Department of Transportation: University Research Activities Need Greater
Oversight (Letter Report, 05/13/94, GAO/RCED-94-175).

Over the past several years, the Department of Transportation (DOT) has
increasingly relied on universities to assist it in meeting its research
needs.  DOT was unable to provide GAO with complete or accurate
information on all awards. Consequently, GAO surveyed 206 universities
about awards and costs and found that 141 institutions had received $190
million in new awards directly from DOT during fiscal years 1991 through
1993.  Sixty-three percent of the reported awards included overhead
costs.  For these awards, 20 percent of the total funds went for
overhead.  During the same period, Congress earmarked $178 million in
DOT funds to 46 universities or university-related facilities; DOT had
obligated about $110 million as of September 1993. DOT's planning for
university research is diverse and fragmented and is not pursued through
an integrated plan.  In addition, although DOT has several systems to
track spending on its awards, none of them provide complete or accurate
information on the total number or purpose of university awards.  DOT
has provided limited financial oversight of awards to universities.  GAO
identified several cases in which DOT allowed overcharges or
questionable costs that could total nearly $500,000.  In addition, GAO
discovered that the lack of oversight has resulted in grantee
noncompliance with cost-sharing arrangements totaling almost $3 million.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  RCED-94-175
     TITLE:  Department of Transportation: University Research 
             Activities Need Greater Oversight
      DATE:  05/13/94
   SUBJECT:  Research and development contracts
             Transportation operations
             Colleges/universities
             Overhead costs
             Contract monitoring
             Federal agency accounting systems
             Grant monitoring
             Overpayments
             Planning
             Research and development costs
IDENTIFIER:  National Performance Review
             DOT University Transportation Centers Program
             DOT Intelligent Vehicles and Highway System
             National Intermodal Transportation System
             IVHS
             
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