Oregon State University

Oregon State University, a state-controlled 1862 Land Grant research institution headquartered in Corvallis, Oregon, receives federal research funding and federal contract task orders as a prime recipient and contractor across 272 distinct federal agencies, competing in full-and-open procurements without SBA set-asides. The university operates as an educational and research institution delivering fundamental and applied research, field-based scientific services, educational programming, and specialized laboratory analysis to civilian and defense customers. Its recent award portfolio (7,167 total prime and sub awards since 1979, with 1,548 awards in the past five years) demonstrates concentration in scientific research funding through the National Science Foundation, the Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and NASA's Shared Services Center, which together account for 36% of recent awards. OSU holds a named subsidiary, Southern Oregon University, also a state-controlled educational institution.

Oregon State's capability portfolio spans environmental science, marine ecosystem research, agricultural innovation, biotechnology, advanced materials, renewable energy systems, and specialized analytical services. Representative recent work includes a $6.958 million USDA Specialty Crop Research Initiative grant on mechanical harvesting technologies for fresh-market blueberries, a $7.5 million NSF Cooperative Agreement to lead the Frontiers of Advanced Semiconductor Technology (FAST) Engine across Oregon's Silicon Forest region connecting 98+ industry and education partners, a $550,000 NSF CAREER Project Grant on mechanism-driven machine learning for water and wastewater treatment, and a $1.2 million National Institute of General Medical Sciences award investigating novel regulatory mechanisms in secondary metabolite biosynthesis. Oregon State also performs substantial service contract work through the GSA Basic Ordering Agreement GS10B06330 (76 task orders, $124.3 million combined potential value) providing on-call research and technical services to multiple federal agencies, and holds delivery-order relationships with the Department of the Navy, NOAA, and the U.S. Geological Survey for geochronologic analysis, seawater system operations, and terrestrial ecosystem monitoring.

Customer concentration by dollars diverges from award volume concentration. While the National Science Foundation leads by award count (1,163 awards), the Department of the Navy anchors the largest combined potential value ($147.4 million across 260 awards), followed by NASA Shared Services Center ($88.7 million across 322 awards). This split reflects NSF's research-grant structure (many smaller awards) versus Navy's contract vehicle concentration. The top five funding agencies by award count account for 36% of recent prime awards but represent broader activity across environmental, agricultural, ocean science, space science, and defense-related basic research portfolios. The most significant parent vehicle by dollars is the GSA BOA GS10B06330, placing 76 task orders valued at $124.3 million for research support services across multiple customers.

Service Contract Inventory captures a narrow slice of Oregon State's federal activity. Across FY2024 and FY2025, SCI-reportable invoicing totaled $7 million with roughly 26.4 FTEs, reflecting primarily research support and laboratory operations contracts above the $150,000 reporting threshold. Median government-paid rates across prime SCI contracts run $120.71 per hour, with senior labor (90th percentile) reaching $1,373/hr and entry-level work (10th percentile) at $60.12/hr, consistent with a research university's mixed labor model spanning graduate students, technical specialists, and senior researchers. Across SCI-reportable prime contracts, subcontractors account for an average 18% of total contractor hours, with 11 named subcontractors reported, indicating Oregon State builds most service delivery capacity internally rather than through extensive subcontracting.

The university's activity trajectory shows growth through 2024 (428 awards), followed by a moderation in 2025 (320 awards) and minimal recent initiation in 2026-2027 within this data window, likely reflecting the source's lag. The recompete cliff is moderate: 357 awards (combined potential value $23.4 million) reach ultimate completion within the next 24 months, exposing the university to routine competition for renewal of research grants and task orders but not triggering material concentration risk. Oregon State operates as an educational institution and research performer rather than as a commercial contractor; its federal footprint reflects its land-grant mission to conduct science for public benefit and to deliver research-informed education to students across engineering, agriculture, environmental science, and marine disciplines.