Federally funded research and development centers

FFRDC locations

Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) are public-private partnerships which conduct research for the United States Government. They are administered in accordance with U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 48, Part 35, Section 35.017 by universities and corporations. There are currently 42 recognized FFRDCs that are sponsored by the U.S. government. FFRDCs are similar to the University Affiliated Research Centers run by the United States Department of Defense.

History of FFRDCs

During World War II scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and other specialists became part of the United States massive war effort—leading to evolutions in radar, aircraft, computing and, most famously, the development of nuclear weapons through the Manhattan Project. 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, be free of organizational conflicts of interest, and maintain a stable workforce composed 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.

List of FFRDCs

The following list includes all current FFRDCs:

Facility	Administrator	Location	Sponsor
Aerospace Federally Funded Research and Development Center	The Aerospace Corporation	El Segundo, CA	Department of Defense, Department of the Air Force
Ames Laboratory	Iowa State University of Science and Technology	Ames, IA	Department of Energy
Argonne National Laboratory	UChicago Argonne, LLC	Downers Grove Township, IL	Department of Energy
Arroyo Center	RAND Corporation	Santa Monica, CA	Department of Defense, Department of the Army
Brookhaven National Laboratory	Brookhaven Science Associates, LLC	Upton, NY	Department of Energy
National Security Engineering Center	MITRE	Bedford, MA, and McLean, VA	Department of Defense, Office of the Secretary of Defense
Center for Advanced Aviation System Development	MITRE	McLean, VA	Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration
Center for Enterprise Modernization	MITRE	McLean, VA	Department of the Treasury, Department of Veterans Affairs, Internal Revenue Service
Center for Naval Analyses	The CNA Corporation	Arlington, VA	Department of Defense, Department of the Navy
Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses	Southwest Research Institute	San Antonio, TX	Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Centers for Communications and Computing	Institute for Defense Analyses	Alexandria, VA	Department of Defense, National Security Agency
CMS Alliance to Modernize Healthcare	MITRE	McLean, VA	United States Department of Health and Human Services
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory	Fermi Research Alliance, LLC	Batavia, IL	Department of Energy
Homeland Security Studies and Analysis Institute	Analytic Services, Inc.	Arlington, VA	Department of Homeland Security, Under Secretary for Science and Technology
Homeland Security Systems Engineering and Development Institute	MITRE	McLean, VA	Department of Homeland Security, Under Secretary for Science and Technology
Idaho National Laboratory	Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC	Idaho Falls, ID	Department of Energy
Jet Propulsion Laboratory	California Institute of Technology	Pasadena, CA	National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Judiciary Engineering and Modernization Center	MITRE	McLean, VA	United States Courts
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory	University of California	Berkeley, CA	Department of Energy
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory	Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC	Livermore, CA	Department of Energy
Lincoln Laboratory	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Lexington, MA	Department of Defense, Department of the Air Force
Los Alamos National Laboratory	Los Alamos National Security, LLC	Los Alamos, NM	Department of Energy
National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center	Battelle National Biodefense Institute	Frederick, MD	Department of Homeland Security, Under Secretary for Science and Technology
Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research	Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc.	Frederick, MD	Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health
National Center for Atmospheric Research	University Corporation for Atmospheric Research	Boulder, CO	National Science Foundation
National Cybersecurity FFRDC	MITRE	Rockville, MD	Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology
National Defense Research Institute	RAND Corporation	Santa Monica, CA	Department of Defense, Office of the Secretary of Defense
National Optical Astronomy Observatory	Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc.	Tucson, AZ	National Science Foundation
National Radio Astronomy Observatory	Associated Universities, Inc.	Charlottesville, VA	National Science Foundation
National Solar Observatory	Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc.	Boulder, CO	National Science Foundation
National Renewable Energy Laboratory	Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC	Golden, CO	Department of Energy
Oak Ridge National Laboratory	UT-Battelle, LLC	Oak Ridge, TN	Department of Energy
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory	Battelle Memorial Institute	Richland, WA	Department of Energy
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory	Princeton University	Princeton, NJ	Department of Energy
Project Air Force	RAND Corporation	Santa Monica, CA	Department of Defense, Department of the Air Force
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory	Stanford University	Stanford, CA	Department of Energy
Sandia National Laboratories	Sandia Corporation, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin	Albuquerque, NM Livermore, CA	Department of Energy
Savannah River National Laboratory	Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC	Aiken, SC	Department of Energy
Science and Technology Policy Institute	Institute for Defense Analyses	Washington, DC	National Science Foundation
Software Engineering Institute	Carnegie Mellon University	Pittsburgh, PA	Department of Defense, Department of the Army
Studies and Analyses Center	Institute for Defense Analyses	Alexandria, VA	Department of Defense, Office of the Secretary of Defense
Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility	Jefferson Science Associates, LLC	Newport News, VA	Department of Energy

Further reading

• Hruby, Jill M., et al., "The Evolution of Federally Funded Research & Development Centers", Public Interest Report, SPRING 2011, Federation of American Scientists.

External links

• Congressional Research Service: 'The Quasi Government: Hybrid Organizations with Both Government and Private Sector Legal Characteristics'
• US Research Grant Awards Database
• 2015 list of FFRDCs
• 2005 list of FFRDCs
• NSF Master List of FFRDCs