75 



Appendix TV 



Objectives, Scope, and McLhodology 



Table IV^: Federal Laboratories 

 Visited 



Federal agency 



Laboratory 



Cortvnerce 



NIST 



NOAAs Southeast 

 Fisheries Center 



NOAAs Atlantic 

 Oceanographic ana 

 Meteorological Laboratory 



Location 



GailhersDurg. Mo 

 Miami. Fla- 



Miami. Ra. 



To evaluate the effects of iiiadequate infrasiructure on agencies' scientific 

 productivity and research capabilities, we interviewed (1) agencies' 

 facilities managers and (2) laboratory management, scientists, facilities 

 managers, and other personnel at the eight laboratories visited. We also 

 obtained information about the effect of such laboratory facilities 

 problems as electrical outages and inadequate ventilation on scientific 

 research. In addition, we reviewed reports by the Army Corps of Engineers 

 and architect and engineenng consultants that evaluated laboratory 

 facilities needs to perform advanced r&d. 



To analyze the funding needed to repair or upgrade federal laboratory 

 facilities, we interviewed the Director of the National Research Council's 

 Building Research Board and reviewed the Board's report entitled 

 Committing to the Cost of Ownership: Maintenance and Repair of Public 

 Buildings. We then obtained data from each of the eight agencies to 



(1) com.pare agencies' funding for routine maintenance and repair of 

 laboratory facilities with the facilities' current replacement value and 



(2) estimate the backlog of laboratory repairs. We also obtained the views 

 of agencies' facilities managers about the adequacy of funding for 

 maintaining, repainng, and renovating existing laboratory space or 

 constructing new space. We reviewed laboratory facilities modertuzation 

 studies and obtained information about any studies by agencies to realign, 

 consolidate, or close their laboratory facilities. 



Facilities managers at several agencies cited problems with maintaining, 

 repairing, and upgrading their laboratory facilities that were beyond the 

 scope of our assessment For example, some managers stated that, in 



