On June 28th, the NIH issued a Request for Information, Notice: NOT-OD-11-091, requesting input on ways to reduce cost and burdens associated with OMB Circular A-21.
The official purpose of the request, as stated in the notice is to offer the opportunity for educational institutions to provide input on ways that “could reduce administrative burden or costs associated with compliance requirements for Federal research grants and contracts awarded to educational institutions. Any potential revisions must be consistent with responsible compliance and accountability.”
Several federal agencies have formed a task force, the A-21 Task Force to review issues “surrounding Circular A-21 with respect to its application to the conduct of Federally-sponsored research at educational institutions, including the consistency of application by Federal agencies, costs, and administrative burdens. The Task Force will recommend specific revisions and clarifications to Circular A-21 to the NSTC for review and transmission to OMB.
Some preliminary suggestions that could reduce the burden to academic institutions include:
- Effort reporting,
- Recovery of direct costs associated with administrative and project management support for investigators,
- Institutional eligibility for the Utility Cost Adjustment,
- Consistency among agencies that establish government-wide Facilities and Administration (F&A) rates,
- Programs with F&A reimbursement at other than government-wide rates,
- Rationalization between agencies of regulations and reporting requirements (e.g. deemed exports, Institutional Review Boards, visas…),
- Audits of research institutions and awards, and
- Definitions of general and research equipment.
To guarantee that a wide-spread evaluation has been done, the Task Force is seeking input from educational institutions. Emory will be responding to the RFI, suggesting ways that the recognizably significant burden can be lessened. The deadline to respond is July 28, 2011. The Task Force will provide a summary of all the received responses by September, 2011.
Questions or inquiries about the response can be forwarded to Kerry Peluso: kpeluso@emory.edu.
The full text of this announcement can be found at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-11-091.html