A professor of epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh tracks the fiscal fortunes of the National Institutes of Health. Any tightening of the NIH budget might starve out talented young researchers at Pittsburgh. Support from the agency amounts to about half of all government support. (MLW)

Research and other projects for which Congress has directed federal agencies to provide support in fiscal 1992 are listed for over 200 colleges and universities. In each case, the agencies did not request money for the projects and did not sponsor merit-based competitions to determine which institutions should get the awards. (MSE)

The Office of Management and Budget has adopted a policy limiting overhead expenses incurred in federally funded research to 26 percent and disallowing certain costs deemed inappropriate. Of 100 institutions receiving the most federal funds for research and development, 56 will lose money under the policy. Other reviews for reform also continue.…

As news reports continue to describe questionable charges for indirect costs in government-sponsored research, academic officials try to explain the rates, which vary greatly by institution and are based on complicated accounting formulas, to the press, alumni, trustees, and state legislators. Overhead rates, ranging from 37 percent to 77 percent,…

Under a new cost-management plan at the National Institutes of Health, overhead rates charged on research grants, as part of the total project cost, could be a determining factor on "marginal" proposals. Some feel universities will learn to be more economical; others feel the policy penalizes one group of universities. (MSE)

Recent federal audits of research project overhead charges at 13 universities uncovered over $13 million in inappropriate items. Proposals for reform include a federal upper limit on overhead rates and a fixed institutional overhead rate charged to any sponsor. Concern continues over repayment to the government of previous wrongful collections by…

For the 1999 fiscal year, Congress earmarked specific spending measures that included at least $797 million for projects involving colleges and universities, a 51% increase over 1998. Earmarks are seen by some as inequitable because they are not subject to competitive, merit-based reviews typically used by federal agencies to distribute money for…

Many scientists and policymakers are urging the federal government to set priorities for the scientific projects the government should support, but few can agree on how those priorities should be determined or on how much say researchers should have in the process. (MLW)

Congress has quietly approved millions of dollars for campus research projects not subjected to traditional merit reviews. The wisdom of allowing legislators to direct federal money to specific campuses is questioned less and less, and the practice is more prevalent than ever. (MSE)

Federal appropriations for fiscal 1991 for projects involving specific colleges and universities has set an all-time record for such spending. Actual totals are probably even higher. Spending is for research facilities and varied projects. The increases may reflect lawmakers' impatience for an administration policy on promoting technology. (MSE)

A study by the Council on Governmental Relations and the Association of American Universities examining overhead or indirect costs of research at 21 institutions of higher education has concluded that universities pay a significant amount of the cost of federally supported research but found it difficult to compare overhead rates at different…

Increasingly, institutions are seeking money directly from Congress for new research facilities and other science projects, stirring criticism of "pork-barrel science" and special advantages given to land-grant colleges. (MSE)

The National Security Council has barred the National Science Foundation from providing a grant to help finance American participation in East-West research because the federal government cannot control the research, causing the institute's supporters to seek money directly from Congress. (MSE)

Congress has earmarked $440 million for projects involving specific universities for fiscal 1997, a 49% increase from the previous year but far from the $763 million earmarked in fiscal 1993. The funds are not subject to the competitive review typically used for distributing federal money. Critics say absence of review makes the awards a poor…

As a result of investigations into overhead charges at Stanford University (California), lawmakers and federal agency officials are seeking ways to prevent universities from overcharging the government for indirect costs and ways to improve federal oversight of government payments. (DB)