NASA IT Purchasing Freeze

X-Sender: lrosenbe@pop300.gsfc.nasa.gov
Date: Thu, 19 Dec 2002 09:52:14 -0500
To: executive_council@listserv.gsfc.nasa.gov
From: Linda Rosenberg

As discussed, attached is the notice of IT Purchasing Frees, an announcement will follow but I wanted to get this out prior to the holiday.

A clarification was received from Mr. Strassman's office that ALL IT purchases are to go through the CIO for approval with the expectation that mission critical purchases will be approved. This allows the CIOs insight into spending and that is Strassman's requirement. This is not the way I initially described it as I was trying to remove myself from the loop but I feel that in order to be in compliance this is the structure needed.

Procurement has made the necessary adjustments so that this would not delay purchases unnecessarily as along as I respond to email promptly which I do and will make sure I do during this freeze.)

Thanks for your help in implementing this.

Linda

Dr. Linda H. Rosenberg
Chief Information Officer
voice (301) 286-5710
fax (301)286-1714
NASA GSFC
Bld 8 Code 100
Greenbelt, MD 20771

---

IT Purchasing Freeze

Effective immediately, December, 2002

The NASA Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Comptroller are in the process of reevaluating the Agency’s Information Technology (IT) investment strategies to ensure they are in alignment with current Agency One NASA goals and priorities. With this effort underway, NASA Headquarters has issued a moratorium on the purchase of all IT hardware and software unless it is identified as mission critical. This includes IT hardware and software purchased through the regular Procurement Request (PR) process, the Small Purchase System (SPS) (including ODIN catalog purchases), the Government bank card process, and purchases by contractors when the Government will retain ownership. This moratorium is effective immediately and will continue until further notice.

Mission critical IT hardware and software is defined as those items necessary to meet specific current fiscal year program efforts that cannot be met with existing equipment, or to avoid a potential service disruption or loss of data.

Items that meet the following criteria are pre-approved for purchase:

• Maintenance agreements for existing operational hardware and software
• Emergency replacement of failed components of mission critical hardware
• IT consumables (i.e., toner cartridges)
• Funding of existing IT contract support, labor only
• Previously scheduled ODIN system refreshes

To purchase IT hardware or software that is mission critical, please use the following process:

For PRs (other than small purchases):

• Initiate the PR and include a written narrative justifying the purchase as mission critical and explain why it cannot be deferred.
• Route the PR to the Office of the CIO (Building 8 Room 620). The CIO will either approve the PR or notify the initiator and technical advisor as to why the PR was not approved.
• If approved, the PR will be processed via the normal routing process.

For SPS PRs:

• The initiator will send an email to the Chief Information Officer (CIO), Linda Rosenberg (Linda.H.Rosenberg@nasa.gov) with a copy to the initiator's supervisor (or equivalent) and the Contracting Officer or the Procurement Manager. The email should include a brief justification as to why the item is mission critical and the purchase cannot be deferred.
• An email response will be sent to the requester indicating approval or reasons for disapproval. If approved, the item(s) may be purchased using the bankcard. Include "Mission Critical" in the description field of the PR. A copy of the email must be kept with the Purchase Order in the procurement file.

For Bank Card purchases:

• The initiator will send an email to the Chief Information Officer (CIO), Linda Rosenberg (Linda.H.Rosenberg@nasa.gov) with a copy to the initiator's supervisor (or equivalent) with a brief justification as to why the item is mission critical and the purchase cannot be deferred.
• An email will be sent to the requester indicating approval or reasons for disapproval. If approved, the item(s) may be purchased using the bankcard. Include "Mission Critical" in the cardholder log description box. A copy of the email must accompany the cardholder log when statements are submitted.

For contractor purchases of Government property:

• The initiator will send an email to the Chief Information Officer (CIO), Linda Rosenberg (Linda.H.Rosenberg@nasa.gov) with a cc to the Contracting Officer and Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR) with a brief justification as to why the item is mission critical and the purchase cannot be deferred.
• An email will be sent to the requester indicating approval or reasons for disapproval. If approved, the contractor may purchase the item(s), subject to additional approvals that may be required within the terms and conditions of the contract. Include "Mission Critical" in the description of the purchase. A copy of the email must accompany the approval package when submitted.

I appreciate your cooperation in this action. I do not expect these process changes to incur more that a 24-hour delay on any purchase. Please contact me at extension 6-5710 or Linda.H.Rosenberg@nasa.gov if you have any questions.

Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.