Serving the Needs of BIS Employees and Contractors
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The following policy guidance on the process for clearing content for BIS Web sites was issued by the Under Secretary on September 4, 2001. This document has been updated to reflect the BIS name change and personnel changes which have occurred since it publication.
In February 1996, my predecessor established guidelines for the Bureau of Export Administration (BIS) presence on the Internet and established the positions of BIS Web Coordinator, BIS Web Master, and the BIS Web Site Editorial Board. This memorandum updates those guidelines and the responsibilities of BIS employees holding these positions, and announces some Web-related staff changes.
With this memorandum, I am appointing the Director of BIS's Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, to serve as the BIS Web Coordinator, and reappointing Bill Sargent of BIS's office of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) as the BIS Web Master, and Kim Robertson-Sins and Marna Hayes of the CIO's office as Assistant BIS Web Masters. Eugene Cottilli will serve the assistant to the Web Coordinator.
BIS will be guided by the following principles in the design and presentation of material on the Internet:
This Editorial Board serves as the "clearance" mechanism for all BIS content on the Internet, including content on the main BIS Web site and any other Web sites for which BIS has control or input (including the Chemical Weapons Convention and Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office Web sites, which are interagency sites whose content may require clearance from other agencies). This Board will not be responsible for non-content related Web actions, such as strategic planning for BIS's Web resources; the development and implementation of new applications for enhanced delivery of BIS Web-based information to its users; and Web design, delivery, and infrastructure issues.
The Chair of this Board will be the BIS Web Coordinator. The membership includes one representative designated by each of the following: Assistant Secretary for Export Administration, Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement, Deputy Under Secretary, Director of the Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office, Chief Counsel for Export Administration, Director of Administration, Chief Information Officer, and me (to represent my immediate office). Each representative will have the authority to clear content for his/her respective organization. The BIS Web Master will serve on this Board as a non-voting advisor. Each member of the Board may appoint an alternate to act in his/her place when unavailable.
The criteria for selecting representatives to serve on the Editorial Board should include the following. Each member should:
The Board will have a weekly meeting at a time and place to be determined by the Web Coordinator. These meetings will serve as a forum for presenting all proposed changes to content for all BIS Web sites to the Web Coordinator for final clearance. The standard operating procedure will be for all members of the Board to present their proposed changes at these meetings, rather than sending them by e-mail or otherwise transmitting them to the Web Coordinator throughout the week.
In order for a proposal to be considered at a Board meeting, the Board member from the BIS unit making the proposal must circulate it to all other Board members and the Web Master by e-mail or hard copy at least 48 hours prior to the meeting. Of course, highly time-sensitive matters will occasionally arise that require the Web Coordinator's immediate attention. The aim is for those instances to be the exception rather than the rule.
All material should be closely reviewed by the proposing BIS unit to ensure that it is concisely, professionally, and accurately written. The Web Coordinator should not be relied upon to edit submissions for style and format. The weekly meetings should principally be a place for the Web Coordinator to resolve any differences of opinion and to give final approval to proposals that have been independently vetted by the other Board members through e-mail or other means prior to the weekly meeting. The Web Coordinator may change the weekly meeting schedule or cancel a given weekly meeting as appropriate.
The Board will be responsible for its clearance actions, but not for any other aspects of BIS's Web presence. The Web Coordinator and the Web Master and his assistants will ensure that only cleared material is posted.
The Web Coordinator will be responsible directly to me for ensuring that all pages have been developed and cleared in conformance with established procedures. The Web Coordinator will be responsible for assuring that items have been cleared by the Board members. Accuracy of content will be the responsibility of the principal program office. No Web items will be posted on any BIS Web site unless approved for content as stated above and authorized for posting by either the Web Coordinator or, in her absence, the Deputy Under Secretary.
Although the primary role of the Web Coordinator is related to clearance of Web content, in cases where she determines that Web design or formatting limit or impair the effectiveness of information delivery, the Coordinator may direct efforts to devise remedial Web design and formatting changes and will work closely with the BIS CIO to determine the technical alterations that will be made to accomplish the information delivery objectives.
The BIS Web Master will be responsible to the Web Coordinator, and ultimately the Deputy Under Secretary and me, to ensure all content on all pages uploaded to the main BIS Web Site has been "cleared." If content is provided to the Web Master that has not been cleared, it is his responsibility to bring it to the Web Coordinator or, in her absence, to the Deputy Under Secretary, for the purpose of obtaining approval as provided under these procedures or, in an emergency situation where that cannot be done, to secure my immediate approval.
The BIS Web Master will direct the work of those who have authority to upload to the main BIS Web Site and will ensure that all employees doing such work receive appropriate training and coordinate closely with the content "owners" to assist in the development of Web pages and applications.
The BIS Web Master will oversee the services of BIS's Internet service providers (ISPs) for the main BIS Web site and the BIS Technical Advisory Committee site to ensure adequate security and continuity of operations. As appropriate, the BIS Chief Information Officer will appoint a person(s) to serve in this capacity for other BIS Web sites.
Pages for BIS-controlled Web sites (e.g., the CWC, SNAP, SIES/BMP, CIAO, and NEC Web sites) must be cleared by the BIS Web Site Editorial Board before they are posted.
It is my intent that: