NASA
Progress Made on Strategic Human Capital Management, but Future Program Challenges Remain Gao ID: GAO-07-1004 August 8, 2007The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is engaged in efforts to replace the Space Shuttle with the next generation of human space flight systems and implement the President's space exploration policy. To do this, NASA must recruit, develop, and retain certain critical skills in its workforce, guided by its strategic human capital management plan. GAO was asked to examine the extent to which NASA (1) has aligned its human capital planning framework with its strategic mission and programmatic goals and (2) is recruiting, developing, and retaining critically skilled personnel, given future workforce needs. To address these objectives, GAO reviewed NASA's policies, planning, and implementation documents; reviewed budget documents and performance and accountability reports; and interviewed cognizant agency officials. To assess NASA's efforts to recruit, develop, and retain critically skilled personnel, we analyzed demographics data, and critical skills information; NASA's policy, procedures and guidance for recruiting and hiring; and implementation of information systems programs, and processes that support human capital management and planning. We are not making any recommendations in this report.
NASA's strategic human capital framework is generally aligned with its strategic mission, outcomes, and programmatic goals. NASA's leaders have set its overall direction and goals and involved its mission directorates and centers in implementing human capital strategy and providing feedback to headquarters. Recently, NASA has been improving its workforce planning information technology matching program requirements with human capital resources. Some centers have been critical of the systems' performance, but others find these tools useful. NASA attracts and retains critical personnel by using tools such as recruiting and retention bonuses. Recently, NASA has asked Congress for additional human capital flexibilities to help manage its workforce. The centers also have their own programs that address their critical skills shortfalls by training and developing employees. NASA recognizes that critical skills now present in the civil service and contractor Space Shuttle workforce are needed to complete present and future mission objectives, but also understands that additional capability will also be needed in certain areas. Given this, NASA is looking ahead and considering how best to mitigate any potential loss of skills and knowledge that could take place in the period between the Space Shuttle's retirement in 2010 and the resumption of human space flight in 2015.
GAO-07-1004, NASA: Progress Made on Strategic Human Capital Management, but Future Program Challenges Remain
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Report to the Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the
Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia, Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate:
United States Government Accountability Office:
GAO:
August 2007:
NASA:
Progress Made on Strategic Human Capital Management, but Future Program
Challenges Remain:
GAO-07-1004:
GAO Highlights:
Highlights of GAO-07-1004, a report to the Subcommittee on Oversight of
Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of
Columbia, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs,
United States Senate
Why GAO Did This Study:
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is engaged in
efforts to replace the Space Shuttle with the next generation of human
space flight systems and implement the President‘s space exploration
policy. To do this, NASA must recruit, develop, and retain certain
critical skills in its workforce, guided by its strategic human capital
management plan. GAO was asked to examine the extent to which NASA (1)
has aligned its human capital planning framework with its strategic
mission and programmatic goals and (2) is recruiting, developing, and
retaining critically skilled personnel, given future workforce needs.
To address these objectives, GAO reviewed NASA‘s policies, planning,
and implementation documents; reviewed budget documents and performance
and accountability reports; and interviewed cognizant agency officials.
To assess NASA‘s efforts to recruit, develop, and retain critically
skilled personnel, we analyzed demographics data, and critical skills
information; NASA‘s policy, procedures and guidance for recruiting and
hiring; and implementation of information systems programs, and
processes that support human capital management and planning. We are
not making any recommendations in this report.
What GAO Found:
NASA‘s strategic human capital framework is generally aligned with its
strategic mission, outcomes, and programmatic goals. NASA‘s leaders
have set its overall direction and goals and involved its mission
directorates and centers in implementing human capital strategy and
providing feedback to headquarters. Recently, NASA has been improving
its workforce planning information technology matching program
requirements with human capital resources. Some centers have been
critical of the systems‘ performance, but others find these tools
useful.
NASA attracts and retains critical personnel by using tools such as
recruiting and retention bonuses. Recently, NASA has asked Congress for
additional human capital flexibilities to help manage its workforce.
The centers also have their own programs that address their critical
skills shortfalls by training and developing employees. NASA recognizes
that critical skills now present in the civil service and contractor
Space Shuttle workforce are needed to complete present and future
mission objectives, but also understands that additional capability
will also be needed in certain areas. Given this, NASA is looking ahead
and considering how best to mitigate any potential loss of skills and
knowledge that could take place in the period between the Space
Shuttle‘s retirement in 2010 and the resumption of human space flight
in 2015.
Figure: NASA needs to manage its workforce to maintain core technical
capabilities as it works through retirement of the Space Shuttle to
enable it to achieve its mission:
[See PDF for Image]
Source: NASA.
[End of figure]
[Hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-1004].
To view the full product, including the scope and methodology, click on
the link above. For more information, contact Cristina Chaplain, 202-
512-4841, or chaplainc@gao.gov.
[End of section]
Contents:
Letter1:
Results in Brief:
Background:
NASA's Strategic Human Capital Framework Is Generally Aligned with Its
Strategic Mission, Outcomes, and Programmatic Goals but Some
Improvements in Workforce Planning Can be Made:
NASA Has Generally Been Effective in Recruiting, Developing, and
Retaining Science and Engineering Employees, but Future Uncertainties
Could Adversely Affect Its Overall Workforce Capacity:
Concluding Observations:
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation:
Appendix I: Scope and Methodology:
Appendix II: Use of Human Capital Authorities by NASA:
Appendix III: Comments from NASA:
Appendix IV: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments:
Tables:
Table 1: Examples of Development Programs Used by NASA:
Table 2: NASA Science and Engineering New Hires by Type of Appointment
and Hiring Level:
Table 3: NASA's Use of Human Capital Flexibilities:
Figures:
Figure 1: NASA Centers, Workforce, and Projects:
Figure 2: NASA Strategic Decision Making:
Figure 3: The Average Age of the Science and Engineering Workforce in
NASA and the Federal Government is Increasing:
Figure 4: GAO's Five Key Principles for Effective Strategic Workforce
Planning:
Figure 5: NASA's Strategic Workforce Planning Governance Structure:
Abbreviations:
Co-op: Cooperative Education Program:
CPDF: Central Personnel Data File:
FIRST: Foundations of Influence, Relationships, Success, and Teamwork:
GAO: Government Accountability Office:
NAPA: National Academy of Public Administration:
NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration:
NRC: National Research Council:
OPM: Office of Personnel Management:
Vision: A Renewed Spirit of Discovery: The President's Vision for U.S.
Space Exploration:
WICN: Workforce Information Cubes for NASA:
United States Government Accountability Office:
Washington, DC 20548:
August 8, 2007:
The Honorable Daniel K. Akaka:
Chairman:
The Honorable George V. Voinovich:
Ranking Member:
Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal
Workforce, and the District of Columbia:
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs:
United States Senate:
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is in the
midst of a complex transition effort due to the impending retirement of
the Space Shuttle in 2010 and its replacement by the next generation of
human space flight systems such as the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle,
the Ares family of launch vehicles, and other exploration vehicles. An
effort of this scope has not been attempted since the end of the Apollo
program, which was designed to land humans on the Moon and bring them
safely back to Earth, and the start of the Space Shuttle Program more
than three decades ago. In 2004, the President established a new
exploration policy--A Renewed Spirit of Discovery: The President's
Vision for U.S. Space Exploration (Vision for Space Exploration). The
cost of implementing it over the coming decades will require hundreds
of billions of dollars and a sustained commitment from multiple
administrations and Congresses. A major component of this transition
involves NASA's workforce, which comprises about 18,000 civil servants
at various centers across the country. To meet its future needs, NASA
is seeking to maintain certain critical skills in space exploration,
scientific discovery, and aeronautics research. The agency needs to
take action to align its workforce to the new mission and goals in a
timely fashion to help the safe operation of the shuttle through
retirement and a smooth transition to exploration activities. We
reported that strategic human capital management must be the
centerpiece of any serious change in NASA's management strategy.
NASA's workforce challenges are not unique within the federal
government. Federal agencies, as a whole, face new and increasingly
complex challenges in the 21st century. These agencies must transform
their organizations to meet the challenges of long-term fiscal
constraints, changing demographics, evolving governance models, and
other factors. To do so, they must engage in strategic workforce
planning, including systematic assessments of current and future human
capital needs and the development of long-term strategies to fill any
gaps. We recently reported that human capital management is a
governmentwide high-risk area because federal agencies typically lack a
strategic approach to human capital management that integrates human
capital efforts with their missions and program goals.
Given the importance of NASA's ability to sufficiently recruit,
develop, and retain the staff it needs to execute the agency's
missions, you requested that we examine the extent to which NASA (1)
has aligned its human capital planning framework with its strategic
mission and programmatic goals and (2) is recruiting, developing, and
retaining critical science and engineering personnel needed to address
future workforce requirements. To assess the alignment of NASA's human
capital framework with its strategic mission and programmatic goals, we
analyzed a range of policies, planning, and implementation documents;
reviewed budget documents and performance and accountability reports;
and interviewed cognizant officials in NASA's Office of Human Capital
Management, mission directorates, and various field centers. To assess
NASA's efforts to recruit, develop, and retain critical science and
engineering personnel, we applied our five strategic workforce planning
principles (see figure 4). In doing so, we analyzed NASA's (1)
demographics data; (2) critical skills information; (3) policies,
procedures, and guidance for recruiting and hiring; (4) implementation
of information systems, programs, and processes that support human
capital management and planning. We also assessed the internal and
external challenges that NASA faces in achieving its workforce needs,
by conducting interviews with key NASA officials in headquarters and
various centers, and researching recent publications on workforce
trends affecting NASA. We conducted our work from July 2006 through
June 2007 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing
standards. Appendix I further discusses our scope and methodology.
Results in Brief:
NASA's strategic human capital framework is generally aligned with its
strategic mission, outcomes, and programmatic goals. NASA's leaders and
human capital managers have taken the lead in setting the agency's
overall direction and goals and involving the mission directorates and
centers in developing human capital strategy documents. NASA's centers
have a clear understanding of how they contribute to the attainment of
overall agency goals and provide feedback to headquarters on proposed
strategic plans and programmatic guidance. In recent years, NASA has
been enhancing its workforce planning information systems that can be
used to match programmatic requirements with human capital resources.
Many of these tools have not yet been fully implemented, and thus their
effectiveness cannot be determined at this time. However, some centers
have raised concerns that these systems do not properly identify skills
and competencies needed to meet programmatic goals.
Currently, NASA is able to attract and retain critical science and
engineering personnel needed for mission accomplishment by employing a
wide variety of human capital tools such as recruiting and retention
bonuses. The agency recently requested Congress to amend the National
Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, as amended, and the NASA Flexibility
Act of 2004 to authorize NASA to use additional human capital
flexibilities so that the workforce might be reduced without having a
reduction in force. The centers also have their own programs that
address their critical skills shortfalls by training and developing
employees. NASA recognizes that the critical skills currently embedded
in the civil service and contractor Space Shuttle workforce are needed
to safely and successfully complete its mission objectives; some of
those skills must then be transferred to the Constellation
Program.[Footnote 1] The current workforce also possesses much of the
talent that NASA will need to meet the challenges presented by the
Vision for Space Exploration. NASA is mapping the available skills of
the Space Shuttle workforce with the skills it will need for future
work so that it can better plan and implement workforce reassignments.
Furthermore, the gap between the scheduled retirement of the Space
Shuttle in 2010 and the resumption of human space flight currently
scheduled for 2015 will pose a unique set of challenges, and the agency
is developing plans to mitigate the potential loss of critical skills
and institutional knowledge. While senior managers at some centers told
us that they would like to better prepare for the future, they are
currently more focused on implementing human capital programs to
address their immediate needs. We are not making any recommendations in
this report.
Background:
The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, as amended, established
NASA as the civilian agency that exercises control over U.S.
aeronautical and space activities and seeks and encourages the fullest
commercial use of space.[Footnote 2] NASA's mission is to pioneer the
future in space exploration, scientific discovery, and aeronautics
research. Its activities span a broad range of complex and technical
endeavors: from investigating and evaluating the composition and
resources of Mars, and working with its international partners to
complete and operate the International Space Station, to providing
satellite and aircraft observations of Earth for scientific and weather
forecasting; to developing new technologies designed to improve air
flight safety.
NASA Organization and Staff:
NASA is organized under four mission directorates--Aeronautics
Research, Exploration Systems, Science, and Space Operations--each of
which covers a major area of the agency's research and development
efforts:
* Aeronautics Research conducts research in aeronautical disciplines
and develops capabilities, tools, and technologies that improve
aircraft and air transportation system.
* Exploration Systems develops systems and supports research and
technology development to enable sustained and affordable human and
robotic space exploration.
* Science conducts the scientific exploration of the Earth, the Sun,
the rest of the solar system, and the universe.
* Space Operations directs space flight operations, space launches, and
space communications and manages the operation of integrated systems in
low Earth orbit and beyond, including the International Space Station.
NASA is composed of NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., nine centers
located around the country, and the contractor-operated Jet Propulsion
Laboratory (as shown in figure 1). In addition, NASA partners with
academia, the private sector, state and local governments, other
federal agencies, and a number of international organizations.
Figure 1: NASA Centers, Workforce, and Projects:
[See PDF for image]
Sources: NASA data. Copyright Corel Corp, all rights reserved (map).
Note: The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is a federally funded research and
development facility staffed and managed by the California Institute
Technology for NASA.
[End of figure]
NASA considers itself a mission-driven agency, and its strategic
management approach requires all of its organizations to use a program/
project management method to manage requirements, schedule, and
budget.[Footnote 3] NASA's management functions are centralized at its
headquarters. NASA manages through its governance structure, which
consists of three agency-level management councils (see figure 2.)
* Strategic Management Council, which determines NASA strategic
direction at the vision and mission level, and assesses the agency's
progress;
* Program Management Council, guides program and project performance,
defining successful achievement of NASA strategic goals and objectives;
and:
* Operations Management Council, which reviews and approves
institutional plans.
Figure 2: NASA Strategic Decision Making:
[See PDF for image]
Source: NASA.
[End of figure]
The primary roles of the mission directorates include development of
strategy and program assessment. While the mission directorates provide
direction and oversight to programs, the centers execute programs and
projects, including developing approaches for workforce planning that
meet agency and center goals. For example, centers develop human
capital plans to meet workforce requirements, such as recruiting
engineers and developing programs redirecting employees from
nonenduring work to new work.
Workforce Trends in the Federal Government and NASA:
NASA's efforts are taking place in the context of broader federal
workforce trends. Today and in the near term, the federal government is
facing a retirement wave and with it the loss of leadership and
institutional knowledge at all levels. In 2006, The Office of Personnel
Management (OPM) reported that approximately 60 percent of the
government's 1.6 million white-collar employees and 90 percent of about
6,000 federal executives will be eligible for retirement over the next
10 years. Agencies not only face a fiercely competitive market for
talent but hiring is also affected by uncompetitive salaries in some
critical occupations and lengthy hiring processes.
NASA projects that by fiscal year 2012 the total number of personnel
needed to meet its strategic goals will decrease from 18,100 to 17,000.
Approximately 59 percent of NASA's overall workforce is comprised of
scientists and engineers, some 14 percent of whom were eligible for
retirement as of the end of fiscal year 2006. According to NASA
officials, employees eligible for retirement at NASA tend to stay on
longer than is typical in the federal workforce, however. On average,
NASA's scientific and engineering employees retire 6.2 years after
eligibility, versus 4.6 years for the overall NASA workforce.
In fact, the average age of NASA's science and engineering employee is
steadily increasing (See fig. 3 for information on the average age of
NASA science and engineering employee and the average of federal
governmentwide age). At this time, within the science and engineering
workforce, the 55 and over population outnumbers the under-30
population nearly 3 to 1. In time, this will be a concern, as the
process of retiring the Space Shuttle will last several years and
affect thousands of critically skilled NASA civil service and
contractor employees that support the program. We have reported that
the safety of the Space Shuttle is largely contingent on NASA's ability
to sustain the critically skilled workforce necessary to support Space
Shuttle operations through retirement. While the agency is taking
advantage of the flexibilities outlined in the NASA Flexibility Act of
2004[Footnote 4] to attract highly qualified candidates, continued
buyouts and the threat of a reduction in force could create a feeling
of instability among its workforce.
Figure 3: The Average Age of the Science and Engineering Workforce in
NASA and the Federal Government is Increasing:
[See PDF for image]
Source: GAO analysis of data from OPM's central personnel data file.
[End of figure]
NASA Human Capital Management:
In 2005, we reported that NASA had made limited progress toward
developing a detailed long-term strategy to retain a critically skilled
workforce for shuttle operations, and recommended that the agency
implement an approach for identifying the space shuttle program's
future workforce needs based upon various possible future scenarios.
NASA concurred with our recommendation--acknowledging that shuttle
workforce management and critical skills retention will be a major
challenge for the agency--and has taken action on this issue. Since we
made our recommendation, for example, NASA has developed an agencywide
strategic human capital plan and workforce analysis tools to assist it
in identifying critical skills needs, along with a human capital plan
with a focus on sustaining and transitioning the space shuttle
workforce.
Since our report, two recently completed studies contain
recommendations on how the agency should address the space shuttle
workforce transition. In March 2006, the Senate Appropriations
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies and
NASA asked the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) to
assist the agency in planning for the Space Shuttle's retirement and
transition to future exploration activities. In February 2007, a NAPA
panel recommended that the Space Shuttle Program adopt a RAND model for
projecting a core workforce because of its emphasis on "long-term
scheduling projections, quantification of core competencies and
proficiencies, and analysis of overlapping mission needs."[Footnote 5]
Under the RAND model, an organization maintains a core capability for
any competency that will be needed in the future. According to NAPA,
this model is useful where a given expertise is not immediately
required, but is likely to be needed in the future--in this case, for
the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle.
In 2005, NASA requested assistance from the National Research Council
(NRC) to assess the current and future supply of a qualified U.S.
aerospace workforce, and identify realistic and actionable solutions to
meet identified needs. In April 2007, the NRC reported that the average
age of NASA's workers has marched steadily upward over the past decade
and a half, and the agency now has a relatively low number of younger
workers to assume future leadership roles as older workers
retire.[Footnote 6] It noted that if NASA does nothing to achieve a
better age distribution across its workforce, it will suffer gaps in
technical leadership and experience, especially if the development
dates for key Vision for Space Exploration components slip and highly
skilled workers with experience in the Space Shuttle Program retire.
The report concluded that if NASA is to avoid a long-term shortage of
the required in-house technical expertise in human space flight systems
and other areas, it will have to adopt a strategy to address potential
long-term shortfalls. The report found that NASA does have programs and
methods currently available for meeting its workforce needs.
Strategic Human Capital Management and Workforce Planning:
NASA's issues with human capital strategy development are also taking
place in the context of broader federal trends. Beginning in 2001, we
have designated strategic human capital management as a high-risk area
in our biannual high-risk series and performance and accountability
series. We reported that serious human capital shortfalls are
threatening the ability of many federal agencies to economically,
efficiently, and effectively perform their missions.[Footnote 7]
Federal agencies are faced with a workforce that is becoming more
retirement-eligible and finding gaps in talent because of changes in
the knowledge, skills, and competencies in occupations needed to
accomplish their missions.
Studies by several organizations, including GAO, have shown that
successful organizations in both the public and private sectors use
strategic management approaches to prepare their workforces to meet
present and future mission requirements. For example, preparing a
strategic human capital plan encourages agency managers and
stakeholders to systematically consider what is to be done, how it will
be done, and how to gauge progress and results. Federal agencies have
used varying frameworks for developing and presenting their strategic
human capital plans.[Footnote 8]
Strategic workforce planning, an integral part of human capital
management and the strategic workforce plan, involves systematic
assessments of current and future human capital needs and the
development of long-term strategies to fill the gaps between an
agency's current and future workforce requirements. Agency approaches
to such planning can vary with each agency's particular needs and
mission. However, our previous work suggests that irrespective of the
context in which workforce planning is done, such a process should
incorporate five key principles: (1) involve management and employees,
(2) analyze workforce gaps, (3) employ workforce strategies to fill the
gaps, (4) build the capabilities needed to support workforce
strategies, and (5) evaluate and revise strategies. Figure 4 provides a
fuller description of each of the five principles.
Figure 4: GAO's Five Key Principles for Effective Strategic Workforce
Planning:
[See PDF for image]
Source: GAO.
[End of figure]
Taken together, these five principles can help federal agencies
successfully implement strategic workforce planning strategies.
Planning, developing, and implementing workforce planning strategies,
such as those that involve reshaping the current workforce, can cause
significant changes in how an agency implements its policies and
programs. It is essential that agencies determine the skills and
competencies that are critical to successfully achieving their missions
and goals. This is especially important as changes in national
security, technology, budget constraints, and other factors change the
environment within which federal agencies operate.
NASA's Strategic Human Capital Framework Is Generally Aligned with Its
Strategic Mission, Outcomes, and Programmatic Goals but Some
Improvements in Workforce Planning Can be Made:
NASA's strategic human capital planning framework is generally aligned
with its strategic mission, outcomes, and programmatic goals. We found
that many of NASA's efforts related to workforce planning were
consistent with effective strategic workforce planning, such as
developing effective communication strategies. Other efforts, such as
monitoring and evaluating progress toward achieving programmatic goals,
are still being developed, but NASA's efforts to identify critical
skills needed in the future could be improved.
NASA's Strategies Aligned with Mission:
NASA's leaders have generally aligned its human capital management
strategies with its agency mission, goals, and organizational
objectives, and integrated those strategies into its strategic plans,
performance and accountability plans, and budget requests. NASA has
developed a strategic human capital plan and workforce strategy plan
with input from its mission directorates, centers, and union
representatives. NASA's centers have also aligned their human capital
programs to support the objectives of the agency. These linkages allow
NASA to assess and understand the extent to which its workforce
contributes to achieving the overarching mission.[Footnote 9] Other
examples of some key policies and plans that guide NASA's human capital
efforts include the following:
* development of the Strategic Management and Governance Handbook and
policy directives that set forth principles by which NASA manages
itself and identifies the specific requirements that drive NASA's
strategic planning process;
* development of a workforce strategy in April 2006 that identified
three underlying workforce principles: building and sustaining 10
healthy centers,[Footnote 10] maximizing the use of NASA's current
human capital capabilities, and evolving to a more flexible workforce
that permits NASA's human capital efforts to help carry out the Vision
for Space Exploration and science and aeronautics research; and:
* the creation of NASA's Workforce Integrated Product Team--which
consists of human capital office division directors and selected human
resource directors--for day-to-day implementation and tracking of
progress and results of human capital initiatives.
NASA's centers have also aligned their programs with agencywide mission
and goals, and their human capital approaches support the
organizational performance objectives of the agency. For example, the
Langley Research developed career path development plans, and proposes
defining career development plans for individual employees based upon
planned organizational staffing that is driven by current and
anticipated work, budget, and center requirements. Similarly, Glenn
Research Center has developed a strategic implementation plan that
includes internal milestones used to assess the center's progress in
meeting agencywide goals.
Developing Effective Communications Strategies:
NASA's headquarters' leaders and human capital office have involved the
mission directorates and centers in establishing a communication
strategy that intended to create shared expectations for the outcome of
the workforce planning process. NASA's Workforce Integrated Product
Team, for example, solicited input on its white paper on NASA's mission
support implementation plan from mission directorates, mission support
offices and centers. They also created a document that captured the
disposition of comments and included this feedback and the status of
the recommendation. The Johnson Space Center hosted a conference for
human resources directors to discuss the redesigning of agency
leadership training, and also worked with Marshall Space Flight Center
and Glenn Research Center to share training and development program
approaches.
All of NASA's centers have regular communication with headquarters
human capital office on policy and procedures relating to the workforce
planning process through telephone conferences, meetings, e-mails
exchange, and video conferences. NASA's centers also communicate with
each other to leverage knowledge on key policies and programs. The
centers conduct their own communication strategy directly to employees
through committees, working groups, town hall meetings, e-mail
messages, and center newsletters. The Langley Research Center, for
example, sends regular e-mail updates on human capital policy issues to
employees, as well as a human capital newsletter. The Glenn Research
Center uses the Office of Human Resources and Workforce Planning
Personnel Newsletter, the Human Capital Information Environment
Steering Committee Review, and Senior Management Meetings to convey
relevant information on workforce planning and human capital policies.
Efforts to Monitor and Evaluate Progress toward Achieving Programmatic
Goals Are Still Being Developed:
In 2007, NASA implemented a new strategic workforce planning governance
structure to strengthen the agency's human capital strategic planning
capability (see fig. 5). This governance structure has representation
from NASA's human resources community, mission directorates, other
mission support offices, and the NASA centers. The governance process
will be used to align the agency's resources in a manner that ensures
the effective utilization of the workforce and skills needed are
available to accomplish the agency's mission and will focus on:
increasing the level of integration and collaboration across workforce
planning functions; improving the quality of information used to make
decisions; balancing short and longer-term planning needs.
There are three main components of the Governance Structure: the Agency
Governance Group; a Workforce Planning Technical Team; and other issue-
specific technical teams as needed. The Agency Governance Group is
responsible for surfacing high-risk issues and recommendations to
senior management, evaluating the results of planning activities and
redirecting resources and efforts to areas of highest priority, and
overseeing progress of the operational groups and development of
workforce planning capabilities. The Workforce Planning Technical Team
is a standing, on-going group that implements workforce planning
guidance and policies; helps develop and implement Center workforce
planning capabilities; and assists in collecting data in support of
workforce activities undertaken by the team. It is the hub of workforce
planning information collection, distribution, and reporting across
NASA. The ad hoc technical teams are formed to deal with specific
issues. Their purpose is limited to the issue they are tasked with
solving, with a defined scope and timeline.
Figure 5: NASA's Strategic Workforce Planning Governance Structure:
[See PDF for image]
Source: NASA.
[End of figure]
In addition, NASA's human capital office has been reengineering work
processes and developing tools for workforce planning purposes. For
example, according to NASA officials, the Workforce Integrated
Management System ties together the agency's budgeting and planning
process. The Workforce Integrated Management System is the designated
agency workforce planning tool for future workforce requirements, which
has various modules such as the Workforce Planning System, the
Competency Management System, and others, provides a single repository
of workforce and competency planning data for use in NASA's workforce
planning decisions and analysis. The Competency Management System is
designed to capture the competencies and skills of NASA's individual
employees so that the agency can respond to current and projected
workforce requirements, assess center readiness for new activities,
locate expertise, and better align projected work with demand.
NASA is also in the process of developing the Human Capital Information
Environment, which will integrate NASA's human capital information
tools into one Web-enabled portal. This will allow NASA's management to
go to one source for information on full-time equivalent vacancies,
contractor data, and workforce forecasting tools.
While we have not evaluated these workforce planning tools, center and
union officials gave NASA's Competency Management System mixed reviews.
Some told us that the system does not correctly capture the skill sets
of the workforce, while others found it a useful planning tool.
The Identification of Critical Skills Could Be Improved:
Our previous work has found that human capital strategies can work as
intended when periodic measurements and evaluation are conducted that
obtain data for identifying shortfalls and revising future workforce
planning efforts. A 2007 National Research Council report noted that
the agency's gap analysis was conducted by NASA headquarters and is not
specific enough to determine the number of positions needed in the
future at centers where most of the hiring will occur.[Footnote 11]
NASA conducted a survey to gauge employee sentiments as the agency
faces the impending retirement of the shuttle and the onset of
Constellation activities.[Footnote 12] While NASA officials told us
that there was an overall "goodwill" towards the agency and the Space
Shuttle Program specifically, there were some differences in response
by centers and some neutral responses. For example, the survey found
that 72 percent of Marshall Space Flight Center respondents indicated
they will likely stay through the retirement of the Space Shuttle
Program because the nature of Marshall's work is easily transitioned to
the Constellation program, but 63 percent of these respondents
indicated that they will likely start looking for jobs outside the
Space Shuttle Program (or retire) starting in 2010 or later. The
Kennedy Space Center response was similar to Marshall's, with 69
percent of Kennedy's respondents indicating they would likely stay
through the retirement of the Space Shuttle and approximately 60
percent indicating that they would start seeking jobs outside of the
program or retire starting in 2010. The Johnson Space Center
respondents were slightly different, with 59 percent likely to stay
through retirement and 53 percent of respondents likely to seek job
elsewhere starting in 2010 or later. At the Stennis Space Center, 71
percent of respondents stated they would stay through the retirement
and approximately 71 percent indicated that they would leave Stennis
starting in 2010 or later. Finally, NASA told us that a number of the
neutral responses in the survey indicate that some level of the
workforce is adopting a "wait and see position." These neutral
responses make up 13 percent of Kennedy, 19 percent of Johnson, 14
percent of Marshall, and 18 percent of Stennis respondents.
The survey is one step in evaluating how some of the workforce is
reacting to ongoing changes. NASA has established metrics to measure or
evaluate its progress toward achieving programmatic goals that has been
made by its human capital efforts, in particular the impact its
programs are having on addressing anticipated problems from the shift
from the shuttle to the Constellation program. We have not evaluated
the new metrics.
NASA Has Generally Been Effective in Recruiting, Developing, and
Retaining Science and Engineering Employees, but Future Uncertainties
Could Adversely Affect Its Overall Workforce Capacity:
NASA uses a variety of approaches to meet its long-term needs for
recruiting, retraining, and sustaining its workforce. In the past 5
years, NASA hired on average about 330 scientists and engineers per
year (ranging from 199 to 571), the majority of those hired were
engineers, and most of the new hires were for midlevel positions.
Recruiting is accomplished using a multifaceted approach at
universities and colleges and the private sector, that some centers
have found quite successful. The agency has also been granted a number
of human capital flexibilities that allow it to offer incentives to
attract and retain scientist and engineers. However, the agency as a
whole faces challenges in recruiting and retaining highly experienced
senior-level engineers in certain specialties. NASA's principal
workforce challenge will be faced in the transition to the next
generation of human space flight systems.
NASA Recruitment Efforts Use a Combination of Techniques:
NASA uses a multifaceted approach to recruiting critically skilled
workers, including targeted recruitment activities, educational
outreach programs, improved compensation and benefits packages,
professional development programs, and streamlined hiring authorities.
Despite the array of initiatives used across field centers, they used
generally similar approaches for recruiting and retaining critically
skilled workers.
Many of NASA's external hires have been entry-level positions through
the Cooperative Education Program, which provides centers with the
opportunity to develop and train future employees; discover firsthand
the abilities of potential employees; ensure they are able to meet
professional, technical, and administrative requirements; and achieve a
quality workforce. Another source of candidates for NASA are its
education programs which help inspire students to pursue careers in
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. These programs help
NASA to develop a pipeline of highly trained scientists and engineers
in aeronautics and space-related disciplines.
NASA believes its reputation also helps centers recruit by attracting a
pool of student applicants for the Cooperative Education Program (co-
op). Centers also administer and tailor their own programs for
students, such as the Johnson Space Center's efforts with the graduate
student research program, fellowships, and the Minority University
Research Education Program help create a pipeline of students. These
programs assits the center to cultivate ties with local universities
and outreach to others with engineering programs that meet the Johnson
Center's critical workforce needs. NASA centers use other approaches to
stimulated interest in working for the agency. For example, Ames'
Education Associates program allows the center to access students and
faculty at universities while giving them the opportunity for hands-on
learning opportunities within mission-relevant NASA programs and
projects. Thus, the program gives Ames' scientists, engineers and
managers another way to have direct access to short-term, high quality
human capital and the opportunity to tryout potential employees. The
Dryden Flight Research Center sponsors fellowships for students in
engineering and science to continue their graduate studies. Similarly,
centers attend university job fairs and administer student loan
repayment programs as a tool to retain their new hires (see table 1 for
additional examples). While NASA centers have developed numerous talent
development programs, NASA does not generally coordinate these programs
across the agency. The agency is missing opportunities to leverage its
resources.
Table 1: Examples of Development Programs Used by NASA:
Center: All;
Program: Foundations of Influence, Relationships, Success, and Teamwork
(FIRST);
Description: This is a 1 year part-time program that targets junior
employees for leadership development through residential training
modules, group projects, on-the-job training, and mentoring.
Center: Glenn;
Program: Space Mission Excellence Program;
Description: The center--working in coordination with NASA's Academy of
Program/ Project and Engineering Leadership[A] and Cal Tech --created
the center's Space Mission Excellence training program to develop
systems engineering skills.
Center: Johnson;
Program: Program/Project Management Development;
Description: This program is expected to create a well-prepared
candidate pool for future program and senior-level project mangers.
Development is focused on building leadership and project management
competencies through work assignments, mentoring, and coaching.
Participants include employees from other Centers.
Center: Langley;
Program: Langley Aerospace Research Summer Scholars Program;
Description: A summer program which attracts students that are
interested in needed or forecasted needed skill areas at the Center
according to a NASA official.
Source: GAO analysis of NASA data.
[A] NASA's Academy of Program/Project and Engineering Leadership is
operated by NASA's Office of the Chief Engineer to provide support to
NASA centers by providing leadership, advice, direction, and support
for the development and learning to NASA organizations.
[End of table]
In addition to recruiting, NASA uses a variety of approaches to retain
and sustain its workforce. These tools include nurturing NASA's
reputation as one of the best places in the federal government to work,
pursuing the strategy of building and engaging all 10 NASA centers,
establishing an agencywide career development program to foster
lifelong learning, and using a number of targeted incentives (e.g., pay
and relocation incentives, pay enhancements for candidates in critical
positions, and Intergovernmental Personnel Act assignments).
While some centers told us that they are competitive in recruiting
students to entry-level positions, the agency faces challenges in
recruiting and retaining senior-level employees such as experienced
aerospace engineers. For example, NASA is unable to compete with the
private sector in recruiting senior management because of its lower
salaries and smaller compensation packages, in spite of flexibilities
granted to NASA by Congress through the NASA Flexibility Act of 2004,
NRC reported. Industry senior-level compensation packages, including
recruitment bonuses, far exceed federal government pay scales, which
include stock and retirement packages for senior executives in industry
that can range into the tens of millions of dollars.[Footnote 13] (See
app. II for additional information on use of the act.) However, NRC did
find that NASA's pay scale is competitive with industry's at the entry
and middle levels.
NASA centers have developed several ways to respond to this challenge.
According to Langley Research Center officials, for example, enhanced
annual leave under the NASA Flexibility Act of 2004 is used to recruit
senior executives from outside of the federal government, members of
the Senior Executive Service, and senior-level employees so that they
can accrue more vacation time. The Johnson Center uses retention
bonuses to recruit and retain personnel in hard-to-fill positions that
can have undesirable hours, such as mission operations controller
positions and physicians. For example, it developed the Gemini flight
controller initiative, which has improved retention of controllers.
Gemini flight controllers are certified in three systems and work
nights and weekends to maintain the International Space Station. The
Center had difficulty recruiting and maintaining employees in this
area, so it piloted a 2-year program that offered additional training
and retention bonuses with 1-year service agreements. To help the
Johnson Center retain its medical officers, a Physician's Comparability
Allowance is used to make the center more competitive with the private
medical community. The Center also uses retention bonuses, but
sparingly; these are generally related to specific knowledge retention
or transition needs.
Despite the many challenges that NASA faces today, the agency continues
to rank as one top places to work in federal government. Additionally,
NASA officials told us that the NASA's brand name continues to attract
new applicants from colleges and universities throughout the country.
Furthermore, NASA officials said that its employees are motivated by
the agency's mission. In some cases, this results in employees
continuing to work after they become eligible for retirement, and some
former employees volunteer their time and expertise after retiring from
the agency.
NASA Increased Use of Term Appointments:
NASA uses term appointments for most of the agency's new hires of
scientists and engineers (see table 2). Term appointments are offers of
nonpermanent employment with NASA for a limited amount of time, which
is extendable. A NASA term employee, if he or she meets eligibility
criteria, may be converted to a career or career-conditional
appointment without going through the competitive examination process
normally used to make such appointments. According to NASA officials,
job candidates can be offered term appointments up to 6 years, but each
center varies the length of appointment. For example, the Langley
Research Center offers appointments to all new hires of 2 to 4 years;
according to Johnson Space Center officials, it offers appointments to
all new term hires for 6 years, but usually converts them to permanent
after 2 years; depending on a continuing need for the position and
proven performance of the employee on the job; Glenn Space Center
converts cooperative program students to 6 year appointments. NASA has
increased the used of term appointments for recent science and
engineering hires. The use of such appointments for all new hires at
NASA has increased from 6 percent in 2002 to 67 percent in 2006, and
for entry-level science and engineering positions, from less than 2
percent in 2002 to 42 percent in 2006. Center officials stated that
using term appointments generally does not deter applicants.
Table 2: NASA Science and Engineering New Hires by Type of Appointment
and Hiring Level:
Percent.
Fiscal year: 2002;
Entry level: Term: 0.4;
Entry level: Permanent: 22.6;
Entry level: Temporary: 0.4;
Entry level: Intern-Fellow: 0.0;
Midlevel: Term: 1.3;
Midlevel: Permanent: 51.3;
Midlevel: Temporary: 0.0;
Senior level: Term: 4.3;
Senior level: Permanent: 19.7;
Senior level: Temporary: 0.0.
Fiscal year: 2003;
Entry level: Term: 1.5;
Entry level: Permanent: 20.6;
Entry level: Temporary: 0.5;
Entry level: Intern-Fellow: 0.0;
Midlevel: Term: 7.0;
Midlevel: Permanent: 47.2;
Midlevel: Temporary: 0.0;
Senior level: Term: 5.0;
Senior level: Permanent: 18.1;
Senior level: Temporary: 0.0.
Fiscal year: 2004;
Entry level: Term: 4.9;
Entry level: Permanent: 8.1;
Entry level: Temporary: 12.1;
Entry level: Intern-Fellow: 2.8;
Midlevel: Term: 27.1;
Midlevel: Permanent: 30.3;
Midlevel: Temporary: 2.3;
Senior level: Term: 5.1;
Senior level: Permanent: 7.0;
Senior level: Temporary: 0.4.
Fiscal year: 2005;
Entry level: Term: 1.2;
Entry level: Permanent: 0.9;
Entry level: Temporary: 0.9;
Entry level: Intern-Fellow: 17.3;
Midlevel: Term: 46.9;
Midlevel: Permanent: 11.4;
Midlevel: Temporary: 5.2;
Senior level: Term: 5.6;
Senior level: Permanent: 7.4;
Senior level: Temporary: 3.1.
Fiscal year: 2006;
Entry level: Term: 10.0;
Entry level: Permanent: 1.2;
Entry level: Temporary: 1.5;
Entry level: Intern-Fellow: 11.2;
Midlevel: Term: 54.3;
Midlevel: Permanent: 8.6;
Midlevel: Temporary: 3.8;
Senior level: Term: 2.7;
Senior level: Permanent: 5.9;
Senior level: Temporary: 0.9.
Source: GAO analysis of NASA data.
Note: Entry level refers to GS-01 through GS-11, midlevel refers to GS-
12 through GS-14, and senior level GS-15 or higher.
[End of table]
NASA Has Development Programs in Place to Enhance Existing Capacity:
NASA's centers also invest in professional development and mentoring
programs to help meet specific performance needs and help centers
create cohesive cultures for new employees. For example, according to
Glenn Space Center officials, it uses the Advancing Careers and
Employee Success program as a formal mentoring effort designed to match
interested staff with more seasoned personnel who serve as mentors and
engage in activities such as designing developmental assignments and
networking opportunities. The centers also use additional programs that
include opportunities for formal and on-the-job training, individual
development plans, and rotational assignments for students to gain
different work experiences during their co-op, periodic consultations
with senior managers, periodic formal assessments, and mentoring
relationships with other employees. For example, the Johnson Center's
co-op students have rotational assignments, formal mentors that provide
guidance, and performance feedback during the course of their co-op
assignments.
NASA Is Taking Efforts to Develop Long-Term Solutions:
NASA recognizes the challenges it faces in its transition into the
future from the present, and has submitted to Congress a Human Capital
Plan for Mission Execution, Transition, and Retirement of the Space
Shuttle program. This focuses on retaining critical workforce skills
needed for safe and successful mission execution and the smooth
transition of Shuttle workforce skills to other agency programs.
Currently NASA is mapping the shuttle workforce to Constellation
Program work in a document that will reflect the planned migration of
the employees, phased to correspond to key milestones in both programs.
According to NASA, the first mapping is scheduled to be completed in
September 2007 and will be revised as the shuttle flight manifest
schedules are updated and Constellation Program needs are further
defined. The agency estimates that many of the employees currently
working on the Space Shuttle Program will be working on other agency
programs such as the International Space Station or Constellation
Systems Program.
NASA decided to maintain program management and systems engineering
competencies within the civil service workforce to enable it to have
the capabilities it needs to develop programs and projects for its
missions. However, NASA does expect to use prime contractors in the
development of major systems such as launchers, upper stages, and crew
vehicles. It sees its role as the manager of the interfaces between
major systems. In order to accomplish this, NASA will develop strategic
workforce plans to align its workforce with the current and planned
work of the agency. Specifically, centers will need to determine
whether the composition of their workforce has the needed competencies
to accomplish its tasks. Centers will need to reshape their workforce
to meet changes in workforce demand as projects progress or are
completed.
Human Capital Challenges in Retiring the Space Shuttle Program and
Transitioning to Constellation Activities:
The gap between the scheduled retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2010
and the resumption of human space flight currently scheduled for 2015
will pose a unique set of challenges. NASA must realign where necessary
and plan for a workforce that will not be quite as large after the
retirement of the Shuttle Space Program. Technology funding must be
redirected to major development activities, programs canceled,
aeronautics program funding reduced, the science program restructured
and planned funding reduced. All these redirections, restructurings,
and cancellations will contribute to NASA's "uncovered capacity"
problem.[Footnote 14] The agency plans to use its civil service
workforce to sustain its core technical capabilities. This is a long-
standing workforce challenge for NASA, particularly since it must
balance the workload across NASA centers to maximize the effectiveness
of the overall organization.
Recognizing that its workforce is its most critical asset and it must
continue to have the scientific and technical expertise necessary to be
a leader in aeronautics, earth and space science, and technology, NASA
has tried, over the last several years, to address its workforce
problems by using employee buyouts to rebalance its workforce and
establishing hiring guidelines that emphasize filling vacancies from
within the agency. The agency recently requested Congress to amend the
National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, as amended, and the NASA
Flexibility Act of 2004 to authorize NASA to use additional human
capital flexibilities so that the workforce might be reduced without
having a reduction in force.
NASA is also attempting to ensure that its field centers can accomplish
their missions through a focus on required core capabilities, to be
accomplished by directing all research, technology development, and
programs and projects, to the maximum extent possible, to the centers.
While improving workforce planning to better prepare for challenges in
the future is definitely an agencywide priority, some senior center
officials told us that they are currently focused on implementing
immediate human capital programs. To the agency's credit, some centers
have created knowledge management programs. For example, the Johnson
Space Center recently appointed a Chief Knowledge Officer who is
developing efforts to capture the experiences and knowledge of senior
employees in engineering, management, and administration who may retire
in the near future. In addition, the Johnson Space Center has an active
Oral History Program that captures the experience of those individuals
who first developed the technologies used in previous space flight
programs, including life sciences and astromaterials. Participants
include managers, engineers, technicians, doctors, astronauts, and
other employees of NASA and aerospace contractors who occupied key
roles during the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, and Space Shuttle
programs. The Glenn Research Center's Knowledge Management Working
Group, has piloted programs that record interviews with their senior
managers to retain some of their work experiences, and the center uses
the Advancing Careers and Employee Success mentoring program and
shadowing of senior engineers by recently hired engineers to transfer
knowledge.
Concluding Observations:
NASA has placed considerable emphasis on human capital management and
addressing challenges that the agency has been facing in recruiting,
retaining, and developing critical personnel. At the headquarters
level, this has involved strategic planning to align agency goals with
actions taken by the centers such as the introduction of new
information systems to enhance workforce planning. At the center level,
this has involved the application of new ways to attract and develop
staff. Taken together, these actions represent credible progress in
enhancing the workforce and preparing for the future. However, there
are challenges ahead for NASA that will test its ability to sustain its
progress--notably the retirement of the shuttle program and the
expansion of exploration activities. The magnitude of these changes and
their implication for future workforce needs will require NASA to
accurately measure its progress, identify gaps or obstacles that need
to be addressed, and sustain a high degree of coordination with its
centers and work is just getting under way. The extent to which NASA
can anticipate these challenges and lay the groundwork for addressing
them will greatly affect its ability to negotiate them in the future.
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation:
We provided draft copies of this report to NASA for review and comment.
NASA provided written comments and they are included in appendix III.
Separately, NASA provided technical comments, which have been addressed
in the report, as appropriate.
We will send copies of the report to NASA's Administrator and
interested congressional committees. We will also make copies available
to others upon request. In addition, the report will be available at no
charge on GAO's Web site at http://www.gao.gov.
Should you or your staff have any questions on matters discussed in
this report, please contact me at (202) 512-4841 or chaplainc@gao.gov.
Contact points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public
Affairs may be found on the last page of this report. GAO staff who
made major contributions to this report are listed in appendix IV.
Signed by:
Cristina Chaplain, Director:
Acquisition and Sourcing Management:
[End of section]
Appendix I: Scope and Methodology:
To assess the alignment of the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration's (NASA) human capital framework with its strategic
mission and programmatic goals, we analyzed a broad range of NASA's
policy, planning, and implementation documents; reviewed budget
documents and performance and accountability reports; and interviewed
officials in NASA's Office of Human Capital Management, Office of the
Chief Financial Officer, Office of Program Analysis and Evaluation,
Office of the Chief Engineer, Office of Diversity and Equal
Opportunity, Office of Education, the Aeronautics Research Mission
Directorate, and the Space Operations Mission Directorate and attended
NASA Advisory Council meetings. We did not evaluate how well the
various NASA plans, programs, systems and teams (such as the Available
for New Work Technical Team) actually functioned. We visited 3 of
NASA's 9 centers--the Glenn Research Center, the Johnson Space Center,
and the Langley Research Center. We collected data from the following
centers--the Ames Research Center, the Dryden Flight Research Center,
the Goddard Space Flight Center, the Kennedy Space Center, the Marshall
Space Flight Center, and the Stennis Space Center. Finally, we
conducted interviews at the National Research Council.
To assess NASA's efforts to effectively recruit, develop, and retain
critically skilled science and engineering staff we applied our five
strategic workforce planning principles.[Footnote 15] In doing so, we
analyzed NASA's (1) demographics data; (2) critical skills information;
(3) NASA's policy, procedures and guidance for recruiting and hiring;
(4) implementation of information systems, programs, and processes that
support human capital management and planning. Specifically, we
interviewed NASA Center managers about the supply and demand for
critically skilled workers, examined NASA's efforts to develop a
"pipeline" for recruiting these personnel and reviewed its application
of new flexibilities and authorities under the NASA Flexibility Act of
2004. Also, we interviewed NASA officials responsible for workforce and
strategic human capital planning to determine how NASA plans to address
future challenges in managing its science and engineering workforce. We
also analyzed and compared NASA's science and engineering workforce and
strategic human capital planning efforts with GAO's principles of
effective human capital management. In addition, we interviewed NASA
officials responsible for workforce and strategic human capital
planning to determine how NASA plans to address future challenges in
managing its science and engineering workforce. We also analyzed and
compared NASA's science and engineering workforce and strategic human
capital planning efforts with principles of effective human capital
management. In addition to obtaining NASA officials' views and concerns
regarding future human capital challenges, we analyzed data from the
Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Central Personnel Data File
(CPDF), which is its database of federal civilian employees, and we
reviewed data from NASA's Workforce Information Cubes for NASA (WICN)
which is a workforce reporting and monitoring system. Specifically, to
assess the potential for retirements in the next few years in NASA's
science and engineering workforce, we analyzed CPDF data on NASA
employees--as of September 30, 2006. We limited our analysis to science
and engineering occupational categories that comprise NASA's science
and engineering workforce. We analyzed CPDF separations and demographic
data (on the ages and years of service) and NASA's WICN data for
scientists and engineers in order to identify the extent to which
NASA's experienced science and engineering workforce is eligible for
and thus has the potential for retiring in the near future. We did not
independently verify the CPDF data on NASA's science and engineering
occupation series employees for the year we reviewed. However, we
previously reported that data from the CPDF for key variables used in
this study--occupation, agency/subagency, birth date, and service
computation date--were 99 percent accurate.[Footnote 16] Moreover, we
compared the CPDF results for NASA employees to data from NASA's WICN
system. CPDF data is limited to federal Executive Branch civilian
employees, and excludes the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve,
intelligence agencies, National Imagery and Mapping Agency, Office of
the Vice President, Postal Rate Commission, Tennessee Valley Authority,
U.S. Postal Service, White House Office, Federal Bureau of
Investigation, Public Health Service's Commissioned Officer Corps, Non-
appropriated fund employees and foreign nationals overseas, and the
Judicial Branch. Legislative Branch CPDF data is limited to the
Government Printing Office, U.S. Tax Court, and selected commissions.
To assess the reliability of the data we received from NASA's WICN
system we (1) reviewed system documentation, (2) interviewed
knowledgeable agency officials, (3) performed manual data testing for
missing data, outliers, and obvious errors, (4) compared the data to
CPDF results, and (5) reviewed the SQL code that produced the data. We
determined the data we used from the CPDF and NASA's WICN system to be
sufficiently reliable for our purpose. We leveraged previous GAO work
on the retirement of the Space Shuttle Program and the subsequent
transition of its workforce to the Constellation program.[Footnote 17]
We conducted our work from July 2006 through June 2007 in accordance
with generally accepted government auditing standards.
[End of section]
Appendix II: Use of Human Capital Authorities by NASA:
The NASA Flexibility Act of 2004 provides new human capital authorities
to NASA to enable the agency to address its workforce
challenges.[Footnote 18] The NASA Flexibility Act of 2004 requires that
the agency submit a report to Congress for 6 fiscal years, beginning in
fiscal year 2004, summarizing NASA's use of these authorities during
each preceding fiscal year. Below is a summary of NASA's use of these
flexibilities and those under another authority during fiscal years
2004 through 2006.
Table 3: NASA's Use of Human Capital Flexibilities:
[See PDF for Image]
Source: NASA Data.
[A] Pub. L. No. 108-411 (2004).
[End of table]
[End of section]
Appendix III: Comments from NASA:
National Aeronautics and Space Administration:
Headquarters:
Washington, DC 20546-0001:
July 19, 2007:
Reply to Attn of: Office of Human Capital Management:
Christina T. Chaplain:
Director:
Acquisition and Sourcing Management:
Government Accountability Office:
Washington, DC 20548:
Dear Ms. Chaplain:
Thank you for the opportunity to review your draft report entitled,
"NASA: Progress Made on Strategic Human Capital Management but Future
Program Challenges Remain" (GAO-07-1004). This draft report contains no
recommendations to NASA, and we have provided technical corrections,
via separate correspondence, that GAO has agreed to make.
If you have any questions, or require additional information, please
contact Steve Golis on (202) 358-1211 or Timothy Sullivan on (202) 358-
2222.
Sincerely,
Signed by:
Toni Dawsey:
Assistant Administrator for Human Capital Management:
[End of section]
Appendix IV: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments:
GAO Contact:
Cristina Chaplain (202) 512-4841 or chaplainc@gao.gov:
Acknowledgments:
In addition to the contact named above, Jim Morrison, Assistant
Director; Christopher Kunitz; Masha P. Pastuhov-Purdie; Jose A. Ramos;
Sylvia Schatz; Rebecca Shea; Robert Swierczek; and Gregory H. Wilmoth
made key contributions to this report.
FOOTNOTES
[1] Constellation will develop, demonstrate, and deploy systems that
will enable sustained human exploration. These include Orion, which
will carry and support crews traveling to low Earth orbit and beyond,
the Ares launch vehicles to transport both crew and cargo elements, as
well as ground and mission operations support infrastructure.
[2] Pub. L. No. 85-568 § 102 (b) and (c) (1958) (codified as amended at
42 U.S.C. §2451(b) and (c). The Department of Defense retains the
activities peculiar to or primarily associated with the development of
weapons systems, military operations, or the defense of the United
States. Id. At §102(b) and NASA NPD 1000.0, at 2.
[3] A mission is defined as a core function or job of the agency and is
not limited to flight.
[4] Pub. L No. 108-201 (2001) (codified at 5 U.S.C. § 9801, et seq.)
[5] NAPA, NASA: Balancing a Multisector Workforce to Achieve a Healthy
Organization, (Washington, D.C.: February 2007). NAPA also recommended
that NASA adopt scenario planning into its agencywide workforce
planning processes and use the results to inform decisionmaking.
[6] NRC, Building a Better NASA Workforce: Meeting the Workforce Needs
for the National Vision for Space Exploration, The National Academies
Press, (Washington, D.C.: 2007).
[7] GAO, High-Risk Series: An Update, GAO-01-263 (Washington, D.C.:
January 2001); GAO, Performance and Accountability Series--Major
Management Challenges and Program Risks: A Governmentwide Perspective,
GAO-01-241 (Washington, D.C.: January 2001); GAO, Major Management
Challenges and Program Risks: A Governmentwide Perspective, GAO-03-95
(Washington, D.C.: January 2003); and GAO, High-Risk Series: An Update,
GAO-07-310 (Washington, D.C.: January 2007).
[8] For example, in a March 2002 exposure draft, we introduced a
strategic human capital model designed to help agency leaders
effectively use their people and determine how well they integrate
human capital considerations into daily decision making and planning
for the program results they seek to achieve. This model is built
around four cornerstones: (1) leadership; (2) strategic human capital
planning; (3) acquiring, developing, and retaining talent; and (4)
results-oriented organizational cultures.
[9] GAO, Space Shuttle: Actions Needed to Better Position NASA to
Sustain Its Workforce through Retirement, GAO-05-230 (Washington, D.C.:
Mar. 9, 2005).
[10] NASA's key attributes of a healthy center are: core, clear,
stable, and enduring roles and responsibilities; clear program/project
management leadership roles; major in-house durable spaceflight
responsibility; skilled and flexible blended workforce with sufficient
depth and breadth; technically competent and value-centered leadership;
capable and effectively utilized infrastructure; and strong stakeholder
support.
[11] NRC, 29.
[12] The survey was sent to over 2900 civil service employees at the
Kennedy Space Center, Johnson Space Center, Marshall Space Flight
Center, and Stennis Space Center who had charged at least 40 hours to
Space Shuttle Program from October 2005 to May 2006 and may have
included employees other than scientists and engineers.
[13] NRC, 37.
[14] The term "uncovered capacity" means that there is a quantity of
available employee work time that is in excess of the quantity that
programs require and for which they have agreed to pay.
[15] GAO, Human Capital: Key Principles for Effective Strategic
Workforce Planning, GAO-04-39 (Washington, D.C.: Dec. 11, 2003). Also
see GAO, Securities and Exchange Commission: Some Progress Made on
Strategic Human Capital Management, GAO-06-86 (Washington, D.C.: Jan.
10, 2006).
[16] See GAO, OPM's Central Personnel Data File: Data Appear
Sufficiently Reliable to Meet Most Customer Needs, GAO/GGD-98-199
(Washington, D.C.: Sept. 30, 1998).
[17] GAO, Space Shuttle: Actions Needed to Better Position NASA to
Sustain Its Workforce through Retirement, GAO-05-230 (Washington, D.C.:
Mar. 9, 2005). Also see GAO, NASA: Issues Surrounding the Transition
from the Space Shuttle to the Next Generation of Human Space Flight
Systems, GAO-07-595T (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 28, 2007).
[18] Pub. L. No. 108-201 (2004).
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