The Joint Associations Group on Indirect Costs, a coalition of 10 universities, medical centers and other research institutions, sent its reimbursement model recommendations to Congress and the executive branch.
“Although no model for recovering indirect costs is perfect, I believe we have arrived at the best solution for helping maintain American global leadership in research and innovation, keeping our research enterprise strong across all types and sizes of institutions, and providing greater accountability to the American taxpayer,” former White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Kelvin Droegemeier, PhD, who helped lead the coalition and development of the model, said in a July 11 American College of Education news release.
Here is what to know:
1. The final Financial Accountability in Research model accommodates the differing operational and research support needed by institutions to conduct research on behalf of the federal government, according to the release. The model employs a total-project-costs calculation to determine indirect costs; provides greater accountability and transparency about the true costs of sponsored research by accounting for the differences in scope or discipline between projects; and eliminates the intensive negotiating process between university-wide indirect cost rates and federal oversight which will provide greater efficiency, the release said.
2. The final model is designed to replace the current facilities and administrative cost structure the federal government uses. Now that the model is finalized, the coalition will host a town hall webinar July 15 to present it to the research community.
3. Medical schools, teaching hospitals and research institutions have warned that the National Institutes of Health’s plan to impose a 15% cap on reimbursements for indirect research costs would significantly limit research nationwide, reducing access to clinical trials and stall medical breakthroughs. A federal judge has issued a permanent injunction to block the cap, which the Trump administration plans to appeal.
4. The members of the JAG coalition are the Association of American Universities, the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the American Council on Education, the Association of Independent Research Institutes, the Council on Governmental Relations, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the Science Philanthropy Alliance, and the National Association of College and University Business Officers.
