This led to frustration of many people in government and in universities as nothing in FDP II appeared to be as successful as the Florida Project. The clout of FDP came into question. First, the belief that the government is investing in basic research at universities by supporting science programs and infrastructure. This relationship between the government and universities is distinct from a procurement relationship where the government is acquiring a product or service for its direct benefit. Second, the university members of FDP are committed to strong internal control of their business, management and financial systems, policies and procedures.
Accountability is achieved more through internal controls than by external audit.
Third, the FDP is committed to experimentation with new processes and procedures and to streamlining with the goal to reduce the burden on Principle Investigators. And finally, the FDP is committed to testing and evaluating its demonstrations, keeping what works and discarding areas of study that are not fruitful. The Federal Agency Working Group has a representative from each member agency. Their purpose is to form a consensus about proposed demonstrations and pilots the agencies are willing to test. This group functions as the Terms and Conditions Task Group as well, receiving proposals from federal and university members for changes to the FDP general terms and conditions and guiding them through the implementation process.