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UCPO Strategy for successRising to the Challenge

ABSTRACTThe University Collaboration and Partnership Office is implementing an integrated strategy to enable the “best minds” to partner to achieve the Agency’s Mission

Vernon, Lynn R.

TABLE OF CONTENTSMission and vision............................................................................................3Principles and Values.......................................................................................4Strategic goals.................................................................................................5Strategy Metrics...............................................................................................8Strategy Challenges.........................................................................................9Partnership Engagement tools.......................................................................10Implementation Plan | Portfolio Management of actions................................11UCPO Strategy one pager..............................................................................17UCPO Alignment.............................................................................................18

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MISSION AND VISIONMISSION

The University Collaboration and Partnership Office’s (UCPO) Mission is to be Lean, Agile, and Adaptive in enabling University partnerships for mission success.

VISION

The UCPO is to provide JSC a resource/path for accessing additional state-of-the-art knowledge, expertise, and resources provided by Universities partnerships and collaborations.

FOCUS

With a mission and vision focus the UCPO will help to enable the JSC 2.0 strategy by being agile, adaptive, and lean. The UCPO’s focus is to utilize University expertise helping to maximize resources available and planting the seed for a future need. The UCPO will work to provide opportunities and engagements that provide benefit in all phases of the Agency’s missions including research and development, pre-flight analysis and testing, and in-flight operations and problem analysis.

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PRINCIPLES AND VALUESMISSION-ENABLING

We provide opportunities and strategies that bring the “best minds” together to enable problem solving and solutions development to enable the Agency mission.

PURPOSEFUL

We will support having a clear aim or purpose with actions and activities that are determined to provide the best customer support.

RESPONSIVE

We hold ourselves accountable for our actions. We strive to be responsive, to conduct ourselves with trustworthiness and respect for all.

PARTNER

We are great partners. We focus on adding value and creating mutually beneficial partnerships. The solutions to today’s great challenges require agile collaboration, teamwork and engagement with our stakeholders, both at JSC and in the national and international University research communities.

INTEGRATED

We will strive to integrate our activities and actions with the Agency Strategic Plan, the JSC Implementation Plan, and customer needs. We will work to provide insight into opportunities and methods that could be utilized/influenced to achieve the required goal.

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STRATEGIC GOALSStrategic Goal 1: Research Capabilities

Strategic Goal 2: University Partnerships

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The UCPO will provide research capabilities to meet unique Center needs while supporting the Agency’s Mission.

Performance Outcomes1. JSC Directorates are

utilizing Universities as partners for research and capabilities development and are a key part of the integrated roadmap discussions and focused on technologies at TRL 1 to 3

3-5 Year Objectives1. Implement seamless

approach to leverage University research capabilities

2. Promote partnerships to develop research opportunities that support JSC’s mission

3. Establish an University Consortium focused on Space Technology

4. Establish a University Advisory Council for JSC Research and Technology

Enable University Partnerships that provide access to the “best-minds” to support JSC’s mission.

Performance Outcomes1. Universities partnered

with on current technology challenges in operations similar to JPL’s utilization of UT Austin for spacecraft operations

3-5 Year Objectives

1. Utilize Advisory Council for access to technical experts, as required

Strategic Goal 3: Sustainability

Strategic Goal 4: Education Alignment

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2. Capture and maintain an inventory of key technical experts aligned to JSC’s mission needs

Establish a fully integrated University engagement methodology and process.

Performance Outcomes1. The University engagement is

standardized, consolidated, cost effective, sustainable, and scalable providing services and capabilities to meet mission needs. University partnerships and collaboration are highly leveraged where additional resources are required.

3-5 Year Objectives1. Define and document clear

processes for University Research and Technology engagement

2. Integrate processes and communications with Universities, key stakeholders, functions, missions, and programs

3. Develop and implement key performance indicators and metrics for University engagements

Establish integration with Education program to provide alignment for JSC research needs

Performance Outcomes1. ,mThe University

engagement by JSC for Education and UCPO are integrated enabling cooperative and aligned activities that help to enable the goals of both strategies

3-5 Year Objectives

1. Provide Education communications and

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information that is consistent with Center research needs

2. Utilize Education tools and processes to enable skills and resources’ to support JSC’s research and technology needs

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STRATEGY METRICS

This section is TBD

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STRATEGY CHALLENGES

This long-term strategy is faced with several challenges to achieve the overall goal. As part of the strategy the UCPO recognizes the challenges and will work to ensure the challenges are properly considered and addressed as part of the overall implementation of plan. These challenges may result in a change of process, goal, or success of this plan. Some of the identified challenges included, but are not limited to, the following with initial activities, communications, or methodologies to mitigate the challenge:

Culture – The NASA JSC culture for many years has been predominantly focused on operations. Utilization of current technology capabilities and direct contracts have been the primary methods of achieving the mission. Now with the shut-down of the Space Shuttle Program and the changing focus to farther reaching missions and the push for emerging technologies the NASA JSC culture needs to embrace more of a “research” focus and needs to evaluate new methods of accomplishing is goal.

Funding – The NASA budget is currently a flat budget, with minor increases, and with continuing inflation the budget is in fact declining as the cost of items and services increase. Limited funding is currently identified for research partnerships with Universities. NASA JSC needs to evaluate how to maximize its return on investment in areas identified in Partnerships Engagement Tools to align to the long-term technology needs resolving key gaps and challenges of the future.

Awareness – The variety of methods that can be utilized to engage with a University are extensive. Awareness of the methods, some or all, is very limited and typically only to those that have utilized them at one time or another. In addition, most professors are unaware of the various opportunities to engage with NASA. In addition many are overloaded with communications and will not typically pay attention to a communication unless it can directly impact them today. In order to improve this communications strategies need to be continuous and through. Integrating University Partnerships into the road map planning is an example of identifying the opportunities that is exist in research partnerships.

Resources – The University Collaboration and Partnership Office has very limited resources to fully engage the NASA JSC in a University Partnership program. Utilizing the resources within the organizations and within the groups that manage the various partnerships engagement tools is critical to success. However, this requires top level management to emphasis the need for alignment and integration.

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PARTNERSHIP ENGAGEMENT TOOLSFollowing are some of the tools that can be utilized for partnership engagements with Universities. Each of these will either be through awareness, influence, discussions/partnership, or contracting. All can be utilized to help align to the Agency and Center needs and goals. The engagement tools include, but are not limited to:

Agreementso Space Act Agreements o CRADAo National Laboratory Agreements

International Agreementso SIERA

Flying Experiments on ISSo CASISo ISS University Program

Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA)o University to JSC

NASA pays salaryo JSC to University

Grants and Awardso Space Grants o Federal Government Awards and Grantso Space Technology Research Grants

NASA Space Technology Research Fellowships (NSTRF)

Early Career Faculty (ECF) Early Stage Innovations (ESI)

Game Changing Development Strategic University Research Partnerships (JPL) Innovative Partnerships Program Minority University Research and Education Program (MUREP) Unsolicited Proposals

o To NASAo NASA with Univ. to another Agency

Contractso UARC contract o GSFCo NAIS

NSBRI NASA Challenges (SOLVE)

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IMPLEMENTATION PLAN | PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT OF ACTIONS

Goal 1: Research CapabilitiesObjective 1.1: Implement seamless approach to leverage University research capabilities

Prioritized Actions Incorporated into Plan

Action Start Date

Duration

Owner(s) Baseline Key Metric to Track

1.1.1:

Objective 1.2: Promote partnerships to develop research opportunities that support JSC’s mission

Prioritized Actions Incorporated into Plan

Action Start Date

Duration

Owner(s) Baseline Key Metric to Track

1.2.1: Benchmark current University partnerships utilized by JSC. Gather lesson’s learned, best practices, and strategies

FY15 3/16/15 2 months

Deputy UCPO No current reference model

1.2.2: Present overview of UCPO and how it can help organizations. (e.g SDP, EA, FOD, EISD, HH&P)

FY15 2/29/15 3 months

Director UCPO, Deputy UCPO

1.2.3: Facilitation of Org. (e.g. EA) visit/engagement with

FY15 3/1/15 4 months

Director UCPO

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Universities

Objective 1.3: Establish an University Consortium focused on Space Technology

Prioritized Actions Incorporated into Plan

Action Start Date

Duration

Owner(s) Baseline Key Metric to Track

1.3.1: Benchmark current University Consortiums utilized by NASA. Gather lesson’s learned, best practices, and strategies. (HHP, JPL, ARC)

FY16 Deputy UCPO No current reference model

Objective 1.4: Establish a University Advisory Council for JSC Research and Technology

Prioritized Actions Incorporated into Plan

Action Start Date

Duration

Owner(s) Baseline Key Metric to Track

1.4.1:

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Goal 2: University PartnershipsObjective 2.1: Utilize Advisory Council for access to technical experts, as required

Prioritized Actions Incorporated into Plan

Action Start Date

Duration

Owner(s) Baseline Key Metric to Track

2.1.1:

Objective 2.2: Capture and maintain an inventory of key technical experts aligned to JSC’s Mission Needs

Prioritized Actions Incorporated into Plan

Action Start Date

Duration

Owner(s) Baseline Key Metric to Track

2.2.1:

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Goal 3: SustainabilityObjective 3.1: Define and document clear processes for University Research and Technology engagement

Prioritized Actions Incorporated into Plan

Action Start Date

Duration

Owner(s) Baseline Key Metric to Track

3.1.1: Perform benchmarking of existing engagement processes and gather lessons learned and tool info (e.g. HH&P, EA, JPL)

FY15 2/26/15 3 months

Deputy UCPO No current reference model

3.1.2: Establish a process for clearly identifying Center top priority needs for research that is utilized for guidance/coordination with Universities (e.g. CT Road Map integration)

FY15 2/1/15 2 months

Deputy UCPO, JSC Chief Technologist

3.1.3: Establish a process for capturing current research focus areas of US Universities and incorporate into a searchable dB (Supports Obj. 2.2.1)

FY15 6/1/15 4 months

Deputy UCPO

3.1.4: Develop an integrated process flow for UCPO engagements ensuring utilization of all potential engagement

FY15 6/1/15 5 months

Deputy UCPO Process and form implemented for UCPO engagement requests

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tools. (Supports Obj. 1.1.1)

Objective 3.2: Integrate processes and communications with Universities, key stakeholders, functions, missions, and programs

Prioritized Actions Incorporated into Plan

Action Start Date

Duration

Owner(s) Baseline Key Metric to Track

3.2.1: Align yearly "challenge" categories for Texas Space Grant and EPSCoR to JSC primary gaps and needs

FY16 1 month

Objective 3.3: Develop and implement key performance indicators and metrics for University engagements

Prioritized Actions Incorporated into Plan

Action Start Date

Duration

Owner(s) Baseline Key Metric to Track

3.3.1: Develop document of historical utilization and benefit of JSC University engagements

FY15 3 months

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Goal 4: Education AlignmentObjective 4.1: Provide Education communications and information that is consistent with Center research needs

Prioritized Actions Incorporated into Plan

Action Start Date

Duration

Owner(s) Baseline Key Metric to Track

4.1.1: Identify current education tools utilized that provide potential benefit from UCPO influence (e.g. Space Grants, etc.)

FY15 2/26/15 3 months

Deputy UCPO No current reference

4.1.2: Establish integration and process to provide recommendations for categories/projects.

FY15 2/26/15 5 months

Deputy UCPO One Space Grant project clearly aligned to a JSC Top priority goal

Objective 4.2: Utilize Education tools and processes to enable skills and resources to support JSC’s research and technology needs

Prioritized Actions Incorporated into Plan

Action Start Date

Duration

Owner(s) Baseline Key Metric to Track

4.2.1: Identify projects for interns to assist JSC's mission

FY15 4/1/15 5 months

Deputy UCPO Intern’s project success

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UCPO STRATEGY ONE PAGER

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UCPO ALIGNMENT

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Strategy 1.1: Exploit the ISS as a cornerstone of human

exploration

Strategy 1.2: Enable the commercialization of LEO

Strategy 1.3: Extend human exploration beyond LEO

Strategy 2.1: Lead int'l community participation in human space exploration

Strategy 2.2: Guide the development of Agency Global

Exploration Roadmap

Strategy 2.3: Champion int'l participation in development of

exploration capabilities

Strategy 3.1: Lead through innovative technical and business

management practices

Strategy 3.2: Lead by fully engaging the Human Spaceflight

team

Strategy 4.1: Intertwine JSC w/ partners to maximize economic

and societal impact

Strategy 4.2: Inform, educate, and engage all generations to advance human exploration

Strategy 4.3: Strategically communicate JSC’s relevance to

our stakeholders

Fund

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Funding Gap: FY16 -FY19 Partner Funding Amount

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