FAR and DFARS › FAR Part 35: Research and Development Contracting
FAR 35.002 General.
The codified text (eCFR, as of 2026-10-02). Under the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul ↗, agencies follow class deviations with new text for many parts while the formal rules go through the Federal Register: check the solicitation and your contract's clauses, which rule.
In plain English
This section explains that the main purpose of contracted research and development (R&D) programs is to advance scientific and technical knowledge and apply it toward agency and national goals. It notes that R&D work usually cannot be described precisely in advance, making success and effort hard to predict, so the contracting process should attract the best sources and let work proceed with flexibility and minimal administrative burden.
Applies to: Contracted R&D programs and the contracting process for them
What it requires
- Use the contracting process to encourage the best sources from the scientific and industrial community to become involved in the program
- Provide an environment in which the work can be pursued with reasonable flexibility and minimum administrative burden
Key terms: contracted R&D programs · scientific and technical knowledge · agency and national goals · contracting process · administrative burden
Written by AI from this section's text. A guide, not legal advice: the text below rules.
The text
The primary purpose of contracted R&D programs is to advance scientific and technical knowledge and apply that knowledge to the extent necessary to achieve agency and national goals. Unlike contracts for supplies and services, most R&D contracts are directed toward objectives for which the work or methods cannot be precisely described in advance. It is difficult to judge the probabilities of success or required effort for technical approaches, some of which offer little or no early assurance of full success. The contracting process shall be used to encourage the best sources from the scientific and industrial community to become involved in the program and must provide an environment in which the work can be pursued with reasonable flexibility and minimum administrative burden.
← 35.001 Definitions. · 35.003 Policy. →
Rule changes for FAR Part 35
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation Overhaul Parts 16, 17, and 35 ↗ · proposed 2026-09-18 · comments due 2026-10-19
Source: eCFR, 48 CFR chapters 1 and 2 (GPO GovInfo bulk data) ↗. Plain words for the terms: glossary.