NASA needs better oversight and administration for its research grants, according to a report released today by NASA’s inspector general.

The office undertook a limited audit of NASA’s grant programmes, which disbursed roughly US$3 billion over the past five years. The grants provide bread and butter support for many space scientists at universities and research institutes, and are used to pay for everything from instrument development and data analysis to education and outreach.

The audit examined eight grants and found that there were problems with the administration of four of them. Grants were handed out in instances when a contract should instead have been created, grants were improperly awarded without a competition, and there were instances of inadequate oversight following the award. Of $17 million awarded in the eight grants, $7 million were awarded contrary to requirements for unsolicited proposals. The problems in the limited survey reflect “systemic deficiencies” in management, according to the report.

The problems seem to be concentrated among legacy grants still administered by NASA centers rather than by the NASA Shared Services Center, which was created in 2006 to consolidate processing, management and reviews of grants.