1. Purpose

NEOS exists to provide NAPPSA with a secure, intelligent, accessible, measurable, and durable digital operating environment that advances membership, education, research, conference operations, philanthropy, governance, and public service.

2. Authority

NEOS operates under the authority of NAPPSA leadership and the applicable governing documents of the organization. Technology may support decision-making but may not supersede the lawful authority of the Board, officers, committees, or Foundation leadership.

3. Governing Principles

• Mission before technology
• Human accountability for consequential decisions
• Privacy, security, accessibility, and transparency by design
• One authoritative source for each critical data domain
• Documented ownership and succession
• Measured outcomes and continuous improvement

4. Operating Domains

NEOS is organized across Executive Office, Membership, Conference, Foundation, Intelligence, Education, Research, Technology, Finance, Communications, and Community operations. Each domain must have an accountable business owner and documented data steward.

5. Governance Structure

The Executive Office provides strategic direction. The PMO coordinates portfolio execution. Technical administrators maintain platform integrity. Committees and business owners govern their content, data, and workflows. Material policy, security, legal, financial, clinical, accreditation, or governance decisions require qualified human review.

6. Data and Records

NAPPSA data is an organizational asset. Access must follow least privilege. Critical records must have defined owners, retention periods, version history, auditability, and recovery procedures.

7. AI and Automation

AI and automation must be purposeful, documented, testable, and reversible. Systems must fail safely. High-impact outputs must be reviewable, attributable, and subject to human approval.

8. Standards and Exceptions

The Enterprise Design System, Technical Reference Architecture, Operations Manual, Security and AI Governance Manual, Release Management Handbook, and Disaster Recovery Plan are subordinate standards under this charter. Exceptions require written justification, risk review, accountable ownership, and approval through the established governance process.

9. Continuity and Succession

Credentials, documentation, vendor relationships, integrations, source code, decision logs, and operational knowledge must be preserved so leadership transitions do not interrupt essential services.

10. Review and Amendment

This charter must be reviewed at least annually. Amendments must be versioned, dated, approved, and communicated to affected owners.