NASA Headquarters develops, coordinates, and promulgates Agency policy. It sets program direction at the highest level. Headquarters has primary responsibility for NASA's communications with the Administration, with the Congress, and is the Agency's focal point for accountability with external organizations. Headquarters guides and integrates budget development, defines the Agency's long-term institutional investments, and leads and coordinates Agency-wide functions.

To carry out its mission, NASA has organized its programs into six Strategic Enterprises: Space Science, Earth Science, Biological and Physical Research, Human Exploration and Development of Space, Aerospace Technology, and Education. The leadership of each Enterprise is at Headquarters, but implementation of Enterprise programs takes place at the Centers.

NASA uses a series of management councils to conduct ongoing internal evaluations. Throughout the year, Program Management Councils (at Headquarters and the Centers) assess program schedules, cost, and technical performance against established programmatic commitments. In addition, NASA's Capital Investment Council evaluates whether our investment decisions adequately support our goals and objectives and associated performance targets. There are also regular reviews for functional management activities, such as procurement, finance, facilities, personnel, and information resources management. The leadership of these functional management activities is at Headquarters also. Each Headquarters organization is assigned a Code designated by a letter of the alphabet.

The Office of Headquarters Operations serves as the singel focus on matters pertaining to the planning, execution, and evaluation of Headquarters institutional management activities. The Director of Headquarters Operations is responsible for providing operational and management support to NASA Headquarters for the following activities

• Research and Program Management budget formulation and execution for Headquarters, including personnel, travel, and ceiling allocations for Headquarters offices
• Policy guidance and oversight of Headquarters onsite and offsite support contractors.
• Facilities, administrative services, security, and the Headquarters library.
• Information resources management and telecommunications.
• Printing, graphics, and information services.
• Full range of activities relating to personnel management and occupational health.
• Correspondence control functions across Headquarters.
• Broad range of equal employment opportunity, multicultural education, and diversity training.

Goddard Space Flight Center, under an umbrella Memorandum of Understanding, will serve as the Headquarters service provider for the following activities:

• Logistics and transportation
• Financial management and all accounting services at Headquarters.
• Contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements for the requirements of all Headquarters offices.
• Training and development.
• Processes unsolicited proposals received for review by Headquarters.

The Director of Headquarters Operations also provides Headquarters executive leadership and management oversight, guidance and coordination over the Headquarters management policies and procedures as described in the Headquarters Directives System.
The NASA Headquarters services guide page provides a quick link to most of the HQ services.

For a complete picture of the NASA Headquarters organizations and their codes, Click Here.