U.S. Department of the Interior's Climate Science Centers

A cornerstone in DOI’s strategy to help protect the Nation from the impacts of climate change are the eight climate science centers (CSCs) managed by the National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

 

CSCs are university-based partnerships that provide scientific and technical information to help resource managers cope with a changing climate. CSCs fund scientific research through financial assistance awards, specifically discretionary grants and cooperative agreements.

 

OIG audited the financial assistance awards made by CSCs to determine whether they are being properly awarded and effectively managed. We reviewed 48 grants and cooperative agreements, totaling more than $13.7 million and covering fiscal years 2010 through 2013, at four of the region-specific CSCs, namely the Northwest CSC at Oregon State University; the Southwest CSC at the University of Arizona; the South Central CSC at Oklahoma State University; and the Southeast CSC at North Carolina State University.

 

We found areas of concern in the management and oversight of financial awards that, if uncorrected, could place public funds at risk and raise questions about whether funds are being used appropriately and spending is transparent. Overall, we found problems with—

 

• selection and awarding of financial assistance agreements;

• documentation and internal controls;

• inaccurate or poorly determined risk assessments; and 

• oversight and management of financial award processes.

 

We made nine recommendations to help USGS bring CSC financial management activities into compliance with Federal regulations and DOI policies.