Finding 1136937 (2024-001)

Reference Number 2024-001 – Finding of Noncompliance Federal Award Information - Research and Development Cluster (“R&D”) – Various ALN# Federal Award Agency - Department of Energy (“DOE”) Compliance Requirement - Special Tests and Provisions (Publications) Criteria- Per the DOE Award Special Terms and Conditions, the Institute is required to include an acknowledgement of the DOE award and legal disclaimer within all publications arising out of, or relating to, work performed under the award, whether copyrighted or not. Further, 2 CFR section 200.303 requires that non-Federal entities must "establish and maintain effective internal control over the Federal award that provides reasonable assurance that the non-Federal entity is managing the Federal award in compliance with Federal statues, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the Federal award. Condition- For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, there were publications released with reference to research and development project activities funded by DOE that did not include the required legal disclaimer and (or) acknowledgement statement in pursuant with DOE grant contractual provisions. Cause - Although the publication requirement was internally acknowledged at the beginning of the execution of these grant awards, there is a lack of internal control established to formalize and streamline review of publications throughout the life cycle of each applicable project. Effect - Failure to establish effective internal reviews and monitoring over publications published throughout project periods could potentially result in undetected noncompliance, exposing the Institute to consequences from regulatory agencies. Questioned Costs - Not applicable Context or Perspective - The quality of internal review was compromised due to the involvement of multiple parties executing separate review process, compounded by time constraints before the release of the information. 3 out of 40 publications (total sample size) were identified as noncompliance. Among these 3 publications, 2 included the acknowledgement but not the legal disclaimer, and 1 lacked both mandatory statements. Overall, the identified instances of noncompliance are deemed to be isolated to special circumstances when publications require collaborative reviews between the Institute and external parties. New or Repeat Finding - New Finding Recommendation: We recommend the Institute establish formal procedures to ensure a thorough and effective review for each publication prior to its public release. View of Responsible Officials - See attached corrective action plan.