the research funded. The percent of other-agency work in one center 1/ in the National Engineering Laboratory was about 85 percent, according to a 1980 NAS evaluation panel report.

During authorization hearings in February 1980, the Subcommittee on Science, Research and Technology, House Committee on Science and Technology, questioned the balance among NBS functions, the adequacy with which NBS responded to the functions, and the internal balance of the work in response to needs. A member of the NBS Statutory Visiting Committee testified that balance among these functions was an issue of concern and that the Visiting Committee would advise that NBS do less other-agency work. He pointed out (1) the difficulty of trying to manage research for which 40 percent of the funds were completely at the discretion of outside agencies and (2) the uncertainty of continuity.

According to NBS policy, any proposed other-agency work must meet at least one of the following criteria before NBS can accept it.

1.

2.

3.

4.

Acceptance by NBS establishes traceability of measurements to national standards. This covers other-agency work related to the basic responsibility stated in the organic act authorizing NBS to undertake "the custody, maintenance, and development of the national standards of measurement."

The private sector cannot or will not develop test methods for materials, mechanisms, and structures related to items the Government purchases or that are important to the public interest.

Support services to other agencies are authorized or mandated by specific legislation other than the organic act.

A contract placed outside the Federal Government would result in an unavoidable conflict of interest. Much of the work NBS performs for regulatory agencies falls under this criterion.

1/The largest organizational unit within the two major laboratories, consisting of several divisions/offices.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Requirements for accuracy of physical constants
and properties of materials cannot be met by
other sources.

NBS' unique capability is required for support
services to other agencies.

Other-agency use of a private sector source would cause significant and intolerable delays in providing services.

Other-agency use of a private sector source would cost the Government more. NBS policy is that it generally will not accept work solely because it will be less costly to the sponsor.

Generally, work that NBS does for other agencies is classified as applied research. Also, according to an NBS official, most other-agency work is technical, problem oriented, and short term, usually turning over within 1 year.

The organic act provides that NBS furnish services to support other Federal agencies. According to an NBS analysis of all its research projects underway as of July 1980, about 48 percent (about $28 million) of NBS' otheragency work can be attributed to specific legislative mandates. Some of the problems that these legislative mandates have created within NBS were mentioned previously. (See p. 13.) The statutes mandating that NBS perform work for other agencies and the dollar amounts NBS received for performing this work in fiscal year 1979, and expects to receive in fiscal year 1980, are included in appendix III. As shown in this appendix, the largest reimbursements to NBS in fiscal year 1980 resulted from work done under the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974, as amended ($7.9 million), and the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (about $3.2 million).

According to the NBS Director, each year NBS provides technical support to more than than 100 Federal agencies; over the years the Department of Defense has been a "major client." We noted that in recent years the Department of Energy has become by far the major client of NBS, accounting for $20.3 million or about 32 percent of all NBS otheragency work. The top 10 other agencies for which NBS is doing work and the dollar amounts of the work follow.

a/Fire Administration funding transferred from Commerce to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Appendix IV shows in constant and current dollars the overall amounts that NBS has used to perform other-agency work since 1965.

Although NBS other-agency work may be considered desirable on one hand--it helps resolve problems of the mission-oriented agencies that in turn may be addressing national problems/needs--it also may create problems within NBS concerning (1) planning, (2) continuity of research and staff, and (3) building scientific competencies. The latter are generally associated with long-term research and are needed to ensure that adequate technical support can be provided to the other Federal agencies and the private

sector.

The NBS Director testified before the Congress in February 1980 that there was always a problem with otheragency work in that the other agencies were somewhat reluctant to support NBS long-range work; they have immediate problems that they want NBS to address. According to NBS, this emphasis on short-term problems adversely affects its long-range planning. The fiscal year 1979 evaluation panel report on the National Engineering Laboratory points out the panel's concern for the high percentage of other-agency work within some NBS organizational units and the impact this has on long-range programs. For example, the report states that other agencies funded at least 90 percent of the $18 million spent in fiscal year 1979 on energy programs in the National Engineering Laboratory. This percentage, according to the report, shows the importance of this Laboratory's work to the Government, but it presents a danger that the Laboratory might become a "job shop" for other agencies and lose the ability to independently undertake needed long-term programs.

In addition, an NAS evaluation panel member, in response to a question concerning the extent of NBS' role in serving the needs of all Government agencies, stated during NBS hearings in February 1980 that unless there was a basic standards program within NBS, it would not be able to adequately serve the other agencies. Also, the panel member said that if NBS did too much work applicable to Government needs, its primary mission would be lost.

NBS' long-range plan states that its management tries to keep other-agency work in the 35-45 percent range, although there was no analytical basis for any particular optimum ratio. The plan cautions, however, that a problem would ensue if this work grows to 50 percent of NBS' total effort. For the time being, NBS appears to believe that because it normally has requests for significantly more otheragency work than it can do within its personnel ceiling, the ceiling will continue to stabilize the level of this work.

The problem that other-agency work creates with NBS' research continuity is illustrated by a General Services Administration official's acknowledgment that his agency's annual funding of NBS work until 1980 had been "erratic." NBS acknowledged that "in some instances" work for other agencies had caused a problem--when the work being done for another agency neared completion, NBS had to decide where to use the staff resources being released. NBS estimated that between 6 and 8 percent of its appropriated funds--$5.6 to $7.4 million in fiscal year 1980--has to be reassigned in this manner.

The House Committee on Science and Technology's May 1980 report authorizing NBS' appropriations states that to ensure that NBS can provide technical support to Federal agencies, it must maintain "general technical competence" to respond to emerging national needs. The report states that NBS' ability to respond directly to mandated responsibilities, other Federal agency needs, and industry and public needs is determined by the basic technical capability of the NBS staff and a planned program of long-term research.

Actions being taken to resolve problems
caused by other-agency work

Two congressional committees have recently recognized NBS' problems concerning other-agency work. To help resolve these problems, NBS has started obtaining longer term commitments from the agencies. According to its officials, NBS had entered into "memoranda of understanding" for longer term work with about 20 agencies as of February 1980. These longer term commitments will, NBS believes, help to formulate its long-range plan and provide more continuity of work, which will also help to build up and sustain needed competence. These arrangements may also help the other Federal agencies anticipate their long-term needs and problems concerning standards and new technologies.

Also, NBS has started (in 1979) a program to help rebuild its scientific competencies to respond to mandated responsibilities and needs of other Federal agencies, industry, and the public. One scientific expert said that this program would restore a declining flexibility and increase NBS' freedom to plan and think in new directions. The program is discussed more fully in chapter 5.

RESOURCE ESTIMATES TO

CARRY OUT LONG-RANGE PLAN

According to one of the major NBS laboratory's 5-year plans, two trends--the computer revolution and the increased use of modeling 1/--will have a major impact on the way NBS provides its services to the Nation over the next decade. The plan states that these rapidly moving developments will require expanded capabilities and services in several areas.

1/Includes physical science modeling emphasizing fluid dynamics and certain electrical behavior in semiconductor devices, methods for applying and evaluating large-scale discrete mathematical models, and various statistical modeling.