AAU issues a statement welcoming the new NRC report, "Research Universities and the Future of America:  Ten Breakthrough Actions Vital to Our Nation's Prosperity and Security."

FEDERAL DEMONSTRATION PARTNERSHIP Redefining the Government University Research Partnership FDP ARRA Administrative Impact Survey Report Executive Summary Prepared by the Federal Demonstration Partnership ARRA Subcommittee of the Research Administration Committee For more information about the FDP, please visit our web

 The federal regulation of research has become excessively burdensome, argue staff members from AAU and COGR in an article in Issues in Science and Technology.  Increasing regulatory and reporting requirements should be replaced by new and more timely and flexible mechanisms for universities and associations to work with federal officials. 

The nation’s research university community is deeply concerned about the potential impact of HR 2146, the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2011, on our nation’s innovation capacity. This legislation would impose substantial new costs on universities’ research enterprises, significantly reducing productivity with little benefit to the nation.

 An AAU, APLU, and COGR report submitted to the National Research Council panel that is studying the future of the research university which lays out recommendations for reforming regulatory and compliance costs of university-based research. 

Chairman Lipinski, Ranking Member Ehlers, and other distinguished Members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today on the state of research infrastructure at our nation’s research universities.

The cap is unjustified for several reasons. Both direct and indirect costs are real costs of performing research that are distinguished only by the ability of an organization's accounting system to attribute each cost to a specific research project. An indirect cost is one that cannot be attributed to a specific project
because it supports the research enterprise as a whole or is a general cost of doing business. Absent evidence of systemic overcharging of the Government by research institutions (e.g., from their federally required financial audits), there is no rational basis to question the legitimacy of the indirect costs charged to DoD basic research.

Dear Senator Coburn: The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the nation’s leader in conducting and sponsoring biomedical research. More than 80 percent of NIH’s budget, which totaled over $28 billion in fiscal year 2006, is used to support extramural research, which is primarily conducted at over 500 universities1 nationwide. NIH reimburses universities for direct costs that can be specifically attributed to research sponsored by NIH grants, including costs for labor and materials used solely to carry out the research. It also reimburses universities for indirect costs, which include various facility and administrative expenses incurred by the universities for the shared support of such research.

Since 1972, numerous reports by the National Research Council have recommended ways to restructure agricultural research for the modern era (See Chapter 9 and Appendix 4), yet these reports have had little impact. The traditions of funding agricultural research are well established. Innovations, such as the National Research Initiative, have not been funded with sufficient resources to do the necessary job. In addition, NRI grants have been hampered by limitations on the size and length of grants and by artificially low overhead allowances. (p. 42-43)

For convenience, expenses of federally funded research are tracked and paid in two separate categories:Goods and services that are specific to individual projects, such as faculty salaries, RA stipends, and equipment. Known as direct or project costs. –Goods and services that support multiple projects, such as utilities, depreciation of buildings and equipment, and hazardous waste management, among others. Known as indirect costs or administrative and facilities-related costs.

 Ladies and Gentlemen: The following report provides the results of our expanded analysis of the cost of research among selected industry, university, and federal laboratory participants.