GAO Expresses Concerns About DOE Labs

The General Accounting Office (GAO) recently testified before a Congressional committee on the changing missions of the Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories and perceived weaknesses in the management of the labs. According to GAO, DOE's efforts to meet the requirements of Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) offer an opportunity to achieve fundamental change in the way in which the department manages the national labs.

GAO has reported previously on its concerns with the national laboratory system. The two major concerns are:

• DOE has not ensured that work in the national labs was focused and coordinated.
• DOE has not established clear missions for the labs or developed a clear consensus on the labs' appropriate mission in the post-Cold War era.

GAO opined that the department has struggled to manage large projects successfully, is slow to realize benefits from internal reforms, and continues to face problems from a complex organizational structure.

GAO reported that DOE has begun a number of reform initiatives to address mission and management problems. GAO suggests that the GPRA process provides an opportunity for developing a clearer mission for the laboratories. GPRA requires agencies to develop meaningful performance measures, and spell out the relationship between long-term goals and performance. For DOE to fulfill GPRA requirements, it must show how missions will be translated into agency operation --an important component in determining how the laboratories are to be used and evaluated.

The GAO testimony "Clearer Missions and Better Management are Needed at the National Laboratories " (GAO/T-RCED-98-25) is available from GAO at 202/512-6000 or on the GAO homepage at www.gao.gov.