Federally Funded Research and Development Center

A Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFDRC) was known as a Federal Contract Research Center (FCRC) until 1967, when it was renamed by the Federal Council for Science and Technology (FCST).

A FFDRC is a public research institute which is contracted by a government agency to perform research and development, as well as engineering support. A FFRDC is otherwise known as a government-owned/contractor operated (GOCO) institute, meaning that it is "owned by the government" but "operated by non-government contractors." 

Description
"These general criteria describe FFRDCs as the 'R&D-performing organizations that are exclusively or substantially financed by the Federal Government and are supported by the Federal Government either to meet a particular R&D ojective or, in some instances, to provide major facilities at universities for research and associated training purposes.'

"FFRDCs do not have a prescribed organizational structure. They cover a wide range of GOCO structures with various degrees of contractor/government control and ownership. Managing contractors can be industrial firms, universities, nonprofit institutions, or even consortia. FFRDCs are thought to complement other government and private sector R&D centers in meeting agency core area needs." 

According to the Department of Defense, "specific objectives for FFRDCs are to:
 * 1. Maintain over the long-term a competency in technology areas where the Government cannot rely on in-house or private sector capabilities.
 * 2. Develop and transfer important new technology to the private sector so the Government can benefit from a wider, broader base of expertise.
 * 3. Engage in research programs that emphasize the evolution and demonstration of advanced concepts and technology, and the transfer or transition of technology."

History
Federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) "were first established during World War II to meet specialized or unique research and development needs that could not be readily satisfied by government personnel (due to limits on federal salaries and hiring) or commercial contractors. Additional and expanded requirements for specialized services led to increases not only in the size but also in the number of FFRDCs, which peaked at 74 in 1969." 

Department of Defense

 * For the Office of the Secretary of Defense
 * Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA)
 * Logistics Management Institute (LMI)
 * National Defense Research Institute (NDRI) (RAND Corporation)


 * For the Department of the Army
 * Arroyo Center (RAND Corporation)


 * For the Department of the Navy
 * Center for Naval Analyses (CNA)


 * For the Department of the Air Force
 * Aerospace Corporation
 * C3 I Federal Contract Research Center (MITRE Corporation C3 Division)
 * Project AIR FORCE (RAND Corporation)

Department of Energy

 * Pacific Northwest Laboratory (Battelle Memorial Institute)
 * Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI) (Midwest Research Institute)
 * Inhalation Toxicology Research Institute (ITRI) (Lovelace Medical Foundation)

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

 * Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses (CNWRA) (Southwest Research Institute)

Department of Defense

 * For the Department of the Army
 * Institute for Advanced Technology (University of Texas at Austin)


 * For the Department of the Air Force
 * MIT Lincoln Laboratory (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT)
 * Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), Software Engineering Institute (Carnegie Mellon University)

Department of Energy

 * Ames Laboratory (Iowa State University of Science and Technology)
 * Argonne National Laboratory (University of Chicago and Argonne Universities Association)
 * Brookhaven National Laboratory (Associated Universities, Inc.)
 * Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facilty (Southeastern Universities Research Association)
 * E. O. Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (University of California)
 * E. O. Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (University of California)
 * Fermilab (Universities Research Association, Inc.)
 * Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (University of California)
 * Oak Ridge Associated Universities
 * Plasma Physics Laboratory (Princeton University)
 * Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (Stanford University)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

 * Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) (California Institute of Technology)

National Science Foundation

 * National Optical Astronomy Observatories (Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy)
 * National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center (Cornell University)
 * National Center for Atmospheric Research (University Corp. for Atmospheric Research)
 * National Radio Astronomy Observatory (Associated Universities, Inc.)

SourceWatch Resources

 * Defense Science Board
 * Department of Energy
 * Homeland Security contractors
 * military-industrial complex
 * NASA
 * National Science Foundation
 * Nuclear Regulatory Commission
 * Office of Management and Budget
 * prison-industrial complex