US energy research agency oversight criticized in audit
With a proposed cut of 45% hanging in the balance in the US Congress, it’s a tense season for officials at the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), the arm of the US Department of Energy (DOE) that specializes in funding high-risk high-payoff research on energy. Now an audit report from the DOE’s Inspector-General (IG) has added to their woes by criticizing ARPA-E over what it says is unsufficient oversight and monitoring of awards made using the $400 million the agency received under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (also known as the stimulus bill). The IG says ARPA-E lacked policies on monitoring and oversight of its awardees, including on which costs were allowable, and on termination of awards that weren’t performing well. The audit uncovered a total of about $280,000 in charges by ARPA-E awardees that were paid but not allowable. The IG also complains that ARPA-E had no system to ensure technology transfer goals set by Congress were met.
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