Research and Equipment Development Grade Evaluation

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Research Grade Evaluation (RGE) Guide and OPM Equipment Development Grade Evaluation (EDGE) Guide are among several functional guides for determining the grade of broad categories of Federal positions classified under the General Schedule (GS) Classification System.  

The OPM RGE and EDGE guides distinguish Research and Development positions through these concepts: 

• Research: systematic, critical, intensive investigation directed toward discovering, disseminating, and applying new or expanded knowledge in a professional discipline. Research includes, but is not limited to, empirical and theoretical investigations with one or more of the following objectives: (1) to determine the nature, magnitude, and interrelationships of physical, biological, psychological, social, and other comparable phenomena and processes; (2) to create or develop empirical, theoretical, or experimental means of investigating such phenomena and processes; or (3) to develop principles, criteria, methods, and data of general applicability. 

• Development: the systematic application of scientific knowledge to create new or substantially improved equipment, systems, materials, processes, techniques, and procedures that will perform a useful function or be suitable for a particular duty. Development includes experimental and investigative activities to develop new and improved equipment and advanced technology and models. These positions involve a range of development processes consisting of theoretical analysis, experimentation, and evaluation. 

   

For USGS Scientists and Other Employees: Additional RGE-EDGE guidance and resource information for internal use only is available on the USGS RGE-EDGE intranet site, findable using the “A to Z” index.