Tough times ahead for government labs

R&D Magazine's 9th annual Government R&D Executive Roundtable held on October 16, 2008, revealed that the upcoming changes in government leadership will create temporary issues in the government's network of research labs, until new strategies are defined and funded. Michelle Buchanan of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) said that while the CR action provide them a flat budget for the first half of the fiscal year 2008, their actual research costs have generally increased due to inflationary pressures. As a result of the CR actions, some labs are also starting to more actively explore alternative third party funding for their capital expenditures, such as new building construction programs. The employment situation at government research laboratories is both varied from one lab to another and changing continuously. The Executive board Panel defined some improvements in US industrial collaboration including increasing partnerships with many industries, academia, and other government laboratories.