Addressing Vulnerabilities: Enhancing Safeguards of U.S. Federal R&D Funding Against Foreign Exploitation

The GAO report, titled "Strengthening Interagency Collaboration Could Help Agencies Safeguard Federal Funding from Foreign Threats," discusses the challenges that U.S. federal agencies face in protecting research and development (R&D) funds from potential misuse by foreign entities. The report emphasizes the difficulty in determining R&D funds awarded to such entities, which include foreign terrorist organizations and entities controlled by countries such as Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran.

The GAO's investigation discovered that government-wide databases lack comprehensive identifying information for these entities, making it difficult to match them to recipients of federal funding. Agencies are required to check potential awardees against federal exclusion lists, but they face difficulties in determining foreign ownership, control, or influence. The GAO recommends that the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) facilitate information sharing among agencies to address these challenges, and the OSTP agrees.

You can find a copy of the highlights here.