Managing for High-Quality Science and Engineering at the NNSA National Security Laboratories

The three National Security Laboratories—Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)—are managed by private-sector entities under contract to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The FY2010 Defense Authorization Act mandated that NNSA task the National Research Council (NRC) to study the quality and management of Science and Engineering (S&E) at these Laboratories.

This study (addressing a total of 5 tasks) is being conducted in two phases. This report covers the first phase, which addresses the relationship between the quality of the science and engineering at the Laboratory and the contract for managing and operating the Laboratory (task 4), and also addresses the management of work conducted by the Laboratory for entities other than the Department of Energy (task 5). The study's second phase will evaluate the actual quality of S&E in key subject areas.

Managing for High-Quality Science and Engineering at the NNSA National Security Laboratories presents assessments of the evolution of the mission of the NNSA Labs and the management and performance of research in support of the missions, and the relationship between the Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program and the ability of the Labs to fulfill their mission. The report examines the framework for managing science and engineering research at the Labs and provides an analysis of the relationships among the several players in the management of the Labs—the NNSA, the site offices, the contractors, and the Lab managers—and the effect of that relationship on the Laboratories' ability to carry out science and engineering research.

Table of Contents

• Front Matter
• Summary
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Contracts
• 3 Research Base and Evolution of the Mission
• 4 Broken Relationship
• 5 Management of S&E at the Laboratories
• A--Governance Charter for an Interagency Council on the Strategic Capability of DOE National Laboratories as National Security Assets
• B--Presenters and Speakers at Committee Meetings
• C--Review of Relevant Studies and Reports 1995-2010
• D--The Structure of the Management Organizations that Govern the NNSA National Security Laboratories
• E--What the Laboratories' Management and Operations (M&O) Contracts Say About the Conduct and Evaluation of Science and Engineering
• F--The Investment/Value Returned Framework for Management of S&E
• G--Selected Supporting Information
• H--Questions Posed to Panels at Site Visits

read more...