Federal agencies have proposed sharp limits on how much universities can recover in indirect costs for federally funded research — a move that could cost Duke more than $200 million annually and has sparked widespread concern across higher education.
In response, academic institutions have proposed an overhaul of the federal funding model. The new system, unveiled this month, would restructure how the government reimburses research support expenses and could help avert what Duke officials call “devastating” financial losses.
Currently, research institutions negotiate individual indirect cost reimbursement rates, also known as facilities and administrative costs (F&A), with the federal government. Duke’s rate with the National Institutes of Health is set to 61.5%, which means that for every dollar of NIH grant funding awarded to a Duke researcher, the University receives an additional 61.5 cents to cover indirect costs — research expenses that cannot be directly connected to a single project, such as payroll services and facility maintenance…