03-03
Procurement Information Circular
February 3, 2003
SCIENTIFIC
AND TECHNICAL INFORMATION
PURPOSE: To provide guidance on the treatment
of scientific and technical information (STI) produced under Research and
Development (R&D) contracts.
BACKGROUND:
(A) Scientific and Technical
Information (STI) is the collected set of facts, analyses, and conclusions
resulting from scientific, technical, and related engineering research and
development efforts, both basic and applied.
NASA STI may be produced either directly by NASA or under
NASA contracts.
(B) Policy on the management of
NASA STI and procedures for dissemination of NASA STI are contained in NPD
2220.5, Management of NASA Scientific and
Technical Information (STI), and NPG 2200.2A, Guidelines for Documentation,
Approval, and Dissemination of NASA Scientific and Technical Information.
NPD 2220.5 provides that:
In keeping
with the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, as amended, NASA shall
"provide for the widest practicable and appropriate dissemination" of
the STI resulting from NASA's research effort, while precluding the
inappropriate dissemination of sensitive information. NASA shall disseminate STI in a manner consistent with U.S. laws
and regulations, Federal information policy, intellectual property rights,
technology transfer protection requirements, and budgetary and technological
limitations.”
[NOTE: NPD 2220.5, Management of NASA Scientific and Technical Information
(STI), is currently being updated and will be renumbered to NPD 2200.]
(C) Pursuant to law, certain types
of information in the possession and control of the Government are required to
be protected from public disclosure. The Freedom of Information Act provides
guidance as to categories of protected information that are exempt from
mandatory release. Types of information to which public access may be
prohibited or limited include national security classified information,
export-controlled information, personal information subject to the Privacy Act,
and proprietary information of the Government or others such as confidential
commercial information, trade secret information, Small Business Innovation
Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) data (as defined in FAR
52.227-20) and documents disclosing inventions.
(D) NASA
STI is published through a variety of mechanisms that include the NASA STI
Report Series and non-NASA scientific and technical channels, such as external
publications (e.g., professional society journals and similar periodicals), or
conference, symposia, and workshop presentations or proceedings. One mechanism for disseminating NASA STI,
which includes the final report and any additional reports required as a
deliverable under R&D contracts, is through the NASA Center for AeroSpace
Information (CASI). CASI serves as the
historical repository in coordination with the National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA) of NASA or NASA- funded research information, which can
be accessed by persons or institutions outside of NASA. NASA CASI maintains NASA’s STI Database.
(E)
Before inclusion in the CASI repository and database, STI must be reviewed to determine
whether public access to the information must be prohibited or restricted (See
paragraph (C) above). This NASA review is referred to as the document
availability authorization (DAA) review, NASA Form (NF) 1676 (or a center’s
implementation of this form). The DAA
review process is intended to ensure that NASA does not inappropriately release
information to which public access may be prohibited or limited.
(F)(1) While NASA STI may be produced either
directly by NASA or under NASA contracts, the NASA DAA review process applies
only to the publication and dissemination of NASA STI by NASA or under the
direction of NASA. Therefore, the DAA review process is mandatory for all NASA
STI released outside of NASA, including on websites, or presented at
conferences or seminars at which foreign nationals may be present; this
includes the NASA STI Report Series, which includes the Contractor Report (CR)
series for publishing reports prepared by contractors as deliverables
under the terms of the contract.
(2) Except as described in (3) below, the
DAA review process does not apply to documents published by contractors even if
the documents contain STI first produced by contractors in the performance of a
NASA contract. However, the contractor
is responsible for reviewing publication or dissemination of documents
containing STI first produced in performance of the contract for conformance
with laws and regulations governing its distribution, including intellectual
property rights, export control, national security and other requirements, and
to the extent the contractor receives or is given access to data necessary for
the performance of the contract which contain restrictive markings, for
complying with such restrictive markings.
(3) The DAA review process is applicable
to NASA contractors if they elect, or are required under the terms of their
contracts, to have their reports reviewed by and/or published by NASA. Thus, when NASA takes possession of a
"Final Report" that is required as a deliverable under an R&D
contract, NASA has the right to regulate its dissemination and publication by
requiring a DAA review prior to its release outside of NASA.
(G)
Any restrictions or limitations placed on NASA contractors regarding the
distribution, dissemination, or publication of STI produced under a contract
must be consistent with the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and the NASA
FAR Supplement (NFS). Notwithstanding,
NASA’s rights in the “Final Report,” as stated earlier, the standard FAR data
rights clause (52.227-14, Rights in Data--General) gives the Contractor the
right to use, release to others, reproduce, distribute, or publish any data
first produced or specifically used by the Contractor in the performance of the
contract, including data contained in the “Final Report,” except to the extent
such data may be subject to the Federal export control or national security
laws or regulations, is provided to the Contractor with restrictive markings
(e.g., trade secret or proprietary data owned by the Government or others), or
unless otherwise expressly set forth in the contract. (See FAR clause 52.227-14, Rights in Data--General, at paragraphs
(b)(2) and (d)). In fact, in order to
enhance the transfer or dissemination of information produced at Government
expense, paragraph (c)(1) of the Rights in Data clause states, "Unless
provided otherwise [in the contract], the Contractor may establish, without
prior approval of the Contracting Officer, claim to copyright subsisting in
scientific and technical articles based on or containing data first produced in
the performance of this contract and published in academic, technical or
professional journals, symposia proceedings or similar works."
(H) Since the Rights in Data clause provides that
contractors may publish any data first produced or specifically used by the
contractor in the performance of the contract with certain exceptions, it is
necessary to determine if any of the exceptions may apply and specifically
state in the contract what review requirements are mandated before the
contractor may release data produced in performance of the contract.
(I) The clause at 1852.235-73, Final Scientific and
Technical Reports, with its Alternates, provides direction to the contractor
regarding their ability to release data first produced or used in performance
of the contract. The basic clause
requires the submission of a final report and restricts the publication or
other dissemination of only the final report, or any additional reports
required by the contract, until NASA has completed its DAA review, and the
availability of the report has been determined. This basic provision allows the contractor to release all data
other than the “Final Report” or any additional reports required by the
contract without approval from NASA.
(J) Alternate I to 1852.235-73 places no
restrictions on the contractor for release of data, including the final report;
retains NASA’s right to review the final report for compliance with any
restrictive markings; and reminds contractors of their responsibilities for
review of the data for compliance with restrictions stated in the contract and
compliance with restrictive markings if provided or given access to proprietary
data necessary for performance. This
alternate is appropriate when the work is considered “fundamental research” as
defined at 15 CFR 734.8 and 22 CFR 120.11(8), will be shared broadly with the
scientific community, and no foreign national access or dissemination
restrictions apply. An example of this type of research could include research
into advances in medical technology.
(K) Alternate II to 1852.235-73 restricts all
releases of data, except to NASA, without prior review by NASA. This alternate is appropriate when the data
developed under the contract may be subject to export control, national
security restrictions, other restrictions designated by NASA, or the contractor
is given or provided access to proprietary information of others. An example of this type of research could
include research into advanced remote sensors.
GUIDANCE:
(A) Include in all R&D contracts, the clause at
1852.235-73, Final Scientific and Technical Reports. Before using either Alternate I or II to 1852.235-73, the
Contracting Officer must coordinate with the requiring organization and the
Center Export Control Administrator and/or Chief or Patent Counsel, as
appropriate, to determine whether or not any restrictions apply to data
produced under the contract. (See paragraph (C) under Background, above.)
(1) Use
the basic clause, if only the final report, or any other reports required by
the contract, require NASA review and approval before release outside of NASA.
(2) Use
the basic clause with Alternate I when the contractor may release all data,
including the final report, or any other reports required by the contract,
without review and approval by NASA.
(3) Use
the basic clause with its Alternate II when it is appropriate to restrict the
release of data outside of NASA, until reviewed by NASA.
(B) Consistent with the Rights in Data--General
clause, except for the final report and other reports required as deliverables
under the contract, or when Alternate II to 1852.235-73 is used, do not require
pre-publication review and approval of contractor publications containing data
first produced in performance of the contract.
Advance notice/copies of contractor publications containing such data
provided for informational purposes do not require NASA approval and should not
delay the contractor’s publication of such contractor publications. Contractor publications that include data
first produced in performance of the contract includes articles in professional
society journals and similar periodicals, or conference, symposia, and workshop
presentations or proceedings.
(C)(1) The contracting officer’s technical representative (COTR) is responsible for –
(a) Review and acceptance of the final report and any other reports required to be delivered under the contract;
(b) Ensuring that the DAA review is initiated upon acceptance of contractor reports that will be published or released outside of NASA or presented at an internal conference or seminar at which foreign nationals may be present;
(c) Coordinating with the Center STI/Publication Manager to resolve any possible publication issues; and
(d) Ensuring that the Center STI/Publication Manager is provided the DAA-approved STI and the original approved DAA form.
(2) The Center STI/Publication Manager shall forward the approved STI and a copy of the approved DAA form to CASI and notify the COTR.
(3) Centers shall establish procedures for notifying the contractor if and when the STI has been approved for publication by NASA. Generally, this notification should be provided by the office responsible for approval of the DAA or the Center STI/Publication Manager.
(D) NFS clause
1852.235-73, Final Scientific and Technical Reports, strongly encourages the
use of electronic formats for the submission of reports. If the final report will be submitted
electronically, contracting officers should require the contractor to also
submit one paper copy of the final report which can be used to validate items
such as math and symbols that frequently get transposed due to font
substitutions.
Information regarding
appropriate electronic formats is available at http://www.sti.nasa.gov, under
“Publish STI - Electronic File Formats.”
(E) NASA policy regarding electronic submission of
STI that is export controlled or limited or restricted via the Internet and
email is currently under development.
As a result, the clause at 1852.235-73, Final Scientific and Technical
Reports instructs contractors to contact the contracting officer to determine
NASA’s requirements before electronically transmitting these forms of STI. Information regarding NASA’s requirements
will be posted on http://www.sti.nasa.gov, “Publish STI -- Electronic File
Formats” as soon as it becomes available.
In the interim, if appropriate electronic safeguards are not specified
or available at the time of submission, a paper copy or a CD-ROM of the report
shall be submitted.
The enclosed process is representative of the
responsibilities noted above.
EFFECTIVE DATE: This PIC is
effective as dated and shall remain in effect until canceled or superseded.
HEADQUARTERS CONTACT: Celeste Dalton, Code HK, (202)
368-1645, e-mail: cdalton@hq.nasa.gov.
Scott Thompson
Director, Contract Management Division
Enclosure
