Federally funded research and development centers

Short description: Type of U.S. R&D center

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] There are currently 42 FFRDCs, each sponsored by one or more U.S. government departments or agencies.[3]

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 List
* 3 See also
* 4 References
* 5 Further reading
* 6 External links

## 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] The end of armed conflict did not end the need for organized research and development in support of the government.

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 Operations 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 Laboratory of the Rockies | 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

* List of R&D laboratories

## References

1. ↑ Gallo, Marcy E. (April 3, 2020) (PDF). ﻿Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs): Background and Issues for Congress﻿ (Report). Congressional Research Service. https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44629. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
2. ↑ Sullivan, Michael J. (December 2018). ﻿Actions Needed to Enhance Use of Laboratory Initiated Research Authority﻿ (Report). United States Government Accountability Office. https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/696192.pdf. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
3. ↑ "Master Government List of Federally Funded R&D Centers". Alexandria, Virginia: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, National Science Foundation. June 2020. https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/ffrdclist/.
4. ↑ 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. https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf23339. "NSF 23-339"
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "FFRDCs—A Primer". Bedford, Massachusetts and McLean, Virginia: The MITRE Corporation. April 2015. http://www.mitre.org/publications/all/ffrdcs-a-primer.
6. ↑ 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. https://www.osti.gov/biblio/763090-GAYi8Q/webviewable/.

## Further reading

* Hruby, Jill M.; Manley, Dawn K.; Stoltz, Ronald E.; Webb, Erik K.; Woodard, Joan B. (2011). "The Evolution of Federally Funded Research & Development Centers". Public Interest Report (Federation of American Scientists) 64 (1): 24–31. https://fas.org/pubs/pir/2011spring/FFRDCs.pdf.
* Kosar, Kevin R. (June 22, 2011). ﻿The Quasi Government: Hybrid Organizations with Both Government and Private Sector Legal Characteristics﻿ (Report). Congressional Research Service. https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL30533.pdf.

## External links

* Master Government List of Federally Funded R&D Centers, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. Archive URL, July 2025.

0.00

(0 votes)

Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federally funded research and development centers. Read more

|

Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Organization:Federally_funded_research_and_development_centers&oldid=4372805"