2009 Annual Report - NASA Airborne Science Program

FROM THE DIRECTOR
Welcome to NASA’s Science Mission Directorate Airborne Science Program.
In this 2009 version of our Annual Report, you will be presented with the
breadth of our accomplishments and the work done to benefit the Earth
science community on behalf of NASA and the Nation. FY2009 has been
a truly memorable year for the Airborne Science Program with numerous
firsts and some notable missions. I expect that after reading what we’ve done
and plan, you will also recognize that NASA’s Airborne Science Program is a
remarkable national capability.
To start off though, I’d like to share an experience I
had this year.
I was explaining some aspects of the Airborne
Science Program to someone new to the program
recently in the presence of one of our science
focus area leads. In response to a question of how
the program determines its portfolio, I conveyed
that the program takes its guidance from our
customer community; we focus on the priorities
of our customers. Around this point, the science
focus area lead, an individual I consider a strongly
supportive customer, softly interjected: “partners”.
I was somewhat unprepared for being corrected at
that moment, but continued on with the discussion
with the new “customer “ exchanging the term
“customer” with “partner” as I thought appropriate.
Over the next few weeks the conversation kept
creeping into my thoughts. Why would someone
want me to change “customer,” to “partner” Based
on a substantial amount of customer feedback,
the program had worked hard to be seen as highly
customer focused and responsive to our customers
versus process driven. From subsequent feedback,
it had appeared that the program had turned the
corner and was being viewed as very customer
conscious, resulting in a lot more favorable customer
feedback. One of my internal explanations went
to identifying the differences between “customer”
and “partner”. Without looking up the words in
the dictionary I came up with customers are usually
receivers of goods and services for which they pay.
Partnership on the other hand infers a relationship
based on some common goals and mutual interests.
Partners are more likely to sacrifice for the greater
good of achieving long term common goals.
Partners are vested in each other. In the hierarchy
of relationships, “Partners” appear to be on a
higher level than “Customers”. In a subsequent
meeting with the same focus area lead, I brought up
the matter again and he concurred that his intent
was to convey, probably both to me and the new
customer, that he saw the relationship between
the Airborne Science Program and his focus area
as a “Partnership” rather than a receiver-provider
“Customer” relationship.
The Program is committed to staying on track:
working collaboratively with our partners for
mutually beneficial outcomes by providing quality,
responsive and relevant airborne science services
to the community. We’re here to support and do it
in a safe, efficient, cost effective, and value-added
manner.
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