MITRE is a not-for-profit organization that operates research and development centers sponsored by the federal government. We operate FFRDCs—federally funded research and development centers—which are unique organizations that assist the United States government with: Scientific research and analysis Development and acquisition Systems engineering and integration We also have an independent research program that explores new and expanded uses of technologies to solve our sponsors' problems. MITRE's Sole Focus Is to Operate FFRDCs Congress chartered MITRE to work in the public interest. We have no commercial interests. We have no owners or shareholders, and we can't compete for anything except the right to operate FFRDCs. This lack of commercial conflicts of interest forms the basis for our objectivity. We also have the ability to acquire sensitive and proprietary information from the government and industry to inform our work. These organizations are able and willing to share data because they know we won't use it for a competitive advantage. Moreover, because we operate multiple FFRDCs, we foster a culture of knowledge sharing. We apply what we learn from addressing one sponsor's challenges to similar issues faced by other federal agencies. This means when sponsors engage with us, they have access to all the minds of MITRE.