This answer is not correct. MITRE is not a staffing agency, but a special purpose entity called a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC). The other answer in this thread is better -- a key thing MITRE gets pushback from other entities about is whether or not it is ideally suited to fill some government need, or whether it's just an anticompetitive way of awarding a contract to one body instead of letting it out as the government would normally do.Those pressures tend to focus and specialize MITRE on issues which require objectivity and high levels of expertise in systems engineering sub-areas. They are most definitely not a staffing agency, although the government can (and sometimes does) misuse them to this effect.
Junk_Collector|6 years ago
Further more, Mitre has several positions posted right now that have nothing to do with FFRDCs and are in fact, just providing personnel for government projects. Splitting hairs on the terminology is a great game to play on the internet, but what would the average person call a company that produces no products and provides administrative, research, and engineering personnel on a basis of awarded contracts? The fact that Mitre employees seem to continually conflate their work as engineering contractors and their roles as FFDR administrators is a large part of my "mixed" experience in working with them.
And frankly; by your definition Honeywell would be an FFRDC which I don't think anyone would argue.
fl0wenol|6 years ago
They have to jump through a lot of hoops to get to that point. It needs to be part of some research program or development project that they've convinced the sponsoring agency fits within the FFRDC charter and convinced MITRE and the COR they need to assist with, and awarded the tasking (beating everyone else trying to use that vehicle). MITRE and the COR get to decide which programs/projects, and they propose the staffing they think will help.
It's very inconvenient, let's just say.