the contractor.
-        Overseeing design activities for both NASA and contractors

d.      Approving test and other certification documentation.

e.       Approving requirements that are called out in the contract.  (Approving lower level requirements is not inherently governmental.)

f.        Accepting contractor products and services.

g.      Providing corporate system level knowledge to approve statements of work and specifications.

h.      Overseeing design activities for both NASA and contractors.

i.        Approving technical evaluations of processing changes, and anomalies and discrepancies reports.

j.        Other Managers/Supervisors of government employees (only when at least some of the employees they supervise are engaged in inherently governmental activities).

k.      Approving payments of Government funds.

l.        Formulate, defend, and manage budget.  Specifically, Program Analysts who advise management on the relationship, appropriateness, and adherence to Agency, Congressional, and Executive policy.

m.    Represent the government on national and international partner agreements and commitments.

Reason Code A:

• Succession planning to allow for timed “pipeline” replenishment for projected vacancies associated with individuals performing inherently governmental functions,

• Functions that directly impact NASA's assumed risk (loss of life, loss of high dollar value assets, credibility exposure, etc.) where the assignment and accountability for risk/liability decisions appropriately lies with NASA, or

• Functions that capture critical competencies that must be available long term and accessible by NASA, as required, and are at risk for not being available if NASA were not to exclude them from competition.

Additional Direction to Ensure Consistency of Coding:

Code all Administrative Support, Program Support, Secretaries, etc. as commercial. Use Reason Code A for the primary secretary providing support at one level below the Administrator/Center Director’s office and above. Also, the primary secretary who supports any SES shall be Reason Code A. All others are to be categorized as Reason Code B. Include administrative staff with the organization that they support, rather than combining them across the Center.

Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) Assignments and Co-ops – All are to be coded as inherently governmental or commercial, depending on the function they are currently performing.

Public Affairs Offices – All are to be coded as commercial unless they meet the test for inherently governmental. Code them as Reason Code A if they are personally representing NASA. Otherwise they are coded as Reason Code B.

ISO 9000 Support – The individuals who establish Agency and installation ISO 9000 policy are inherently governmental. All who support them are to be coded as commercial, Reason Code B.

Contract Closeout Support – All are to be coded as commercial, Reason Code B.

Patent Counsels - All patent counsel activities that are commercial, e.g. preparing patent applications, must be coded commercial.

Driving and Delivery Functions – All are to be coded commercial Reason Code A or B.

History Office Functions – All are to be coded as commercial Reason Code B unless they meet the test for inherently governmental.

Additionally, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer and the Office of Human Resources provided the following guidance relative to “inherently governmental” or commercial:

1.      The determination of Federal program priorities or budget requests.

2.      The control of the treasury accounts.

3.      The administration of public trusts.

4.      The approval of Federal licensing actions and inspections.

5.      The determination of agency policy, such as determining the content and application of regulations, among other things.

6.      The determination of budget policy, guidance, and strategy.

7.      The direction and control of inherently governmental Federal employees.

8.      The selection or nonselection of individuals for Federal Government employment.

9.      The approval of position descriptions and performance standards for Federal employees.

10.     The determination of what Government property is to be disposed of and on what terms (although an agency may give contractors authority to dispose of property at prices within specified ranges and subject to other reasonable conditions deemed appropriate by the agency).

11.     In Federal procurement activities with respect to prime contracts,

(a) determining what supplies or services are to be acquired by the Government (although an agency may give contractors authority to acquire supplies at prices within specified ranges and subject to other reasonable conditions deemed appropriate by the agency);

(b) participating as a voting member on any source selection boards;

(c) approval of any contractual documents, to include documents defining requirements, incentive plans, and evaluation criteria;

(d) awarding contracts;

(e) administering contracts (including ordering changes in contract performance or contract quantities, taking action based on evaluations of contractor performance, and accepting or rejecting contractor products or services);

(f) terminating contracts; and

(g) determining whether contract costs are reasonable, allocable, and allowable.

12.     The approval of agency responses to Freedom of Information Act requests (other than routine responses that, because of statute, regulation, or agency policy, do not require the exercise of judgment in determining whether documents are to be released or withheld), and the approval of agency responses to the administrative appeals of denials of Freedom of Information Act requests.

13.     The conduct of administrative hearings to determine the eligibility of any person for a security clearance, or involving actions that affect matters of personal reputation or eligibility to participate in Government programs.

14.     The collection, control, and disbursement of fees, royalties, duties, fines, taxes and other public funds, unless authorized by statute, such as title 31 U.S.C. 952 (relating to private collection contractors) and title 31 U.S.C. 3718 (relating to private attorney collection services).

1.      Services that involve or relate to budget preparation, including workload modeling, fact finding, efficiency studies, and should-cost analyses, etc.

2.      Services that involve or relate to analyses, feasibility studies, and strategy options to be used by agency personnel in developing policy.

3.      Services that involve or relate to the development of regulations.

4.      Providing legal advice and interpretations of regulations and statutes to Government officials.

5.      Services that involve or relate to reorganization and planning activities.

6.      Providing inspection services.

7.      Serving as arbitrators or providing alternative methods of dispute resolution.

8.      Services in support of acquisition planning.

9.      Participating as technical advisors to a source selection board or participating as nonvoting members of a source evaluation board.

10.     Providing technical evaluation of contract proposals.

11.     Providing assistance in the development of statements of work.

12.     Services that involve or relate to the evaluation of contractor's performance.

13.     Providing support in preparing responses to Freedom of Information Act requests.

14.     Providing information regarding agency policies or regulations, such as attending conferences on behalf of an agency, conducting community relations campaigns, or conducting agency training courses.

15.     Collection of fees, fines, penalties, costs or other charges from visitors to or patrons of mess halls, post or base exchange concessions, national parks, and similar entities or activities, or from other persons, where the amount to be collected is easily calculated or predetermined and the funds collected can be easily controlled using standard cash management techniques, and routine voucher and invoice examination.

1. Drafts classification policies and rules

2. Establishes classification policy

3. Makes final determination on job duties and responsibilities

4. Exercises final position classification authority

5. Exercises final authority on interpreting and applying classification regulations and policy

6. Exercises final authority on position management policy.

1. Provides position management advice and guidance to supervisors and managers

2. Develops job descriptions

3. Evaluates and classifies jobs (tentative determination)

4. Establishes, maintains and disposes of classification records and files

5. Explains classification rationale to managers, supervisors and employees.

6. Processes classification appeals

7. Conduct job audits e.g., desk audits

8. Applies, tests and reports on the impact of draft classification standards

9. Assists in establishes competitive levels

10. Makes FLSA determinations

1. Acts as organizational workforce effectiveness consultant in areas such as competency development, succession planning, and employee development.

2. Drafts training policies and guidance

3. Develops training policy

4. Exercises final authority on interpreting and applying training policy

5. Makes final determination of training budget requirements

6. Approves training requests for federal employees

7. Determines, guides, and monitors design and development of training products and services required to support agency needs

8. Determines, guides, and monitors organization development interventions

9. Approves training procurement actions and related statements of requirements leading to contractual actions

10. Performs contract administration functions for training prime contracts

1. Plans and conducts training programs, events, activities

2. Performs and/or conducts feedback assessments

3. Performs organizational development interventions

4. Performs transactional processing of training type activities

5. Conducts training needs assessments, studies, and analyses

6. Designs and develops training products and services

7. Processes and tracks training procurement actions

8. Manages training facilities

9. Identifies and recommends training approaches and solutions

1. Drafts staffing policies and rules

2. Establishes staffing policy

3. Makes final determination on candidate evaluation criteria and tools

4. Exercises final authority on interpreting and applying staffing regulations and policy

5. Operates a DEU, i.e., candidate evaluation and audit actions (per OPM guidance)

6. Exercises final selection/commitment authority

7. Exercises final authority on RIF/TOF actions

8. Exercises final authority on RIF strategies and actions.

1. Provides staffing advice and guidance to supervisors and management officials

2. Accomplishes job analyses

3. Prepares recruitment notices

4. Prepares and administers evaluation tools

5. Makes eligibility and qualification determinations

6. Certifies candidates

7. Reviews selections and commits positions

8. Develops recruitment/FEORP strategies

9. Assists in establishing competitive levels

10. Determines/processes RIF/TOF actions

11. Accomplishes DEU support actions

12. Provides information to job seekers

13. Proposes, recommends and advises on RIF strategies

1. Exercises appointing authority

2. Establishes personnel action processing and record keeping policy

3. Exercises final authority on personnel records maintenance and disposition

1. Provides guidance and assistance on processing requirements to management officials and employees.

2. Processes personnel actions and related documents

3. Establishes, maintains and disposes of personnel records and files

4. Provides processing information to employees

1. Establishes manpower research and analysis policy

2. Exercises final authority on manpower requirements

1. Provides guidance and assistance on establishing and measuring manpower needs to management officials

2. Conducts manpower studies

3. Determines manpower requirements (tentative)

4. Establishes and maintains manpower records

1. Drafts employee relations policies

2. Establishes employee relations policies

3. Exercises final authority on interpreting and applying employee relations regulations and policy.

4. Exercises final authority on performance and disciplinary decisions and actions.

5. Exercises final authority with regard to employee performance requirements

1. Provides employee relations advice, guidance and assistance to supervisors and managers.

2. Interprets regulatory and statutory guidelines (tentative)

3. Provides information to employees.

4. Reviews cases for regulatory and procedural sufficiency. Makes recommendations, as needed.

5. Processes actions

6. Establishes, maintains and disposes of case files and related personnel records.

7. Participates in 3 rd party representations

1. Establishes benefits policies

2. Exercises final authority on interpreting and applying benefits regulations and policy.

1. Provides benefits information and assistance to management officials and employees

2. Processes benefits requests and administers related actions, e.g., open season

3. Provides retirement counseling for employees

4. Makes eligibility and coverage determinations (tentative)

1. Establishes labor relations policy.

2. Exercises final authority on interpreting and applying labor relations regulations and policy

3. Exercises final authority on the part of the agency in labor agreement negotiations

1. Provides labor relations advice and assistance to management officials.

2. Provides information to employees and representational organizations.

3. Drafts contract language

4. Processes labor actions

5. Assists management officials in preparing responses to labor actions e.g., grievances, ULPs, appeals, etc.

6. Establishes, maintain, and disposes of case files and related personnel records.

7. Participates/leads contract negotiations

8. Participates/leads 3 rd party representations

1. Drafts HR policies and guidance

2. Establishes HR policy

1. Provides advice and guidance to management officials and employees

2. Explains and interprets HR polices

1. Exercises final authority on system decisions and system requirements

1. Analyzes HR processes for potential automation

2. Recommends IT systems/system requirements

3. Installs/maintains IT systems

4. Trains users/develops user guides and manuals

5. Organizes and conducts user groups

6. Provides technical support and assistance, e.g., Help Desk

7. Develops and generates reports

1. Drafts HR policies and regulations

2. Establishes agency HR policies

3. Exercises final authority on interpreting and applying agency regulations and policy.

1. Provides HR advice, guidance and assistance to field activities

2. Establishes, maintains and disposes of HR files and records

3. Provides HR consulting services to management officials

1. Drafts pay policies and regulations

2. Establishes pay policy

3. Exercises final authority on pay-setting and interpreting and applying pay regulations and policy.

4. Requests special salary rate schedules

5. Establishes strategic HR plan and establishes priorities

6. Exercises final authority on linking the HR strategic plan and human capital management to the agency’s performance plan

7. Exercises final authority on workforce planning strategies

1. Provides guidance and assistance to management officials on pay-setting and pay administration.

2. Provides pay-setting information to employees

3. Gathers and compiles data in support of special salary schedule requests

4. Gathers, compiles demographic information and makes workforce planning recommendations

5. Develops and implements workforce planning strategies

6. Evaluates success of workforce planning efforts and makes recommendations for changes and improvements

7. Assesses workforce planning strategies and makes recommendations.

8. Drafts HR strategies, makes recommendations and provides advice on implementing and evaluating related activities

Points of Contact

Challenges and Appeals

Interested parties may challenge an agency's decision to include or exclude a particular activity from the Commercial Activities Inventory. They may subsequently appeal the agency's decision on the challenge.

If you wish to submit an official challenge of the contents of the NASA Commercial Activities Inventory, or an appeal of a rejected/denied challenge, please review

·         Challenges

·         Decisions

·         Appeals

and send the challenge in writing to:

                                   Agency Competitive Sourcing Team
                                    Office of Procurement 
                                    NASA Headquarters  
                                    Washington DC 20546-0001
                                    202-358-4065 (FAX)

NASA Procedures for Challenges

To be considered valid, a challenge must meet all of the requirements in paragraphs 1-9 below.  Challenges that do not meet all of these requirements will be rejected.

1.      The challenge must be in writing.  Telephone calls, verbal inquiries, voice mail, and electronic mail are not acceptable and will be rejected.

2.      The challenge must be sent by United States mail, express delivery or similar service, or facsimile transmission to the designated NASA office.  To assist in processing, challengers may mark "FAIR Challenge" on the envelope.

3.      The challenge must be submitted to the designated NASA office within 30 business days after the date that the OMB notice, which states that the NASA inventory is available to the public, appeared in the Federal Register. 

4.      The person or organization making the challenge must be an interested party. Interested parties are defined in the FAIR Act of 1998 as:

a.       A private sector source that:

i.      is an actual or prospective offeror for a contract, or other form of agreement, to perform the activity; and

ii.      has a direct economic interest in performing the activity that would be adversely affected by a determination not to procure the performance of the activity from a private sector source.

b.     A representative of any business or professional association that includes within its membership private sector sources referred to in a. above.

c.      An officer or employee of an organization within an executive agency that is an actual or prospective offeror to perform that activity.

d.      The head of any labor organization referred to in section 7103(a)(4) of title 5, United States Code, that includes within its membership officers or employees of an organization referred to in c. above.

5.      The challenger must explain why the challenger qualifies as an "interested party" in the challenge letter.

6.      The challenge must identify the activity being challenged as specifically as possible; that is, it must give a sufficient description of the activity being challenged so NASA can identify it.  For example, the challenger may reference the inventory entry for challenges to activities included on the inventory, or provide activity, function, organization, location, state, or other identifying information for challenges to activities that were excluded from the inventory.

7.      The challenge must state whether the challenger is challenging the decision to include the activity in the NASA Commercial Activities Inventory as a commercial activity or the decision to exclude the activity from the inventory as an "inherently governmental function."  Only the decision to include or to exclude a particular activity from the inventory is subject to challenge.  Attempts to challenge other items in the inventory or other decisions related to the inventory will be rejected.

8.      The challenge must set forth the reasons for the interested party's belief that the particular activity should be reclassified as inherently governmental (and therefore be deleted from the inventory) or as commercial (and therefore be added to the inventory), in accordance with  FAIR Act of 1998 (An OMB website)

9.      The challenge must include the name of the challenger and the address to which the decision on the challenge should be sent.

NASA Procedures for Decisions

1.      A decision on a challenge will be made within 28 business days from the date that the designated NASA office actually receives the challenge.

2.      The decision will be in writing and will:

a.     Identify the activity and the omission/inclusion being challenged;

b.     State whether the challenge is rejected on procedural grounds, or upheld or denied;

c.     Explain the rationale for the decision; and

d.     Provide an explanation of the challenger's appeal rights, if the challenge is rejected or denied.

3.      The decision to reject, uphold, or deny a challenge will be made by a Responsible Official at NASA.

4.      Decisions will be transmitted to challengers by United States mail or facsimile transmission.

NASA Procedures for Appeals

1.      The specific procedures for submitting an appeal to a decision on a challenge that is rejected or denied will be/provided to the challenger in the decision letter.

2.      Appeals must be in writing.  Telephone calls, verbal inquiries, voice mail, and electronic mail are not acceptable and will be rejected.  The appeal must be sent by United States mail, express delivery or similar service, or facsimile transmission to the designated NASA office.  To assist in processing, challengers may mark "FAIR Appeal" on the envelope.  Appeals must be submitted to the designated office within 10 business days after the challenger receives the decision denying or rejecting the challenge.  Decisions on appeals will be in writing and will include the determination and the rationale for the decision.

Links

FAIR Act: Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act of 1998, (Public Law 105-270). (An OMB website)

OMB Circular A-76: Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-76, "Performance of Commercial Activities" (Revised) establishes Federal policy regarding the performance of commercial activities and implements the statutory requirements of the Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act of 1998, Public Law 105-270. (An OMB website)