; (2) the Department of Energy; (3) the Department of Veterans Affairs; and (4) the General Services Administration. (c) Requirement In carrying out the program, the Secretary shall leverage existing procurement mechanisms. (d) Evaluation Using the guidelines of the Federal Energy Management Program relating to whole-building evaluation, measurement, and verification, the Secretary shall evaluate the costs and benefits of the buildings selected under this section including an identification of— (1) which advanced building technologies— (A) are most cost-effective; and (B) show the most potential to— (i) increase building energy savings; (ii) increase service performance to building occupants; and (iii) reduce environmental impacts; and (2) any other information the Secretary determines to be appropriate. 32206. Leveraging existing programs (a) Better Building Challenge As part of the Better Building Challenge of the Department of Energy, the Secretary shall develop a smart building accelerator in consultation with major private sector property owners to demonstrate innovative policies and approaches that will accelerate the transition to smart buildings. (b) Research and development (1) In general The Secretary shall conduct research and development to address key barriers to the integration of advanced building technologies and to accelerate the transition to smart buildings. (2) Inclusion The research and development conducted under paragraph (1) shall include research and development on— (A) physical components, such as sensors and controls; (B) reducing the cost of key components to accelerate the adoption of smart building technologies; (C) data management, including the capture and analysis of data and the interoperability of the energy systems; (D) business models, including how business models may limit the adoption of smart building technologies and how to support transactive energy; (E) the characterization of buildings and components; (F) consumer and utility protections