Appendix A to Subpart E of Part 102-3 - —Key Points and Principles

Appendix A to Subpart E of Part 102-3—Key Points and Principles

This appendix provides additional guidance in the form of answers to frequently asked questions and identifies key points and principles that may be applied to situations not covered elsewhere in this subpart. The guidance follows:

Key points and principles	Section(s)	Question(s)	Guidance
I. Section 15 of the Act allows the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) to adopt separate procedures for complying with FACA	102-3.185(a)	1. May agencies rely upon an academy certification regarding compliance with section 15 of the Act if different policies and procedures are adopted by NAS and NAPA?	A. Yes. NAS and NAPA are completely separate organizations. Each is independently chartered by the Congress for different purposes, and Congress has recognized that the two organizations are structured and operate differently. Agencies should defer to the discretion of each academy to adopt policies and procedures that will enable it to comply substantially with the provisions of section 15 of the Act that apply to that academy.
II. Section 15 of the Act allows agencies to enter into funding agreements with NAS and NAPA without the academies' committees being “managed” or “controlled”	102-3.185(c)	1. Can an agency enter into a funding agreement with an academy which provides for the preparation of one or more academy reports containing advice or recommendations to the agency, to be developed by the academy by use of a committee created by the academy, without subjecting an academy to “actual management or control” by the agency?	A. Yes, if the members of the committee are selected by the academy and if the committee's meetings, deliberations, and the preparation of reports are all controlled by the academy. Under these circumstances, neither the existence of the funding agreement nor the fact that it contemplates use by the academy of an academy committee would constitute actual management or control of the committee by the agency.