We are the Solar System Exploration Education and Public Outreach Forum, a cornerstone of a support network that covers all of NASA's Office of Space Science research themes. Based at major research institutions across the nation, the Forums support, help organize and distribute education outreach for missions and programs related to their theme.

As our name implies, we cover the solar system, except for the Sun and Earth, which get the full attention of our colleagues at the Sun-Earth Connection. We're the place to go for information about missions and educational materials from Mercury to Pluto-and all points in between. We are based at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

The other Forums are:

• The Origins Education Outreach Forum
• The Structure and Evolution of the Universe
• The Sun-Earth Connection

We are aided in this mission by seven regional broker/facilitators who provide connections and insight into local education efforts. This map lays it out nicely.

It is not the function of the Forums and Brokers to provide E/PO funding or to prepare E/PO proposal segments. The responsibility for actually developing the E/PO program and writing the proposal is that of the proposer. However, existing and prospective investigators are strongly encouraged to use the Forums and Brokers to help identify suitable E/PO opportunities and arrange appropriate alliances between the space scientists and E/PO partners. The integrity of this process is important and is at the heart of the successful implementation of the approach OSS is taking to E/PO. Thus the Forums and Brokers have adopted a set of Operating Principles to ensure that they will provide fair and equitable services to the space science and education communities.

OSS Forums and Broker/Facilitators follow a series of operating principles designed to facilitate and maintain the integrity of the E/PO process:

• Education Forums and Broker/Facilitators will provide fair and equitable services to all customers of the OSS Education Ecosystem. Such services include: advice on proposal preparation; ideas on Education and Public Outreach (E/PO); and information on partnership opportunities with a wide variety of E/PO institutions and programs within and outside of NASA.
• Forums or Broker/Facilitators, in their capacity as members of the Ecosystem, will not write E/PO segments of OSS AO or NRA proposals. In all cases, the responsibility for formulating the E/PO program and preparing a proposal is that of the proposer.
• Forums and Broker/Facilitators will treat E/PO proposals prepared by Ecosystem customers - who respond to NASA OSS AO's and NRA's - as proprietary information.
• Forum and Broker/Facilitators are, in some cases, embedded in larger host organizations that have ongoing E/PO programs. To ensure fair and equitable services, Ecosystem members and their host organizations will follow existing best and fair business practices and good faith measures used by NASA and the space science research community regarding pre-proposal information dissemination, proposal creation, peer review, and proposal selection.
• Forums and Broker/Facilitators will provide information to Ecosystem customers about options for partnership that feature competing possibilities and capabilities other than those of their host organization.
• Ecosystem personnel will not participate in the review of E/PO segments of OSS proposals for which they have directly rendered services, or in which they or their host institutions are listed as partners.