Federal Research Transparency and Accountability Act of 2016

To enhance public awareness of federally funded research and development projects, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Federal Research Transparency and Accountability Act of 2016 2. Definitions In this Act— (1) the term agency (2) the term covered study (A) is carried out in whole or in part with Federal funds; and (B) is published, presented at a conference or meeting, or otherwise made publicly available. 3. Federally funded research disclosures and database (a) Prevention of duplicative research funding The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall coordinate with each agency that provides funding to entities to carry out research and development to establish a system to detect potential duplicative applications for funding in order to prevent duplicative funding. (b) Database of Federally funded research and development (1) In general Each agency shall include in a publicly accessible database a searchable listing of each unclassified research and development project that is funded by the agency, including a contract, grant, cooperative agreement, or task order. (2) Contents A database described in paragraph (1) shall, with respect to each unclassified research and development project of an agency, contain— (A) the agency component that is carrying out or providing funding or other assistance for the project; (B) the name of the project; (C) an abstract or summary of the project; (D) the funding level for the project; (E) the duration of the project; (F) the name of any contractor, subcontractor, or grantee; (G) the title of any published study funded by or related to the project; and (H) expected objectives and milestones for the project. (3) Existing database An agency may satisfy the requirements under this subsection if the Director of the Office of Management and Budget determines that the agency maintains a publicly accessible database, including a database operated by or shared with another agency, that substantially meets the requirements of this subsection. (c) Requirement for acknowledgment in covered studies The acknowledgment section in each covered study shall include— (1) the name of each agency that provided funding for the covered study; (2) the project or award number associated with the covered study; and (3) an estimate of the total cost of the covered study. (d) Study Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study and make publicly available a report, which shall— (1) analyze the compliance of agencies, contractors, subcontractors, and grantees with the requirements of this Act; (2) identify any obstacles that remain to prevent the public from accessing the cost and findings of covered studies and other research and development projects funded by agencies; and (3) analyze efforts by agencies to prevent duplicative spending.

Summary: Federal Research Transparency and Accountability Act of 2016 This bill directs the Office of Management and Budget to coordinate with each federal agency that provides funding to entities to carry out research and development to establish a system for the detection of potential duplicative applications for funding in order to prevent duplicative funding. Each federal agency shall include in a publicly accessible database a searchable listing of each unclassified research and development project the agency funds, including contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, or task orders. The acknowledgment section in each study carried out in whole or in part with federal funds and published, presented at a conference or meeting, or otherwise made publicly available shall include: the name of the agency that provided funding for the study, the project or award number associated with the study, and an estimate of the study's total cost. The Government Accountability Office shall study agency compliance with these requirements.