Dava Newman Is Also Running Out The Clock Overseas
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Keith’s note: Dava Newman likely only has 7 months or so left in her job as Deputy Administrator – maybe a few more as acting administrator while the next Administration picks their team. Meanwhile, her old job at MIT is waiting for her to return. So, she does not have any job security issues to worry about. As such, one would think that instead of spending all of this time overseas (she is currently in Austria) that she’d be back in the U.S. doing whatever it is that she does at NASA. As for Charlie Bolden: he has told folks that he plans to increase his travel in his final year – and that is exactly what he is doing.
I don’t think Bolden or Newman have made much of a difference-at least not in a good way. Bolden’s reign was not a good thing. Newman didn’t make much a difference. Let them have some fun at taxpayer expense. Maybe they’ll do some good overseas if they haven ‘t done anything over here.
It is also worth noting that the cost of their travel may not be very large. Unless they fly First Class and exempt themselves from the government per diem, we are talking about a few thousand dollars. I don’t like wasting even a few thousand. But that is not a huge sum when compared to other things NASA spends money on to lesser benefit. A thousand dollars for good international relations versus a billion for SLS/trip to Mars/trip to nowhere? Which is the better use of taxpayers ‘ money?
I understand, but waste begets waste. Culture begins at the top so if the boss(es) wastes a few grand, everyone under them start wasting a few grand, either through direct expenditure or reduced productivity. Suddenly, it adds up to be a massive problem.
Well, with seven months to go until the new administration and going back to MIT, she may feel.that she lacks the opportunity to make any real changes or improvements within NASA. If so, making sure we are on good terms with our international collaborators might be a better use of her time.
And THAT is what we call an understatement.
These trips at this time are understandable. Moving the deck chairs around must get tedious after a while, and in either case eventually you have to get going to the seat that’s waiting for you on the life boat.
She got a #JourneyToGermany!
At this point, so late in a presidential term with a totally new administration only a few months away, I think it would be totally impossible for her to change anything. If she were to try too hard, her instructions would likely be totally ignored by the permanent bureaucracy, knowing that she will be gone in just a few months.
Tim Blaxland said that “Waste begets waste”. While in general that’s true, in NASA’s case they pretty much go for a stable, steady constant budget.in which there are not significant changes up or down. When they run under on travel, usually in the last few months of the FY they start encouraging more travel. They try not to give any money back. The shame of this is that there is no reason for NASA to operate efficiently and effectively.Its particularly noticeable on big programs, where regardless of how much they are spending on a marginal requirement, the cost the government incurs doesn’t change much. Its hard when middle management manages ineffectively-I recently saw a situation where contractors were laid off in order to make a budget -they shut down along running NASA program with contractors with decades of experience, and a couple weeks after the layoffs and program shut down, they figured out they’d underrun the budget and were now looking to hire some people back to continue some of the now disrupted program. It was noticeable on Shuttle, where regardless of numbers of flights, program cost never changed much. Its very noticeable on ISS now. Price has been pretty constant, actually creeping up, even though activity has declined with fewer astronauts, no more DDT&E, etc. There is no incentive to be more efficient; in fact politically they get more credit for bigger budgets and less efficiency. When the programs get the funds and they distribute those funds to mow the grass, maintain the buildings, etc. It makes it really difficult for the center and the line organizations.It also means you cannot develop and maintain expertise on one program, while applying that expertise to develop the next program and system since each program operates in a stovepipe.. It is the kind of situation a competent Administrator might have fixed, but in Bolden’s case, I doubt he ever recognized the issue and it is one reason why there is so little expertise and no progress at all brought to bear, whether on an old and bureaucratic program like ISS or a new (relatively speaking, its actually 12 years old despite the fact they have yet to build or fly anything real) program like Orion/SLS.