[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 48, Volume 1]
[Revised as of October 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 48CFR35.017]

[Page 708]
 
            TITLE 48--FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATIONS SYSTEM
 
                CHAPTER 1--FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION
 
PART 35_RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CONTRACTING--Table of Contents
 
Sec.  35.017  Federally Funded Research and Development Centers.

    (a) Policy.
    (1) This section sets forth Federal policy regarding the 
establishment, use, review, and termination of Federally Funded Research 
and Development Centers (FFRDC's) and related sponsoring agreements.
    (2) An FFRDC meets some special long-term research or development 
need which cannot be met as effectively by existing in-house or 
contractor resources. FFRDC's enable agencies to use private sector 
resources to accomplish tasks that are integral to the mission and 
operation of the sponsoring agency. An FFRDC, in order to discharge its 
responsibilities to the sponsoring agency, has access, beyond that which 
is common to the normal contractual relationship, to Government and 
supplier data, including sensitive and proprietary data, and to 
employees and facilities. The FFRDC is required to conduct its business 
in a manner befitting its special relationship with the Government, to 
operate in the public interest with objectivity and independence, to be 
free from organizational conflicts of interest, and to have full 
disclosure of its affairs to the sponsoring agency. It is not the 
Government's intent that an FFRDC use its privileged information or 
access to facilities to compete with the private sector. However, an 
FFRDC may perform work for other than the sponsoring agency under the 
Economy Act, or other applicable legislation, when the work is not 
otherwise available from the private sector.
    (3) FFRDC's are operated, managed, and/or administered by either a 
university or consortium of universities, other not-for-profit or 
nonprofit organization, or an industrial firm, as an autonomous 
organization or as an identifiable separate operating unit of a parent 
organization.
    (4) Long-term relationships between the Government and FFRDC's are 
encouraged in order to provide the continuity that will attract high-
quality personnel to the FFRDC. This relationship should be of a type to 
encourage the FFRDC to maintain currency in its field(s) of expertise, 
maintain its objectivity and independence, preserve its familiarity with 
the needs of its sponsor(s), and provide a quick response capability.
    (b) Definitions. As used in this section--
    Nonsponsor means any other organization, in or outside of the 
Federal Government, which funds specific work to be performed by the 
FFRDC and is not a party to the sponsoring agreement.
    Primary sponsor means the lead agency responsible for managing, 
administering, or monitoring overall use of the FFRDC under a multiple 
sponsorship agreement.
    Sponsor means the executive agency which manages, administers, 
monitors, funds, and is responsible for the overall use of an FFRDC. 
Multiple agency sponsorship is possible as long a one agency agrees to 
act as the ``primary sponsor.'' In the event of multiple sponsors, 
``sponsor'' refers to the primary sponsor.

[55 FR 3885, Feb. 5, 1990 as amended at 66 FR 2132, Jan. 10, 2001]