Condition of CRC facilities yet another example of rust-out of federal labs

A recently released audit report on the Communications Research Centre (CRC) provides a stark reminder of the lamentable state of federal laboratory infrastructure and the ways in which lab managers cope with severe funding constraints on their operations. The audit of CRC's Shirleys Bay Research Centre Campus in Ottawa found that, while the facility did not have a management framework for property in place, the current poor condition of many of its buildings and systems are primarily the result of prolonged funding pressures.

Conducted in 2004 and released in late 2006, the internal audit found an "annual real property funding shortfall of between $1.5 million and $3.8 million", compounded by a recapitalization backlog of $26 million. It concluded that "the strategic allocation/ reallocation of resources between science functions and the real property function is not based on performance, but rather is based on maintaining historical funding levels for science branches and programs".

"We do have buildings that are in poor condition. There has been no re-capitalization of infrastructure so we have to live within our means," says CRC president Dr Veena Rawat. "This is a government-wide problem."

The audit found that in several instances, CRC management transferred funds from its operations and maintenance (O&M) budget to support research programs.

"This situation has occurred frequently at the CRC," states the report. "Much of the problem stems from a view (that) has becoming ingrained at CRC. Real property is viewed as costly overhead that reduces available funding for research, rather than as a core platform for fulfilling the CRC research mandate."

The audit contains two types of recommendations — changes in management practices and improvements in its physical infrastructure and systems. Rawat says the CRC is making recommended management changes, such as better connecting operations with its research programs. Those that require increased spending, however, are being prioritized and will be completed when funding becomes available. In FY04-05, Industry Canada provided $1 million, of which $700,000 went to facilities. In FY006-07, an additional $3 million was provided, with $1.7 million devoted to facilities.

"It's not easy in the current environment. Our budget has been cut by $1 million in the last two years," says Rawat. "We need to prioritize and manage within our resources, as opposed to expanding and looking for more resources. It's not in the cards. I'm been constantly working with this since I arrived."

Rawat says that while budget constraints mean many pressing infrastructure needs cannot be quickly addressed, the CRC always deals with problems as they relate to the health and safety of employees.

The CRC audit says that in order for the Campus to be "properly maintained", government may want to consider transferring the property function elsewhere in Industry Canada.

Treasury Board is currently following up on its 2004 assessment of federal S&T infrastructure as part of a larger initiative to determine what is required for labs to fulfill their mandates. At the same time, the government has signaled its intention to explore the transfer of management of non-regulatory federal labs to the academic sector (R$, November 27/06).

The CRC is an agency of Industry Canada and the federal government's main communications lab, conducting R&D in the areas of advanced telecommunications, broadcasting and information technology. Its campus is home to more than 150 permanent and temporary buildings spread over a 600-hectare site connected by 13 kilometres of roadways. CRC also has several tenants who use the facility and share maintenance costs. They include the Canadian Space Agency, and Defence R&D Canada.

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