Traditional collaborations between U. S. federal agencies on space and Earth science projects can lead to increased rather than lower costs, the National Research Council concludes in a new report.
The Congressionally-chartered think tank urged the White House and Congress to re-assess their desire for interagency teaming based on case studies of past collaborations involving NASA and NOAA, the Department of Defense, Department of Energy and the U. S. Geological Survey.
The study, required under provisions of the NASA Authorization Act of 2008, pointed to differences in mission objectives, budget cycles and Congressional oversight as well as duplication of management personnel as forces likely to lead to schedule delays, increased mission risk and cost growth.
“As with international agreements, inter-agency agreements should not be entered into lightly and should be undertaken only with full assessment of the inherent complexities,” the 16-member NRC study panel concluded in a 70-page study entitled, Assessment of Impediments to Interagency Collaboration on Space and Earth Science Missions.
Raise the Bar
Based on eight case studies and testimony from participants in past collaborations, the NRC suggested raising the bar and offered new criteria that could serve as a basis for weighing the merits of future partnerships. They included the significance of the mission science objectives; the uniqueness of the mix of mission capabilities among prospective partners; and the potential to transition from difficult research missions to routine operations quickly.
“In many cases, an individual agency would do well to consider alternatives to full partnerships and instead buy specific services or coordinate spaceflight data from other agencies,” said Daniel N. Baker, who co-chaired the NRC study committee. “However, if full collaboration is deemed to be warranted, then the agencies must take special care to ensure that disciplined attention to systems engineering and best practices for project management are followed.”
Baker directs the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Ensure Qualified Management
When the White House Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Science and Technology Policy or the Congress favors collaboration, they should shelter the project and provide the freedom on move funding between agencies, according to the report.
“There is a need for coordinated oversight of interagency collaboration; however, OMB and OSTP are not suited to day-to-day oversight,” the study panel concluded. “Some alternative governance mechanism may be required to facilitate accountable decision-making across multiple agencies.”