Energy Secretary Reveals Plan for Better Collaboration with Industry

At a July 29 hearing of the House science committee, Energy Secretary Hazel O’Leary outlined a strategic plan to improve DOE’s technology transfer and partnerships with the private sector.

The occasion was a review of H.R. 1432, a bill sponsored by science committee chairman George Brown (D-California). The purpose of the bill is to establish post-Cold War missions for the DOE national labs, as well as providing for reorganization and consolidation of the labs and evaluation of their performance.

Energy subcommittee chairwoman Marilyn Lloyd (D-Tennessee) summarized the main points gleaned from previous subcommittee hearings on the bill: The labs should remain focused on DOE missions and maintain core competencies in those technology areas necessary for their missions. Technology transfer will flow out of this mission focus. It must be recognized that partnership with industry in pre-competitive technology is risky; failures will occur and evaluation of the labs’ performance will be difficult. There is a consensus that the current process for reaching Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) between the labs and industry is slow and frustrating.

The bill lays out major missions for the labs in fields such as energy production and use, nuclear nonproliferation, hazardous waste mitigation, environmental protection, tech transfer to enhance the labs’ ability to meet their mission responsibilities, and science and math education. It provides the lab directors with the authority to enter into CRADAs involving a federal commitment of $500,000 or less without approval by DOE headquarters. It also provides for a Technology Development Advisory Board to advise the Secretary of Energy, a Federal Laboratory Mission Evaluation and Coordination Committee, and requires, by March 31, 1994, “a plan for the phased consolidation of the nuclear weapons . . . activities of the departmental nuclear weapons laboratories.”

As the first witness, O’Leary presented the department’s plan for becoming a more effective partner with industry. Citing the coordination between DOE and the committee in the crafting of the bill, she noted that the plan “matches and complements . . . the themes in the bill.” The plan urges that DOE become more “customer-focused and user-friendly” as well as “market-driven,” applying the principles of total quality management and involving industry as a greater partner in defining the research agenda.

O’Leary not only advocated delegating authority to the lab directors to sign agreements, but suggested changing the bill language to allow them authority for CRADAS worth $1 million in federal funds. She vowed to, by next summer, reduce the average CRADA processing time from 32 weeks to 16 weeks, and develop “modular” CRADA language that would standardize the agreements to fit various situations.

As part of DOE’s thrust to draw more small businesses into partnerships, along with a public information effort, O’Leary intends to develop simplified “take it or leave it” CRADA language to eliminate legal negotiations. The plan would also provide, on a trial basis, CRADA block funding to selected laboratories to enable more rapid response to private sector proposals.

In addition to concern over the level of authority given to lab directors, O’Leary worried that the bill language requiring consolidation of the weapons labs was “too prescriptive.” The lab directors who testified after her generally supported H.R. 1432 but echoed her concerns. The committee expects to mark up the bill soon after they return from the August recess.

While not intended to be a subject of the hearing, the SSC was brought into the discussion by outspoken opponent Sherwood Boehlert (R-New York.) Referring to O’Leary’s statement, shortly after becoming Energy Secretary, that she was not “passionate” about the SSC, he asked for her opinion after six months on the job. Her response: “Maybe nearly passionate.” She later strengthened her stance, saying, “this project needs to and must go forward.” “At all costs?” Boehlert asked. “No, never at all costs,” she replied.

O’Leary reported that a 30-day review of management concerns regarding the SSC’s prime contractor, Universities Research Association, was due the following day. When she initiated the review, she told House Energy and Commerce chairman John Dingell that she expected to take one of three actions: terminate the URA contract, renegotiate the contract, or allow URA to keep the scientific portion of the contract while rebidding the construction part. She is expected to announce her decision this week.

In related news, Martin Marietta has won the contract to manage DOE’s Sandia National Laboratory. For 54 years, Sandia has been managed by AT&T, which reportedly decided not to renew its contract after disagreements with DOE over product liability.