NASA SCIENCE INSTITUTE PLANNING TEAM REPORT POC Ms Donna Fortunat tel: 202/358-2877. NASA is releasing a pre-publication copy of the NASA Science Institute Planning Team's Benchmark Report for information and a draft version of the NASA Science Institute Plan for a period of public comment. The formation of NASA supported Science Institutes has been proposed as a means of preserving and improving the quality of NASA's contribution to national science in an era of workforce reductions and declining budgets. Science Institutes are proposed to be non-federal entities established to conduct research, develop and transfer technology and provide service to the science community and the American public. The Institutes would play a key role in facilitating science, education and public community access to NASA's space and ground based assets. The Science Institute Benchmark Report discusses processes and attributes of research organizations studied with a mission similar to NASA's and identifies the best practices found which are relevant to the establishment of NASA's own Institutes. The NASA Science Institute Plan provides a conceptual framework for chartering a limited number of Science Institutes. It proposes a definition and description of functional roles and responsibilities for an institute and provides guiding principles and background information. Further, the plan outlines an implementation and management approach, and explores financial management issues and strategies. Reports will be available on or about Friday, December 1, 1995. The period for public comment will extend through Friday, January 5, 1996. Requests for report copies and comments should be addressed to: Ms. Donna L. Fortunat, Code HS, Program Operations Division, Office of Procurement, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC 20546, telephone 202/358-2877. These documents will also be available on Internet on or about December 1, and may be accessed by using a Web browser at URL: http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/oss/. Click on: ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/oss/inst/.

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