Federal Research: Opportunities Exist to Improve the Management and Oversight of Federally Funded Research and Development Centers
Abstract
In 2006, the Federal Government spent $13 billion -- 14 percent of its research and development (R&D) expenditures -- to enable 38 federally funded R&D centers (FFRDCs) to meet special research needs. FFRDCs -- including laboratories, studies and analyses centers, and systems engineering centers -- conduct research in military space programs, nanotechnology, microelectronics, nuclear warfare, and biodefense countermeasures, among other areas. GAO was asked to identify the following: (1) how federal agencies contract with organizations operating FFRDCs, and (2) agency oversight processes used to ensure that FFRDCs are well-managed. GAO's work is based on a review of documents and interviews with officials from eight FFRDCs sponsored by the departments of Defense (DoD), Energy (DOE), Health and Human Services (HHS), and Homeland Security (DHS). To improve the effectiveness of FFRDCs, GAO recommends the following: (1) that DHS and HHS revise their personal conflict-of-interest policies to specifically address FFRDC contractor employees in a position to influence research findings or agency decision making, and (2) that agencies create an ongoing forum to share best practices for FFRDC oversight. DHS, DoD, and DOE concurred with GAO's recommendations, while HHS concurred with the need to revise its policies and is considering a best practices forum for FFRDCs.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2008
- Accession Number
- ADA489022
Entities
People
- Anu Mittal
- Cheryl Williams
- Jacqueline Wade
- John Neumann
- Peter Zwanzig
- Sharron Candon
- Suzanne Sterling
- William Woods
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office