Summary

In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) strategic planning process to identify: (1) the NASA process for providing visibility and direction to the civil space program; and (2) opportunities for NASA to improve the process.

GAO found that: (1) NASA had not fully implemented its strategic planning agency-wide; (2) although NASA had established the process at its field centers, it planned full implementation agency-wide; and (3) NASA could speed up full implementation and improve management of the process by providing continuous oversight and attention, furnishing staff support, and providing better linkage between goals, objectives, and the budget. GAO believes that NASA needs to develop a strategic plan to: (1) help focus attention on what it should be doing and how best to accomplish it; (2) encourage long-term and more realistic multi-year financial planning and programming; and (3) ensure that its overall efforts are affordable and balanced.