Angela B. Styles
Administrator, Office of Federal Procurement Policy
Office of Management and Budget
Executive Office of the President
Washington, D.C. 20503

Dear Ms. Styles:

In accordance with the Federal Activities Inventory Reform (FAIR) Act (P.L. 105-270), the FY 2003 Commercial Activities Inventory for the National Science Foundation is enclosed. We have followed the guidance from the revised A-76 Circular and from your memo dated March 14, 2003 to prepare this year’s inventory.

NSF has developed an Administration and Management (A&M) strategy as part of its overall strategic planning process that is consistent with the President’s Management Agenda priorities and other external requirements. A key element of NSF’s A&M strategy is a comprehensive, multi-year business analysis, which began in July 2002. The Business Analysis involves the concurrent consideration of human capital and next- generation technology-enabled systems in an analysis framed around the Agency’s core business processes. The outcomes of this Business Analysis will guide long-term integrated administration and management investments that promise important mission-focused results. The Business Analysis responds directly to issues raised in the President's Management Agenda, to government-wide issues identified by the General Accounting Office (GAO) and others, and to agency-specific challenges such as the effective management of an increasingly multidisciplinary science and engineering research and education portfolio, and the management and oversight of an increasing number of complex large facility projects.

In the area of Human Capital Management, NSF is developing a strategic approach to workforce planning and deployment that: evaluates mission needs, customer expectations and workload; identifies competencies; develops strategies to obtain, develop and retain skills; and reduces excess organizational layers and redundancies. Clearly, this effort is likely to suggest significant changes to NSF’s organizational structure and staff composition over time. Once initial results from the business analysis effort are available early in FY 2004, NSF will begin to develop a competitive sourcing plan or an alternative strategy for implementing the competitive sourcing initiative. This strategy will be informed by the initial findings of the business analysis regarding possible structural or functional realignments across the agency.

Because of the anticipated impacts of the business analysis, this year’s inventory makes use of Reason Code E, “The Commercial Activity is pending an agency approved restructuring decision”. The remainder of the inventory is identical to the 2002 inventory. As we gather information through the Business Analysis process, and as decisions are made affecting our organizational structure and staffing levels, we will continue to refine our inventory and review our competitive sourcing options. We appreciate OMB’s ongoing support for this effort and will continue to work closely with you as we move forward.

Please contact Joseph Burt, Acting Director, Division of Human Resource Management, at 703-292-8180, for further information.

Sincerely

Rita R. Colwell
Director

Enclosures