Federal Centers' Compensation Study
The General Accounting Office (GAO) has collected and provided information on fiscal year 1993 costs for professional staff, managers and executives at the Department of Defense's (DOD) Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDC). FFRDCs were established during World War II to meet the special research needs that the federal and private sector could not provide. Over the years the number of FFRDCs have varied, but in fiscal year 1993 there were 39, with 10 sponsored by DOD.
The GAO found that the average base salary for FFRDC executives, managers and professional staff was $73,000.
The average employer cost of benefits for all FFRDC personnel ranged from 19 percent to 45 percent of salaries, and executives' benefits had the greatest variance, ranging from 19 percent to 54 percent of salaries. The GAO calculated that the average total compensation in fiscal year 1993 for all FFRDC employees was $90,000.
Copies of the report (GAO/NSIAD-96-183) are available from GAO at 202/512-6000 or through the GAO home page at http:// www.gao.gov