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(a) The most important role of the Steering Committee is to provide a substantive review of a potential payload or program of investigations and to recommend a selection to the Program AA. The Steering Committee applies the collective experience of representatives from the program and discipline communities and offers a forum for discussing the selection from those points of view. In addition to this mission-specific evaluation function, the Steering Committee provides guidance to subcommittee chairpersons and serves as a clearinghouse for problems and complaints regarding the process. The Steering Committee is responsible for assuring adherence to required procedures. Lastly, it is the forum where discipline objectives are weighed against program objectives and constraints.
(b) The Steering Committee represents the means for exercising three responsibilities in the process of selecting investigations to:
(1) Review compliance with procedures governing application of the AO process.
(2) Ensure that adequate documentation has been made of the steps in the evaluation process.
(3) Review the results of the evaluation by the subcommittee, Project, and Program Offices and prepare an assessment or endorsement of a recommended payload or program of investigations to the Program AA.
(c) The purpose in exercising the first of the responsibilities in paragraph (b) of this section is to ensure equity and consistency in the application of the process. The Steering Committee is intended to provide the necessary reviews and coordination inherent in conventional acquisition practices.
(d) The second and third responsibilities of the Steering Committee in paragraph (b) are technical. They require that the Steering Committee review the evaluations by subcommittee, the Project Office, and the Program Office for completeness and appropriateness before forwarding to the Program AA. Most important in this review are:
(1) Degree to which results of evaluations and recommendations follow logically from the criteria in the AO.
(2) Consistency with objectives and policies generally beyond the scope of Project/Program Offices.
(3) Sufficiency of reasons stated for tentative recommendations of those investigations requiring further instrument research and development.
(4) Sufficiency of reasons stated for determining responsibilities for instrument development.
(5) Sufficiency of consideration of reusable space flight hardware and support equipment for the recommended investigations.
(6) Sufficiency of reasons for classifying proposed investigations in their respective categories.
(7) Fair treatment of all proposals.
(e) The Steering Committee makes recommendations to the selection official on the payload or program of investigations and notes caveats or provisions important for consideration of the selection official.