Federal Research: Information on Fees for Selected Federally Funded
Research and Development Centers (Fact Sheet, 12/08/95,
GAO/RCED-96-31FS).

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the
fees paid by the Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of Defense
(DOD), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for
managing their research and development (R&D) centers, focusing on the:
(1) regulations governing fees; (2) annual amounts and purposes of the
fees paid during fiscal year (FY) 1994; (3) uses that DOE contractors
made of their funds during FY 1994; and (4) effect of 1994 contract
reforms on DOE criteria.

GAO found that: (1) although DOD has specific regulations for its
centers' fees, DOE and NASA follow general federal or other regulations;
(2) in FY 1994, DOE paid about $122.8 million in fees to compensate
contractors for overhead costs, fund contract performance awards, and
provide incentives; (3) in FY 1994, DOD paid about $45.9 million in fees
for corporate research, capital equipment and facilities, working
capital requirements, contingencies, and unreimbursed costs; (4) in FY
1994, NASA paid $16.5 million in fees for a contract performance award;
(5) DOE centers are all operated under management and operating
contracts and the contractors' work generally covers more than R&D and
(6) 1994 DOE contract reforms revised contracts to include objective
performance measures, but not all contracts now link fees to
contractor's performance.

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

 REPORTNUM:  RCED-96-31FS
     TITLE:  Federal Research: Information on Fees for Selected 
             Federally Funded Research and Development Centers
      DATE:  12/08/95
   SUBJECT:  Research and development contracts
             Research and development facilities
             Defense contracts
             Energy research
             Aerospace research
             Contractor performance
             Contract monitoring
             Fees
             Procurement regulation
             Laboratories