New rules emerge for independent research.

• Jurisdiction: United States
• Date: 01 May 2017
• Author: Fenster, Herb

The life of government contractors with independent research-and-development funding has never been easy or straightforward, and recent regulatory changes have only made the landscape more challenging.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The Defense Department's Better Buying Power 3.0 initiative has led to new rules that curtail the ability of industry to maintain both the "independent" and the "research" components of independent research and development, or IRAD. Its language and direction seemingly conflict with a law, now simplified and reinforced, intended to protect investments.

Moreover, without a change in direction, the department's support for critical long-term research could continue on its downward spiral. The department must undertake a significant reconsideration of how research and development should be utilized to expand the technological defense industrial base.

The department has recently pushed forward with new regulations that appear focused on placing substantial limitations on IRAD funding. These new regulations require that contractors engage in "technical interchange meetings" prior to undertaking such projects. While the department has tried to assure industry that it does not intend to return to the old days of pre-approving IRAD projects, there remain very real...