Federally funded research and development centers

Federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) are public–private partnerships that conduct research and development for the United States government. Under Federal Acquisition Regulation § 35.017, FFRDCs are operated by universities and corporations to fulfill certain long-term needs of the government that "...cannot be met as effectively by existing in-house or contractor resources." While similar in many ways to University Affiliated Research Centers, FFRDCs are prohibited from competing for work.

Source: Wikipedia — Federally funded research and development centers (CC BY-SA 4.0)