All Eyes on Indirect Costs

On June 17, Republican leaders of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting that the non-partisan “Congressional watchdog” conduct a comprehensive review of the indirect costs associated with federal research funding. The request comes amid increased attention by lawmakers on indirect costs following the Trump Administration’s effort to set a flat 15 percent rate for facilities and administrative (F&A) costs for grants awarded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Energy (DOE), NASA, and Department of Defense (see previous coverage). These efforts are currently stalled as a result of lawsuits brought by research and higher education groups.

Leaders across the research and higher education community responded to Trump Administration actions by forming a group to explore potential new F&A models that could serve as an alternative to the Administration’s across-the-board cut. The Joint Associations Group (JAG) on Indirect Costs has engaged researchers across the scientific and higher education communities over the last few months to inform their recommendations, which were released during a set of webinars earlier this month. A recording of the two recent webinars are is available here.

The Science Committee letter did not provide a timeframe for the GAO report, although reports can take three months or longer to complete once requested by Congress.

COSSA will continue to follow this issue.