The 2013 federal Budget was delivered ironically the same day as the Parliamentary Budget Officer was in court seeking more information about the impact of the government's $5.2 billion in spending cuts announced last year. The lack of budgetary transparency and accountability has become a hallmark of the Conservative government. Anyone expecting…

The fiscal climate of restraint in the Canadian province of Ontario has led to increased calls for a more diversified higher education system. Significant diversity in the university sector in Ontario has not been achieved that underscores the importance of understanding government policy and its related influences on institutional diversity. This…

Higher education officials are protesting a federal Office of Management and Budget proposal to limit the rate at which universities can charge the government for overhead expenses on research and development. The change would affect 56 of the top 100 institutions receiving federal grants, whose rates go to 41 percent. (MSE)

Issues in determination of overhead for cost recovery from research funding sources are discussed, including the need to collect overhead, principles involved in charging for overhead, range of activity types to be considered, classification and calculation of costs, pricing policy, and payment to the university versus payment to its components.…

Stanford University (California) and the United States Navy have settled a dispute over 12 years of charges for research overhead, and the Navy has issued a rule requiring universities to negotiate multiyear overhead rates when appropriate data are available. Stanford agreed to pay back a total of $3.4-million. (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…

American research universities addressed issues of shared funding and overhead for research long ago. British universities are now establishing their own rules. The Commission of European Universities has worked on a model contract that represents progress, but major issues of partnership and patronage arising from differential institutional…

A discussion of the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) policies concerning computation of indirect costs on federally funded research projects at universities focuses on recent policy changes. Significant revisions are examined, future points of scrutiny are noted, and ongoing initiatives are described. Three options for indirect cost…

Questions and answers by the Association of American Universities address some issues in the complex matter of indirect costs for research projects, including the different kinds of costs, federal treatment of them, the federal indirect cost system, cost allocation, the memorandum of understanding, variation among institutions' costs, and cost…

In the largest settlement of its kind, New York University has agreed to pay the federal government $15.5 million to resolve charges that it submitted false information to obtain inflated reimbursements for costs associated with research grants. At least four universities are being investigated on similar grounds. The Clinton Administration issued…

At the University of Akron (Ohio), research productivity was enhanced through improved information exchange, implementation of a systematic approach to securing funds, grant-writing seminars, reallocation of indirect-cost returns, establishment of a fund to cover unplanned expenditures, and other support activities. Creation and maintenance of a…

Various theories are circulated concerning Stanford University's (California) controversy over use of federal research funds. Issues involved include billing the government for inappropriate charges, the rapid growth of problems, public relations failures, and poor administration. The president's role in addressing the crisis is a central concern.…