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(a)(1) Use of the system commences with the Enterprise Associate Administrator's determination that the investigation acquisition process is appropriate for a program. An Announcement of Opportunity (AO) is disseminated to the interested scientific and technical communities. The AO is a form of broad agency announcement (BAA) (see FAR 35.016 and 1835.016 for general BAA requirements). This solicitation does not specify the investigations to be proposed but solicits investigative ideas which contribute to broad objectives. In order to determine which of the proposals should be selected, a formal competitive evaluation process is utilized. The evaluation for merit is normally made by experts in the fields represented by the proposals. Care should be taken to avoid conflicts of interest. These evaluators may be from NASA, other Government agencies, universities, or the commercial sector. Along with or subsequent to the evaluation for merit, the other factors of the proposals, such as engineering, cost, and integration aspects, are reviewed by specialists in those areas. The evaluation conclusions as well as considerations of budget and other factors are used to formulate a complement of recommended investigations. A steering committee, serving as staff to the Enterprise Associate Administrator or designee when source selection authority is delegated, reviews the proposed payload or program of investigation, the iterative process, and the selection recommendations. The steering committee serves as a forum where different interests, such as flight program, discipline management, and administration, can be weighed.
(2) The Program AA, or designee, selects the proposals that will participate in the program. Once selected, an investigator is assigned appropriate responsibilities relating to the investigation through a contract with the institution. For foreign investigators, these responsibilities will usually be outlined in an agreement between NASA and the sponsoring governmental agency in the investigator's country.
(b) The AO process provides a disciplined approach to investigation acquisition. The following major steps must be followed in each case:
(1) The AO shall be signed by the Program AA and shall be widely distributed to the scientific, technological, and applications user communities, as appropriate.
(2) An evaluation team shall be formed including recognized peers of the investigators.
(3) A project office will be assigned to assess the engineering, cost, integration, and management aspects of the proposals.
(4) A program office will be responsible to formulate a complement of investigations consistent with the objectives stated in the AO, cost, and schedule constraints.
(5) A steering committee appointed by the appropriate Program AA shall review the proposed investigations for relevance and merit, will assure compliance with the system as described in this Handbook, and make selection recommendations.
(6) The Source Selection Official shall be the Program AA or the Program AA’s designee.
(c) Payloads will be formulated consisting of investigations selected through the AO process and/or other authorized methods.