Task Force to Transition Software into the Decentralized Electronic STI Environment

Description - This Task Force will revise Part III of the DOE G 241.1-1 to reflect the transition of the Department’s software to the decentralized electronic STI environment.

Objective - The objective is to revise Part III of the DOE G 241.1-1 to reflect changes such as; managing software in a manner similar to report literature (e.g., site submission of metadata records for inclusion in the DOE Information Bridge), blend OSTI’s ESTSC and Request Services staff and functions, and work toward decentralized management of STI software where sites host software and OSTI simply links to it (e.g., for "freeware").

Deliverable - The first deliverable is a draft revision of Part III which was posted on the STIP Home Page in April 1999 for initial comment from the STIP community. Following the initial comment period ending May 18, 1999, the final draft will be submitted to the formal directives process. The task force will make necessary revisions based on the formal directives process. The effective date for implementing the revised Part III of the Guide is January 2000.

Duration - This Task Force is being transitioned from the STIP Goal 3 Team who began working on the task in December 1998. The targeted completion date for the task deliverable to be completed is September 1999.

Team Leader - The leader for this Task Force is Cindy Crego, Fermilab

Facilitator - The Task Force facilitator is Sharon Jordan, OSTI

Part III Guide Revision Subteam 

Part III, "Processing Software for Announcement . . ." 9th DRAFT


The existing Attachments 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 will be replaced by a new Attachment 11 and Attachment 12.

 Part III. DOE Scientific and Technical Software

Software management is currently transitioning from a centralized collection, announcement and dissemination activity to a decentralized activity. During this transition, paper-based submission guidelines will be replaced with electronic submission guidelines for certain categories of software. New guidelines will also allow for distributed hosting and dissemination of certain categories of software.

A Scientific and Technical Information Program (STIP) work group was established during calendar year 1998 to develop the procedures necessary to transition scientific and technical computer software management to a decentralized environment. This part of the guide was revised to reflect the new procedures and will continue to be reviewed and changed, as new decentralized procedures are adopted. Procedures for announcing software and submitting software for dissemination are detailed in the following sections. The manner for distributing software is defined through the announcement and submission procedures.

DOE O 241.1 requires that scientific and technical information (STI) (including scientific and technical computer software) be made broadly available, within applicable laws and Departmental requirements, to accomplish mission objectives and strategic goals, promote scientific advancement, satisfy statutory protection and public dissemination requirements, and ensure a fair return on Departmental and taxpayer investment. Specifically, DOE O 241.1 requires that useful STI products, including software, resulting from scientific and technical endeavors be made available and announced to the Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) - in order for OSTI to fulfill appropriate announcement, dissemination, and exchange responsibilities on behalf of the Department.

The Department's STI Program has been undergoing a transition to a decentralized, electronic STI management environment. Steps to decentralize the STI products other than software were put into place in October 1998. Software management is making a similar transition, effective January 2000, with the procedures necessary to transition scientific and technical computer software described herein.

The objectives for decentralizing software management are to:

• Consolidate and simplify announcement and submission procedures.
• Utilize efficiencies offered by electronic network technologies.
• Allow greater flexibility while meeting stated departmental requirements.
• Manage software in a manner similar to other STI products.

This transition will enable sites to continue announcing STI software through OSTI, but with the option to distribute software through OSTI, a SIAC, or site-hosted on-line access, depending on certain criteria of the software. The criteria for useful software that is to be centrally announced and the categories of software appropriate for site hosting or for submission to OSTI are described in Part III, Section 3.

OSTI, located in Oak Ridge, TN, serves as the Department's central announcement mechanism for DOE-sponsored software. It also serves as the Department's software management facility for the collection, licensing and distribution of Federally-funded software that is developed by national laboratories and other facilities/contractors of DOE (subject to the exceptions listed in paragraph 3.1). OSTI uses the services of the Energy Science and Technology Software Center (ESTSC) for software distribution.

OSTI also serves as the Department's liaison for software requests from sensitive countries. Upon a request for software from a sensitive country, OSTI coordinates any necessary reviews by the Office of Arms Control and Nonproliferation (NN-43) (see Section 4.2).

OSTI serves as the operating agent for implementing portions of the DOE international exchange agreements with the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which provides for the exchange of nuclear-related scientific and technical software.

OSTI works with Specialized Information Analysis Centers (SIACs) - organizations sponsored by DOE to perform data analysis, including the collection, evaluation, announcement, and dissemination of computer software in specialized subject areas - to maximize their effectiveness, avoid duplication of efforts, and ensure that requesters are referred to an appropriate SIAC.

OSTI serves as the exclusive availability point, other than the copyright holder (or their licensees), for DOE and DOE-contractor originated software for which copyright has been asserted.

Specialized Information Analysis Centers may receive and make available software within their scope of interest/operation described below. SIACs should ensure that an announcement record is provided to OSTI for each software package they receive and make available. OSTI and the SIACs should work together to ensure the implementation of consistent procedures for the dissemination of computer software in accordance with DOE O 241.1. As determined by the applicable contract rights and technical data clause, OSTI may share the right to license and distribute the software through a specific agreement with an individual SIAC. Recognized SIACs, as of the date of this Guide, are:

• The Radiation Safety Information Computational Center (RSICC) of the Radiation Information Analysis Section of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) specializes in computer programs and data sets pertinent to radiation transport and safety.

• The National Nuclear Data Center (NNDC) of Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) specializes in computer programs and data sets pertinent to nuclear cross sections.

• The Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) of the Environmental Sciences Division of ORNL supports the nation's carbon dioxide-climate research effort by providing a focal point for the compilation and distribution of global-change-related information under systematic quality control.

• The National Petroleum Technology Office (NPTO) specializes in oil reservoir engineering software designed to assist the petroleum industry and maximize the economic production of domestic oil.

To centrally announce the availability of DOE's STI products, each DOE and DOE contractor element that originates useful software is required by DOE O 241.1 to provide an announcement record (DOE F 241.x) to OSTI. The preference is electronic submission for OSTI to process the record and announce the software's availability to the appropriate audience (DOE, other Government agencies, the public, etc.).

The originating site may distribute the software by submitting it to OSTI or an appropriate SIAC or by using local distribution channels, as appropriate (see Table 1 and Section 4.1). Software originators should ensure all software meeting the exception criteria in Section 3.1 is reviewed by the Office of Arms Control and Nonproliferation (NN-43) prior to its announcement or submission.

As required by DOE O 241.1, software originators are to review all software for classified and unclassified sensitive information according to approved local procedures before sending to OSTI or a SIAC and before any distribution outside the organization is made. Software originators should also ensure all software is reviewed for export controlled information (see Attachment 7) in accordance with the Guidelines on Export Control and Nonproliferation, published by the Nuclear Transfer and Supplier Policy Division. The software should be clearly labeled if it is classified, contains unclassified sensitive information, or contains export controlled information. See Part II, Section 3, Appropriate Review Process to Release STI Products for Announcement, for instructions on labeling.

Organizations and individuals who have developed and/or modified software during work supported by DOE or during work carried out for others at DOE facilities are to announce the software with the appropriate announcement form (DOE F 241.x) to OSTI, if the software meets the following criteria:

• The software meets the definition of STI as defined in Part I, Paragraph 4.0 of this Guide.
• The software is known or expected to have broad usefulness within or outside the DOE community (i.e., is useful outside the originating site).
• A stable, useable, documented version of the software exists (i.e., it is not developmental software).

Although all software that meets the above criteria are to be announced to OSTI, the software may be made available by either submitting the software package to OSTI or a SIAC (for software of applicable scope for a SIAC) or hosting the software on the originating site’s web server (e.g., applicable freeware).

Exclusions. Software that meets the above criteria need not be announced to OSTI if it falls under one of the following exclusions:

• Operational systems software that is site-specific; so unique to a particular hardware, or necessary to ensure the fundamental operability of automated data processing equipment, whether supplied by the manufacturer of the system hardware or others and whether or not proprietary, which is not covered under a commercialization or copyright release request;
• Computer software programs developed and/or modified during work carried out for others at DOE facilities specifically excluded in the agreement under which the non-DOE funded work was performed
• Software generated under the auspices of the Energy Information Administration; and
• The specific software used by Power Administrations for the operation, control, planning, and modeling of electric power transmission systems and the interconnected utilities. However, modification/enhancements to portions of this software that are not an integral part of the whole and have potential application outside the Power Administrations should be announced.

Exceptions: Software meeting the following criteria should be reviewed by the Office of Arms Control and Nonproliferation (NN-43) to determine if the public dissemination of the software would help proliferants. This review should be completed prior to announcing the software to OSTI, hosting the software on a web server, or submitting the software to OSTI or a SIAC.

1. Any software code identified as containing Export Controlled Information (ECI) (see Attachment 7) by the Originator.
2. Software codes that contain algorithms for any of the following:

Software announcement requirements have been consolidated into one form (DOE F 241.x). To announce and make available a software package, the following components are considered necessary for inclusion in the package in order for the software to be provided to requesters:

• Announcement record/metadata contained in DOE F 241.x, which includes all required information for announcing and describing the software;
• Source code and/or executable file; and
• Documentation, which may consist of a user manual, sample test cases, or similar information required for properly using the software (whether included in the software itself or provided in a separate file or in paper format)

Different categories of software have different distribution requirements or limitations. The table below defines the various software categories and identifies the appropriate distribution channels.

Note: This table is not intended to be an exhaustive list. If you have questions regarding the appropriate announcement or distribution channel, contact OSTI.

Announcement record data is defined in DOE F 241.x. As part of the transition from centralized management to distributed access, effective January 2000, software metadata may be submitted electronically to OSTI using a web-based form or DTD-based batch files. The following table lists the data elements contained in the DOE F 241.x announcement record, with mandatory (M) and optional (O) fields noted.

After submission or announcement to OSTI, software may also be made available by the developing organization in accordance with the categories in Table 1, consistent with approved local procedures, and only with authorization of the cognizant management. Agreements to prevent further dissemination and to protect intellectual property rights should be obtained (See Table 1).

DOE O 241.1 requires that all scientific and technical information, including STI software, generated by DOE and its contractors be reviewed for sensitivity (including non-proliferation, national security, and export control) and appropriate announcement and availability restrictions applied. Software originators should not disseminate copies of software packages to foreign nationals without first ensuring the export is lawful in accordance with federal export regulations, to include those published by the Department of Commerce (15 CFR 730-774), the Department of Energy (10 CFR 810), the Department of State (22 CFR 120-130), and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (10 CFR 110). Even dissemination of software packages to foreign nationals within the United States may be considered a "deemed export" and may require an export license in accordance with the federal export regulations.

All requests for software from sensitive countries must be sent to OSTI for coordination of approval from the Office of Arms Control and Nonproliferation (NN-43). If approved, the appropriate requesting site may then disseminate the software to the requester. The list of sensitive countries is available from the OSTI web site at http://www.osti.gov/estsc. (NN-43 is responsible for maintaining the list.)

4.3 License Agreements

Software for which the developing DOE contractor organization has not asserted copyright (for commercialization purposes) is available to the public subject to the license agreement described below. Software for which the contractor has asserted such rights is not publicly disseminated but is available to DOE contractors and other government organizations from OSTI in accordance with the terms of the developer's contract with DOE. Requests for copyrighted software from those other than DOE contractors or governmental entities are referred by OSTI to the copyright holder (or their licensees) for licensing.

Any DOE-sponsored software package distributed by OSTI's ESTSC requires a license agreement. This form establishes conditions and requirements for requesters' use of the software package after purchase from OSTI's ESTSC. Requesters must return the properly completed and signed form to OSTI before order processing can be completed. OSTI encourages SIACs to follow this Departmental policy.

Under the international exchange agreement with the NEA, OSTI has determined that NEA distribution procedures are appropriately consistent with OSTI's licensing policy; and therefore, the NEA is not required to sign license forms for packages they receive from OSTI or SIAC's covered by the exchange agreement.

4.3.3 Disclaimers for Software

Rights-in-technical-data clauses for many DOE contracts require a statement acknowledging DOE sponsorship/data rights for information products. The following distribution statement and disclaimers meet those requirements for software and should be affixed to all distributed DOE-sponsored software. Any appropriate additional markings that are desired should be reviewed by legal counsel and consistent with restrictions indicated on the announcement form (DOE F 241.x). Markings should be affixed to all software package elements provided to the OSTI or a SIAC.

"This computer software has been developed under sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Energy. Any further distribution or use by anyone other than the named licensee of this software package or any data contained therein, unless otherwise specifically provided for, is prohibited without the approval of the Office of Scientific and Technical Information. Requests for DOE-developed computer software shall be referred to the Energy Science and Technology Software Center at the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, P.O. Box 1020, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-1020."

"This material was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor the United States Department of Energy, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights."