# Federally funded research and development centers

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

## History

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, 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—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 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

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 | Alexandria, Virginia | 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 Renewable Energy Laboratory | 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 |