Federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs ) are public–private partnerships that conduct research and development for the United States government . Under Federal Acquisition Regulation § 35.017 , FFRDCs are operated by universities and corporations to fulfill certain long-term needs of the government that "...cannot be met as effectively by existing in-house or contractor resources." While similar in many ways to University Affiliated Research Centers , FFRDCs are prohibited from competing for work.[ 1] [ 2] [ 3]
History Since the 1960s, private businesses in the U.S. have provided an increasing share of funding for research and development, as direct federal funding waned.[ 4] During World War II scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and other specialists became part of the massive United States war effort—leading to evolutions in radar, aircraft, computing and the development of nuclear weapons through the Manhattan Project .[ 5]
As the Cold War became the new reality, government officials and their scientific advisors advanced the idea of a systematic approach to research, development, and acquisitions—one independent of the ups and downs of the marketplace and free of the restrictions on civil service. From this idea arose the concept of FFRDCs—private entities that would work almost exclusively on behalf of the government—free of organizational conflicts of interest and with a stable workforce of highly trained technical talent.
The U.S. Air Force created the first FFRDC, the RAND Corporation , in 1947. Others grew directly out of their wartime roles. For example, MIT Lincoln Laboratory , founded in 1951, originated as the Radiation Laboratory at MIT, and the Navy's Operation Research Group evolved into the Center for Naval Analyses. The first FFRDCs served the Department of Defense . Since then, other government organizations have sponsored FFRDCs to meet their specific needs. In 1969, the number of FFRDCs peaked at 74.[ 5] [ 6]
List The following list includes all current FFRDCs:
Facility Administrator Location Sponsor Aerospace FFRDC The Aerospace Corporation El Segundo, California ;Chantilly, Virginia ;Colorado Springs, Colorado Department of Defense , Department of the Air Force Ames National Laboratory Iowa State University of Science and Technology Ames, Iowa Department of Energy Argonne National Laboratory UChicago Argonne, LLC Lemont, Illinois Department of Energy Arroyo Center RAND Corporation Santa Monica, California Department of Defense , Department of the Army Brookhaven National Laboratory Brookhaven Science Associates, LLC Upton, New York Department of Energy Center for Advanced Aviation System Development MITRE McLean, Virginia Department of Transportation , Federal Aviation Administration Center for Communications and Computing Institute for Defense Analyses Bowie, Maryland ;La Jolla, California ;Princeton, New Jersey Department of Defense , National Security Agency Center for Enterprise Modernization MITRE McLean, Virginia Department of the Treasury , Internal Revenue Service ;Department of Veterans Affairs ;Social Security Administration Center for Naval Analyses The CNA Corporation Arlington County, Virginia Department of Defense , Department of the Navy Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses Southwest Research Institute San Antonio , Texas Nuclear Regulatory Commission CMS Alliance to Modernize Healthcare MITRE McLean, Virginia Department of Health and Human Services , Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Fermi Research Alliance, LLC Batavia, Illinois Department of Energy Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research Leidos Biomedical Research Frederick, Maryland Department of Health and Human Services , National Institutes of Health Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center RAND Corporation Crystal City, Virginia Department of Homeland Security , Under Secretary for Science and Technology Homeland Security Systems Engineering and Development Institute MITRE McLean, Virginia Department of Homeland Security , Under Secretary for Science and Technology Idaho National Laboratory Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC Idaho Falls, Idaho Department of Energy Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena, California National Aeronautics and Space Administration Judiciary Engineering and Modernization Center MITRE McLean, Virginia United States Courts Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory University of California Berkeley, California Department of Energy Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC Livermore, California Department of Energy Lincoln Laboratory Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lexington, Massachusetts Department of Defense , Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Los Alamos National Laboratory Triad National Security, LLC Los Alamos, New Mexico Department of Energy National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center Battelle National Biodefense Institute Frederick, Maryland Department of Homeland Security , Under Secretary for Science and Technology National Center for Atmospheric Research University Corporation for Atmospheric Research Boulder, Colorado National Science Foundation National Cybersecurity FFRDC MITRE Rockville, Maryland Department of Commerce , National Institute of Standards and Technology National Defense Research Institute RAND Corporation Santa Monica, California Department of Defense , Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. Tucson, Arizona National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory Associated Universities, Inc. Socorro, New Mexico ;Charlottesville, Virginia National Science Foundation National Renewable Energy Laboratory Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC Golden, Colorado Department of Energy National Security Engineering Center MITRE Bedford, Massachusetts ;McLean, Virginia Department of Defense , Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering National Solar Observatory Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. Boulder, Colorado National Science Foundation Oak Ridge National Laboratory UT-Battelle, LLC Oak Ridge, Tennessee Department of Energy Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Battelle Memorial Institute Richland, Washington Department of Energy Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Princeton University Princeton, New Jersey Department of Energy Project Air Force RAND Corporation Santa Monica, California Department of Defense , Department of the Air Force Sandia National Laboratories National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC Albuquerque, New Mexico ;Livermore, CA Department of Energy Savannah River National Laboratory Battelle Savannah River Alliance, LLC Aiken, South Carolina Department of Energy Science and Technology Policy Institute Institute for Defense Analyses Washington, D.C. National Science Foundation SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory Stanford University Stanford, California Department of Energy Software Engineering Institute Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania Department of Defense , Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Systems and Analyses Center Institute for Defense Analyses Alexandria, Virginia Department of Defense , Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility Jefferson Science Associates, LLC Newport News, Virginia Department of Energy
See also
References ^ Gallo, Marcy E. (April 3, 2020). Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs): Background and Issues for Congress (PDF) (Report). Congressional Research Service . Retrieved 2021-01-14 . ^ Sullivan, Michael J. (December 2018). Actions Needed to Enhance Use of Laboratory Initiated Research Authority (PDF) (Report). United States Government Accountability Office . Retrieved 2021-01-16 . ^ "Master Government List of Federally Funded R&D Centers" . Alexandria, Virginia : National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, National Science Foundation . June 2020. Retrieved 2021-01-14 .^ Anderson, G.; Moris, F. (2023). "Federally Funded R&D Declines as a Share of GDP and Total R&D" . National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. NSF 23-339 ^ a b "FFRDCs—A Primer" . Bedford, Massachusetts and McLean, Virginia : The MITRE Corporation . April 2015. Retrieved 2021-01-14 .^ Dale, Bruce C.; Moy, Timothy D. (September 2000). The Rise of Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (Report). Albuquerque, New Mexico and Livermore, California : Sandia National Laboratories . doi :10.2172/763090 OSTI 763090 .
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