Industrial, academic, and nonprofit organizations have historically managed the Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories and other major government owned/contractor operated (GOCO) facilities.
A GOCO partnership allows each partner to perform duties for which it is uniquely suited: the government establishes mission areas, and the private sector implements the missions, using best business practices.
Historical perspective
During the Manhattan Project, the federal government asked the University of California to operate what is now Los Alamos National Laboratory. A new model for managing R&D labs was born: the government owned the laboratory site, the buildings, and the equipment; the University provided the employees and managers.
The GOCO model has been replicated many times over the past 50 years, primarily within the DOE and its predecessor agencies. In the U.S., GOCO arrangements are used to manage 19 laboratories, nearly a dozen manufacturing and production plants, and numerous repositories. Sandia National Laboratories, originally managed by AT&T, has been managed by Lockheed Martin since 1993.
Advantages
The GOCO allows proven private-sector processes to operate without bureaucratic restrictions. Scientists performing for a GOCO contractor are largely insulated from political pressures. Thus, they have the independence to speak out as honest brokers, acting truly in the national interest.