Nevada System Of Higher Education

Nevada System of Higher Education, operating as the Desert Research Institute (DRI), delivers environmental research, climate science, water resources analysis, and technical services to federal agencies as a non-profit research organization headquartered in Reno, Nevada. DRI competes predominantly on full-and-open contracts without set-aside designations, reflecting its status as a state academic research institute. The organization operates as a prime contractor on the vast majority of awards (94% of recent activity) and delivers nearly all work through self-performed labor rather than subcontractors.

DRI's capability portfolio centers on climate monitoring and drought analysis, water resources management, environmental characterization, geotechnical modeling, aerosol and air quality research, and specialized scientific analysis supporting federal environmental and natural resource missions. Representative contract work includes a $5.67 million definitive contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) for watershed-scale soil condition prediction supporting vehicle mobility in wet environments; a $6.1 million sole-source definitive contract with Army Test and Evaluation Command for three-dimensional modeling and environmental characterization at Yuma Proving Ground; a $5 million ERDC contract for emerging sensor and computational technologies for target detection in diverse environmental conditions; and a $14.67 million single-award IDIQ with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for Western Regional Climate Center services addressing drought monitoring, climate data analysis, and weather system operations across western regions, with an active delivery order valued at $5.67 million running through September 2031.

DRI's customer concentration is broad across federal science and environmental agencies. The top five funding agencies account for 37% of awards. NOAA leads by dollar volume with 101 awards totaling $83.3 million in combined potential value, anchored by the Western Regional Climate Center IDIQ. The National Park Service National Office follows with 39 awards and $40.9 million combined potential value, primarily for IMPROVE carbon analysis and environmental monitoring services. The Army Corps of Engineers ERDC places 18 awards valued at $39.9 million for soil, snow, and terrain modeling research. Army Test and Evaluation Command contributes 11 awards worth $25.6 million. NSF leads by award count with 104 grants across atmospheric sciences, geosciences, polar programs, and integrative activities. This concentration reflects DRI's specialization in civilian environmental and natural resource missions rather than defense or acquisition-focused work.

DRI holds a seat on the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (Basic Ordering Agreement GS09B01075) with 57 task orders worth $4.7 million in combined potential value, principally supporting NOAA and Department of the Interior customer orders. The organization also operates under multiple single-award and competitive IDIQs: the $14.67 million NOAA Western Regional Climate Center IDIQ (35 task orders, $15.9 million combined potential value), a $7.49 million National Park Service IDIQ for IMPROVE carbon analysis, and several Army research and development IDIQs. Activity has remained consistent, with 55 awards in 2023, 54 in 2024, declining to 42 in 2025 and 20 in 2026 as captured in the source data. Fifty-four awards carrying combined potential value of $49.1 million reach ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, presenting significant recompete exposure concentrated in NOAA drought and climate services, National Park Service carbon analysis, and ERDC terrain and soil research vehicles.

SCI-reported invoicing on federal service contracts above the $150,000 threshold totaled $41 million across FY2022–FY2025, with $8.9 million in FY2022, $7.5 million in FY2023, $13 million in FY2024, and $11.6 million in FY2025. Federal FTE delivery averaged 24.3 FTEs across SCI-reportable prime contracts in FY2025, up from 22.1 in FY2022. Government-paid hourly rates on these contracts ranged from a 10th percentile of $126.58 per hour to a median of $226.76 per hour, with senior science and technical labor pricing through $3,109 per hour. Across SCI-reportable prime contracts, subcontractor hours averaged zero percent of total contractor hours, indicating DRI builds and delivers nearly all federal work through direct employment and organizational capability rather than subcontractor engagement. The organization's sub-engagement footprint is minimal; DRI appears as a named subcontractor on one SCI record across the reporting period, primarily working as a sub on Colorado State University–led ERDC contracts for groundwater characterization and satellite-based evapotranspiration modeling.

DRI is a child entity of the State of Nevada, governed through the Nevada System of Higher Education. The organization maintains a dedicated research infrastructure in Reno and operates specialized laboratories for cosmogenic dating, aerosol analysis, and environmental characterization. Grant work is substantial and diverse: NSF awards span integrative activities ($3.26 million for mineral dust optical properties), geosciences ($503 thousand for ice patch paleoenvironments, $571 thousand for dust light-scattering analysis), and polar programs ($594 thousand for Arctic ice core lead isotope analysis). NOAA awards support fire weather forecasting, cloud-seismic interaction modeling, and heat-health communication research. Department of Energy, the Department of Interior Bureau of Reclamation, EPA, and the Department of Education round out the grant portfolio. Federal grant work demonstrates recipient status across multiple programs, with sub-recipient relationships to University of Washington, University of Oklahoma, and other academic partners. This grant footprint reflects DRI's role as a specialized research institute advancing climate adaptation, water security, and environmental resilience across the western U.S. and polar regions.