June 10: The Joint Associations Group (JAG) will release the recommendations of the JAG Subject Matter Experts Group during an upcoming informational webinar and town hall.
- Register here: The June 12 webinar from 3:00-4:30pm ET will present the recommendations from the subject matter expert team and highlight mechanisms for additional stakeholder input and questions.
- Register here: A town hall on June 17 from 1:00-3:00pm ET will recap the recommendations, address questions received during the previous webinar, and provide an extended Q&A opportunity.
May 8 and May 12, 2025: Town Hall Recordings on the Joint Associations Group Process. (May 8 Recording) (May 12 Recording)
April 8, 2025: National Organizations Announce Joint Effort to Develop a New Indirect Costs Funding Model. National organizations representing America’s academic, medical, and independent research institutions, along with other relevant experts, have come together as the Joint Associations Group (JAG) to spur the development of a more efficient and transparent model for funding indirect costs on federal research grants.
April 8, 2025: The Trump administration filed a notice of appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to challenge the April 4 permanent injunction.
April 4, 2025: Judge Angel Kelley issued a permanent injunction in the set of cases in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts seeking to halt the Trump administration's planned cuts to federal reimbursements of facilities and administrative (F&A) costs.
March 26, 2025: The following information appears on the NIH website: "NIH institutes and centers are issuing awards for competing, non-competing continuation, and administrative supplements using previously approved negotiated indirect cost rates, except for awards under which F&A costs are reimbursed at a fixed rate. See NIH Grants Policy Statement 7.4 Reimbursement of Facilities and Administrative Costs."
March 5, 2025: AAMC Statement on Preliminary Injunction Against Cuts to NIH-Funded Research.
February 11, 2025: AAMC Lawsuit Results in Nationwide Temporary Restraining Order on Proposed Drastic Cuts to NIH Funding.
Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs are an essential part of the total costs of research and are necessary for safely, securely, efficiently, and effectively conducting world-leading research. Unlike the direct costs of research, such as project-specific research salaries and supplies, F&A costs are not easily assignable at the project level.
F&A expenses include costs of utilizing state-of-the-art research laboratories, facilitating high-speed data processing, compliance with national security protections (e.g., export controls, cybersecurity, research data security), patient safety protocols (e.g., human subjects protections); radiation safety and hazardous waste disposal; personnel required to support essential administrative and regulatory compliance work, maintenance staff, and other activities necessary for supporting research.
The federal government reimburses an institution at an agreed upon proportion of the F&A costs the institution incurred to conduct research based upon the F&A cost reimbursement rates it negotiates with the institution.
The following resources are intended to further understanding of the complex issue of F&A reimbursements, including the potential effects of current policy proposals, for faculty members and others in the academic community.
AAMC Materials:
- F&A Infographic
- F&A Costs of Research One-Pager
- Costs of Research FAQ
- Comparing Foundations to Federal Government Research Support
- Breaking Down the Costs of Federal Research at Universities