Irad research and development6/13/2023 Further, DOD has not yet provided documentary evidence, such as a copy of its draft instruction, to substantiate the progress claimed in its corrective action plan. However, as of September 2022, DOD has not yet responded to our requests regarding additional actions, if any, the agency has taken in response to this recommendation. The corrective action plan listed an expected completion date of June 2022. The plan stated that a draft instruction has been completed and is going through coordination. In March 2022, USD(R&E) officials provided an updated corrective action plan, which stated that DOD is working to update its IR&D instruction in response to our recommendation. While DOD is not required to review independent R&D projects to understand how they support DOD’s priorities, GAO analysis showed 38 percent of industry projects aligned with DOD’s priorities.ĭOD concurred with this recommendation stating that USD(R&E) will investigate and revise its IR&D Instruction to require annual review of defense industry IR&D investments. Disruptive projects carry higher risk of failure but offer possible significant rewards in the long term. The database does not include whether a project is a lower-risk, incremental development or a more innovative “disruptive” technology. The database does not capture a project’s complete cost, which could help DOD understand cost implications of future related work. The department uses those priorities to make decisions about R&D investments. Contractors do not identify whether a project aligns with any of 10 modernization priorities. As a result, DOD risks making decisions about its multi-billion dollar science and tech investments that could duplicate work or miss opportunities to fill in gaps that the contributions of private industry do not cover.ĭOD has a database of independent R&D projects, but it is not very useful for informing investment decisions because DOD does not obtain information in these and other areas: ![]() ![]() Key TakeawaysĭOD does not know how contractors’ independent R&D projects fit into the department’s technology goals. More information about those projects could help DOD guide its own R&D investments. military reassert its technological edge.Ĭontractors decide what independent R&D projects to conduct and the Department of Defense (DOD) reimburses them about $4 billion-$5 billion annually. Research and development (R&D) projects in high-tech areas like cybersecurity and biotechnology can help the U.S.
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