LDRD Performance Metrics

A key resource for the National Laboratories and Sites

Maintaining the intellectual vitality of the National Laboratories and Sites

The LDRD program is a key resource for addressing the long-term science and technology goals of the National Laboratories and Sites , as well as for enhancing the scientific capabilities of their technical staff. Through careful investment of LDRD funds, the Laboratories and Sites build their reputation, recruit and retain excellent scientists and engineers, and prepare to meet evolving national needs.

Impacts of the LDRD program are particularly evident in the quality of publications resulting from LDRD-funded research, the number of awards LDRD researchers receive, and the number of postdoctoral candidates supported by the program. The metric information provided below represents the combined impact of the LDRD and SDRD programs at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Nevada National Security Sites, and Sandia National Laboratories.

Technical vitality

LDRD is a scientific success story, where projects continue to win national recognition for excellence through papers published and cited in peer-reviewed journals, patents granted, and prestigious awards.

Postdoc support

The National Laboratories and Sites have a long-standing reputation of being centers of scientific excellence where the nation’s best and brightest researchers can become scientific leaders. For this reason, many young researchers forego the prestige and visibility of academic careers and choose to devote their talents to the National Laboratories and Sites, where their innovations benefit national security missions.

The LDRD program is a powerful means to attract and retain top researchers from around the world, making it an essential link between the newest generation of scientists and the future workforce of our National Laboratories and Sites.

Impact of LDRD Investment

The LDRD program is an investment in our nation’s future, ensuring mission support that is often realized many years after an LDRD-funded project concludes. Recognizing this long-term impact of the LDRD program, we believe it is important to highlight indicators that span multiple years, demonstrating the true impact of LDRD as a national asset. We collaborated with our colleagues from LDRD programs at other NNSA institutions to identify ways that we could best represent the long-term impact of LDRD investments. This section highlights the longer-term (>5 year) impact of LDRD as a national asset. These performance indicators will be updated annually. As it is expected that the data may vary from year to year, long-term running totals will also be included and updated every 5 years.