The Government Accountability Office has called on the Office of Management and Budget, the Energy Department, NASA, the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation to explore strategies to standardize budget or procurement requirements.

GAO said Friday it interviewed officials from universities and stakeholder organizations and they pinpointed factors that contribute to the increase in their administrative workload and costs for requirements compliance.

The government watchdog said that opportunities remain in various areas such as variations in agency implementation of requirements, assessment of pre-award requirements to identify those that can be canceled and oversight of high-risk areas where funds could be subject to improper use.

“Further efforts to standardize requirements, postpone pre-award requirements and allow more flexibility for universities could help ensure agencies do not miss opportunities to reduce administrative workload and costs,” GAO added.

“They said that these factors add to universities’ workload and costs in various ways, such as by causing universities to invest in new electronic systems or in the hiring or training of staff,” GAO said.

The Office of Personnel Management and Department of Health and Human Services have directed federal agencies to prioritize the physical health and well-being of employees against Washington’s severe heat and humidity in the summer.

Beth Cobert, OPM acting director, said in a notice posted Friday federal agencies are encouraged to advise employees to remain hydrated and provide access to drinking water for all federal workers.

The notice added telework-ready employees may use OPM’s workplace flexibility policies to ask for supervisory approval to work from home when air quality conditions are poor.

“If permitted by agency policy, an employee working a flexible work schedule may choose to adjust arrival and departure times to avoid commuting during the hottest periods of the day,” Cobert said.

“Employees may also request annual leave, earned compensatory time off, or credit hours on a day when severe heat and humidity are threatening to the employee’s health and welfare.”

The notice also included links on federal government websites that provide information on how to deal with heat-related risks.

The Energy Department has chosen an Argonne National Laboratory-led consortium to explore new technologies that can help reduce fuel consumption and carbon emission from medium- to heavy-duty trucks.

DoE said Friday that Argonne will lead a team comprised of Cummins, Freightliner Custom Chassis, Ohio State University, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Purdue University and the University of Michigan to support the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center’s Truck Research Utilizing Collaborative Knowledge program.

“Freight hauling by trucks is a significant source of energy consumption and pollution around the world, and the fuel savings promised by the technology advances under this CERC-TRUCK program will help to combat climate change while advancing low-carbon economies,” noted Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.

DOE plans to invest $12.5 million in the program while the consortium’s non-federal partners seek to match or exceed the department’s allocated funds to generate at least $25 million for the effort.

The Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology and its consortium partners pledged to spend as much as $25 million over 5 years to help finance the program, the department noted.

The Argonne National Laboratory-led team will conduct research into internal combustion engines, energy management systems, hybrid electric powertrains, lightweighting and aerodynamics of medium- and heavy-duty trucks.

President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping announced CERC-TRUCK in September 2015 to build on the center’s efforts to develop energy conservation technologies for vehicles, buildings, coal and water-related technology.