March 17, 2014

DOE IG EXAMINES NNSA LAB AGREEMENTS

By ExchangeMonitor

A Department of Energy Inspector General report released Friday found that Cooperative Research and Development Agreements under the National Nuclear Security Administration’s national labs have been executed well, but noted several areas for improvement. “We found that NNSA laboratories were managing the use of selected CRADA activities that we tested in an effective manner,” the IG report states. “For example, we found that the three laboratories we visited generally met the requirements for CRADAs. Furthermore, our review found that the Joint Work Statements and CRADA Statements of Work clearly described tasks to be performed, the division of work, and the potential benefits to the Department and the U.S. economy. The work generally appeared to be collaborative in nature between the laboratories and the partners.” The agreements are meant to “facilitate the development and transfer of technology to the private sector,” according to the IG, which notes that there were 272 active CRADAs in fiscal year 2011.

However it did find two ways that the controls could be improved, specifically noting that the labs had not always “obtained final reports from researchers for completed and terminated projects,” and did not always forward the reports to the Department’s Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI). The report included three specific recommendations, suggesting that DOE verify that labs have policies to obtain final reports from the agreements and have sent them to OSTI, review periodically whether those are being sent to OSTI, and require labs to determine whether previously completed reports have been sent.

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