Nuclear Science

DOE Should Provide More Control in Its Accelerator Selection Process Gao ID: RCED-86-108 April 4, 1986

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Energy's (DOE) review and selection process for approving the Southeastern Universities Research Association's proposal to plan, manage, and operate a continuous electron beam accelerator facility (CEBAF).

GAO found that DOE used unsolicited proposals in selecting the facility's design, which resulted in DOE: (1) approving a contractor that had no technical expertise to plan, manage, and operate CEBAF; (2) selecting a CEBAF design that had several technical uncertainties; and (3) not identifying and evaluating technologies that were better suited for CEBAF and available at the time of the original design selection. GAO also found that, while DOE has corrected the problems associated with using unsolicited proposals, including establishing a CEBAF project office with key personnel with experience in constructing, managing, and operating accelerators, it needs to use other procurement methods for future accelerators.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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