Department of Energy

The Department of Energy (DOE) manages the largest laboratory system of its kind in the world: 23 laboratories in 14 states, a combined budget exceeding $10 billion a year, and a staff of about 60,000. Since the early days of the World War II Manhattan Project, DOE's laboratories have played a major role in maintaining U.S. leadership in research and development. During the last 20 years, however, various advisory groups have questioned DOE's stewardship of the laboratory complex, citing management weaknesses. In recent years, Congress has held several hearings on the future of the national laboratories. This report (1) identifies the recommendations by various advisory groups for addressing management weaknesses at DOE and the laboratories and (2) evaluates how DOE and its laboratories have responded to these recommendations. GAO summarized this report in testimony before Congress; see: Department of Energy: DOE Lacks an Effective Strategy for Addressing Recommendations From Past Laboratory Advisory Groups, by Victor S. Rezendes, Director of Energy, Resources, and Science Issues, before the Subcommittee on Basic Research and the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, House Committee on Science. GAO/T-RCED-98-274, Sept. 23 (10 pages).

GAO noted that: (1) for nearly 20 years, many advisory groups have found that while DOE's national laboratories do impressive research and development, they are unfocused, micromanaged by DOE, and do not function as an integrated national research and development system; (2) weaknesses in DOE's leadership and accountability are often cited as factors hindering fundamental reform of the laboratories' management; (3) as a result, advisory groups have made dozens of recommendations ranging from improving strategic planning to streamlining internal processes; (4) several past advisory groups have also suggested major organizational changes in the way the laboratories are directed; (5) to address past recommendations by advisory groups, DOE, at GAO's request, documented the actions it has taken, from creating new task forces to developing strategic laboratory plans; (6) while DOE has made some progress--principally by reducing paperwork burdens on its laboratories--most of its actions are still under way or have unclear outcomes; (7) furthermore, these actions lack the objectives, performance measures, and milestones needed to effectively track progress and account for results; (8) consequently, the Department cannot show how its actions have resulted, or may result, in fundamental change; (9) for example, its Strategic Laboratory Missions Plan, which was developed to give more focus and direction to the national laboratories, does not set priorities and is not tied to the annual budget process; (10) few experts and officials GAO consulted could show how the plan is used to focus missions or integrate the laboratory system; (11) DOE's latest technique for focusing the laboratories' missions is the technology roadmap; (12) roadmaps are plans that show how specific DOE activities relate to missions, goals, and performers; (13) roadmaps are a promising step but have been used in only a few mission areas and are not directly tied to DOE's budget process; (14) moreover, several laboratory directors questioned both the accuracy of the actions DOE has reported taking and their applicability at the laboratory level; (15) DOE's organizational weaknesses, which include unclear lines of authority, are a major reason why the Department has been unable to develop long-term solutions to the recurring problems reported by advisory groups; and (16) although DOE created the Laboratory Operations Board to help oversee laboratory management reform, it is only an advisory body within DOE's complex organizational structure and lacks the authority to direct change.

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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