	Background

The R&D Centers, Regional Labs, and Comprehensive Centers share responsibility with other programs created by the Congress for education research, research-based activities, and technical assistance. Laws Mandate Missions and Activities of the R&D Centers, Regional Labs, and Comprehensive Centers

The Congress created a separate primary focus for the R&D Centers, Regional Labs, and Comprehensive Centers and gave them the responsibility of performing specific activities. Education’s Ability to Shape R&D Center, Regional Lab, and Comprehensive Center Agendas Varies

Education shapes the activities of the R&D Centers, Regional Labs, and Comprehensive Centers through its funding documents and program monitoring. Specifically, Education has little control over Regional Labs because regional boards govern them. The programs reported they are most likely to engage in collaborative and coordinated activities when they share a common interest in a specific student population, such as English language learners, or a specific topic, such as assessment. Conclusions

The Regional Labs are unlike most federal education programs because neither the federal government nor state governments have oversight responsibility for their programs. As a result, Education lacks information that would be useful in making funding decisions or improving the performance of each organization.
What GAO Found

Research and Development (R&D) Centers, Regional Labs, and Comprehensive Centers support the Department of Education's research agenda to various degrees. Because statutes define different missions and activities for these programs, the amount and focus of the research and other research-based activities they support varies. Education shapes the priorities that guide the research done by the R&D Centers and targets the technical assistance provided by the Comprehensive Centers through requirements in agreements with these entities. However, Education has little control over the activities of the Regional Labs because, unlike most federal education programs, neither federal nor state governments have oversight responsibility for their programs. The R&D Centers, Regional Labs, and Comprehensive Centers reported collaborating and coordinating with each other and Education and cited various factors that have either facilitated or hindered such activities. They said that they were most likely to engage in these activities when they shared a common interest in a specific student population, such as English language learners, or in a specific topic, such as assessment. Current evaluation practices for assessing the R&D Centers, Regional Labs, and Comprehensive Centers have provided only limited information about the performance of these organizations and have not been useful for making future funding decisions.