Defense Management and NASA Issue Area Plan--Fiscal Years 1995-97 (Letter
Report, 03/01/95, GAO/IAP-95-6).

GAO provided information on its Defense Management and National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) issue area plan, focusing on
opportunities to save money, achieve management efficiencies, and
improve results.

GAO plans to: (1) assess the base closure and realignment process; (2)
identify opportunities for savings from consolidating or eliminating
infrastructure activities; (3) monitor inventory reduction efforts; (4)
identify proven management practices and assess how the Department of
Defense (DOD) can best apply these practices to DOD operations; (5)
monitor DOD management of high-risk areas; (6) evaluate DOD ability to
properly manage its new environment; (7) identify unfunded liabilities
in future year budgets; (8) identify issues in disposing of chemical
weapons; (9) assess NASA efforts to improve its management; (10)
evaluate whether NASA has developed an appropriate infrastructure to
support its projected roles and missions; and (11) determine whether
NASA is using the resources available for space and aeronautical
research and development through joint agreements with others.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  IAP-95-6
     TITLE:  Defense Management and NASA Issue Area Plan--Fiscal Years 
             1995-97
      DATE:  03/01/95
   SUBJECT:  Reductions in force
             Cost control
             Defense budgets
             Aerospace industry
             Aerospace research
             Military bases
             Centralization
             Defense operations
             Space exploration
IDENTIFIER:  CIM
             DOD Corporate Information Management Initiative
             Defense Business Operations Fund
             NASA Earth Observing System
             Space Transportation System
             NASA Space Station Program
             
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Cover
================================================================ COVER


National Security and International Affairs Division

March 1995

DEFENSE MANAGEMENT AND NASA ISSUE
AREA PLAN - FISCAL YEARS 1995-97

GAO/IAP-95-6



Abbreviations
=============================================================== ABBREV

  NASA -
  DOD -

FOREWORD
============================================================ Chapter 0

The Defense Management and NASA issue area is one of the General
Accounting Office's 35 issue areas.  Relying heavily on input from
congressional committees, as well as industry, academia, agency
officials and other experts, GAO develops issue area plans to ensure
that our resources are focused on the most important concerns of the
Congress. 

GAO serves as a source of timely, accurate information and unbiased
analysis for decisionmakers in the Congress and executive agencies. 
For each issue area, GAO's strategic plan describes the significance
of the issues, our objectives, and the focus of our work.  Our work
includes such products as reports, briefings, and testimonies. 

Defense and NASA managers face many challenges as they strive to
streamline operations, control cost growth in high interest programs,
manage existing infrastructures, and accomplish their missions. 
GAO's overall strategy for Defense Management and NASA issues is to
identify innovative, efficient, and cost effective approaches to
redesigning Department of Defense (DOD) and National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA) management and infrastructure.  Our work
focuses on encouraging the reengineering and streamlining of Defense
and NASA operations through new processes and best management
practices.  Our goal is to identify opportunities to save money,
achieve management efficiencies, and improve results.  The principal
issues in the Defense Management and NASA area include

ï¿½opportunities for additional savings from consolidating or
eliminating infrastructure activities;

ï¿½the base closure process, recommendations, lessons learned, and
barriers to transitioning military bases to civilian use;

ï¿½best management practices of public and private sector entities that
can be applied to DOD operations;

ï¿½unfunded liabilities facing DOD in such areas as environmental
cleanup and chemical weapons disposal;

ï¿½ progress in implementing such DOD initiatives as the Corporate
Information Management and the Defense Business Operation Fund;

ï¿½opportunities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of NASA
space and aeronautical programs and the usefulness of their results;
and

ï¿½cooperative efforts between NASA and other domestic and
international entities to enhance the resources available for space
and aeronautical research and development. 

In the pages that follow, we describe our objectives and planned work
on these issues. 

Because unanticipated events may affect this plan, GAO's planning
process allows for updating the plan and responding to new emerging
issues.  If you have any questions or suggestions about this plan,
please call me at (202) 512-8412.






David R.  Warren
Director, Defense Management and NASA Issues


CONTENTS
============================================================ Chapter 1


   FOREWORD
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:1

1


   TABLE I:  KEY ISSUES
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:2

4


   TABLE II:  PLANNED MAJOR WORK
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:3

6


   TABLE III:  GAO CONTACTS
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:4

7


TABLE I:  KEY ISSUES
============================================================ Chapter 2

Issue                                    Significance
---------------------------------------  ---------------------------------------
Infrastructure management: Is DOD        Infrastructure costs accounted for $160
efficiently and effectively managing     billion (59 percent) of DOD's fiscal
military and civilian elements of its    year 1994 budget. The Congress relies
infrastructure?                          on GAO to provide a detailed analysis
                                         of the base closure and realignment
                                         process and recommendations. DOD
                                         anticipates operational savings and
                                         efficiencies will be achieved in the
                                         base closure process. DOD believes that
                                         additional infrastructure savings and
                                         efficiencies could be achieved by
                                         consolidating more functions.


Best management practices: What best     DOD believes that improving management
management practices of public and       practices and strengthening incentives
private sector entities can be applied   would reduce its variable
to DOD operations?                       infrastructure costs. DOD must increase
                                         privatization and change its existing
                                         management practices and procedures to
                                         overcome longstanding problems and to
                                         decrease costs, particularly in the
                                         areas of inventory management and
                                         installation support activities.


Program management: Does DOD's           DOD must streamline procedures and
management approach achieve              manage its cost growth of programs,
efficiencies and allow it to maintain    such as environmental compliance and
control over its operations, including   chemical weapons disposal, to maintain
the management of high-interest          its force structure and readiness. DOD
programs?                                has stewardship of 25 million acres of
                                         land with more than 18,000 sites that
                                         need to be cleaned up. Cleanup
                                         requirements include fuels, solvents,
                                         hazardous and nuclear waste, unexploded
                                         bombs and shells, and chemical weapons.
                                         Technology development efforts are
                                         needed to meet DOD's widespread
                                         environmental needs and chemical
                                         weapons disposal requirements.


NASA and space operations: What          NASA's budget is unlikely to grow for
opportunities exist to improve the       the foreseeable future. In such an
management of space and aeronautical     environment, NASA needs to make its
programs and the usefulness of their     projects affordable by identifying and
results?                                 implementing more efficient management
                                         practices, developing a more efficient
                                         infrastructure, and improving its
                                         oversight of contractors. NASA should
                                         also extend the influence of its space
                                         and aeronautical spending through
                                         domestic and international arrangements
                                         that share development cost and risk
                                         with others and make its research
                                         results more relevant and available to
                                         other sectors of the U.S. economy.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Objectives                               Focus of work
---------------------------------------  ---------------------------------------
--Assess the base closure and            ï¿½Base closure and realignment process,
realignment process, recommendations,    procedures, recommendations, and
and transition to civilian use.          results
                                         ï¿½Savings and efficiencies of base
--Identify opportunities for additional  closures
savings from consolidating or            ï¿½Barriers to transitioning closed
eliminating infrastructure activities.   bases
                                         ï¿½Infrastructure programs and costs
--Monitor inventory reduction efforts.   affected by changes in force structure
                                         ï¿½The need for and costs of mandated
                                         infrastructure activities and
                                         functions
                                         ï¿½Inventory trends, levels, and goals

--Identify proven operational and        ï¿½Private sector's management practices,
management practices that achieve        concepts, and techniques to achieve
economies, efficiencies, and savings;    operational improvements and
and asses how                            efficiencies
DOD can best use them.                   ï¿½Management practices, concepts, and
                                         techniques to change DOD's culture and
--Monitor DOD's management of high-      to achieve operational improvements and
risk areas.                              efficiencies
                                         ï¿½DOD's management of high-risk
                                         programs


--Evaluate the ability of DOD to         ï¿½DOD's management initiatives to re-
efficiently and effectively manage its   engineer, restructure, and streamline
new environment.                         operations
                                         ï¿½DOD's initiatives to streamline
--Identify areas that represent          procedures and to maintain control over
unfunded liabilities in future year      CIM and DBOF
budgets.                                 ï¿½Issues relating to funding, treaty
                                         ratification, environment, storage, and
--Identify issues in disposing of        disposal of biological and chemical
chemical weapons.                        munitions





--Assess NASA's efforts to improve the   ï¿½Management of major programs (space
efficiency and effectiveness of its      transportation system, space station,
program, project, and procurement        and earth observing system)
management.                              ï¿½Efficiency of government-wide space
                                         research and operations
--Evaluate whether NASA has developed    ï¿½Effectiveness of NASA procurement
an appropriate infrastructure to         reform
support projected roles and missions.    ï¿½Adequacy of budgetary and personnel
                                         resources
--Determine whether NASA is enhancing    ï¿½Effectiveness of efforts to enhance
the resources available for space and    resources through arrangements with
aeronautical research and development    other domestic and international
through appropriate joint arrangements   entities
with others.                             ï¿½Efficiency and cost of NASA's
                                         infrastructure

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TABLE II:  PLANNED MAJOR WORK
============================================================ Chapter 3

Issue                      Planned major job starts
-------------------------  -----------------------------------------------------
Infrastructure             --Review the 1995 base closure process
management                 --Evaluate transition of military bases
                           --Assess public versus private depot maintenance
                           --Evaluate reducing secondary inventory
                           --Evaluate cost of base closures
                           --Assess DFAS reengineering
                           --Assess TRANSCOM reengineering
                           --Review DOD infrastructure programs and costs
                           --Assess DPS versus GPO or private sector printing

Best management            --Review best practices effectiveness
practices                  --Evaluate benchmarking
                           --Review aircraft repairables
                           --Review tracked-vehicle repairables
                           --Evaluate disposal and reutilization systems
                           --Evaluate best practices methodology
                           --Assess targets of opportunity

Program management         --Review CIM
                           --Evaluate compliance with environmental cleanup
                           standards
                           --Assess DOD's pollution prevention
                           --Review DBOF mechanism and customer impact
                           --Review chemical weapons disposal program

NASA and space             --Evaluate space program infrastructure requirements
operations                 --Assess the adequacy of NASA's program and project
                           management cycle
                           --Review effectiveness of space technology transfer
                           --Review NASA's management of personnel downsizing
                           --Evaluate effectiveness of cost controls in the
                           space station program
                           --Review application of best management practices by
                           NASA
                           --Evaluate shuttle operations and management
                           --Review international cooperation initiatives
                           --Review life-cycle costs of the space station and
                           earth observing system
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TABLE III:  GAO CONTACTS
============================================================ Chapter 4


      DIRECTOR
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4:0.1

David R.  Warren (202) 512-8412


      ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4:0.2

James F.  Wiggins (202) 512-8412


      ASSISTANT DIRECTORS
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4:0.3

Uldis Adamsons
Francis P.  Degnan Jr.
Julia C.  Denman
Lee A.  Edwards
James E.  Hatcher
Barry W.  Holman
Thomas J.  Howard
George A.  Jahnigen
John J.  Klotz
Kenneth R.  Knouse
Clementine H.  Rasberry
Foy D.  Wicker


*** End of document. ***