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The Mission of the Office of the Chief Information Officer
 

The NASA Chief Information Officer (CIO) has the responsibility, authority and accountability for ensuring that NASA's information assets are acquired and managed consistent with federal policies, procedures, and legislation and that the Agency's Information Resource Management (IRM) strategy is in alignment with NASA's vision, mission, and strategic goals.

The Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996 (formally called Information Technology Management Reform Act) outlined the processes that federal agencies should use to acquire IT resources and to manage IT investments. The Clinger-Cohen Act also required federal agencies to establish the position of Chief Information Officer (CIO). The NASA CIO, as the Agency's change agent for the Clinger-Cohen Act, must provide vision and leadership to ensure that:

  • The Agency is making appropriate investments in IT,
  • The Agency is planning, developing, maintaining, and facilitating the implementation of sound and integrated NASA Enterprise Architecture, and
  • Effective and efficient design, operation, and management of all IT investments are accomplished in such a way as to ensure the Agency achieves an acceptable return on its investment.

Most importantly, however, the CIO must take into account the specific needs of NASA and its scientific, engineering, and administrative activities in the IT planning, acquisition, and management processes.

The Office of the CIO is structured to support the organization's functional responsibilities and the Agency's strategic goals. Within the Office of the CIO, the following offices and divisions exist:

  1. IT Security Office;
  2. Business Management Office;
  3. Standards and Architecture Division; and
  4. Integrated Information Solutions Division.

Unique roles and responsibilities are assigned to each office and division and can be mapped to the NASA Strategic Plan and the NASA Information Resources Management (IRM) Strategic Plan.