# Presentation: 301168

## Research Business Models Subcommittee

**Themes of Public Comments**

- Geoff Grant
- December 9, 2003

## Emerging Themes and Principles

**Important topics that are central to the specific public comments **
**Overarching principles provide a rationale to address topics today and in the future**
**Policies flow from principles**
**Work in process to be vetted out by the Research Business Models Subcommittee**
**These are themes, not a complete summary of public comments**

## Science                

**Principle: *****“Maximize the public investment in science by maximizing the intellectual capital of our scientists”***
**Investigator initiated research is fundamental to the development of new knowledge**
**Science increasingly occurs at the intersections of traditional disciplines by,**
**Multidisciplinary teams, large and small, within and across institutions, including Federal Labs and other partners**
**Facilitate opportunities and remove barriers to collaboration**
**Provide stable and predictable support for research facilities and instrumentation independent of individual projects**
**Provide flexibility for specialized scientific service centers to replace instrumentation and technology**
**Provide consistent support for graduate and postdoctoral students on salary, stipends, tuition, benefits, etc.**
**Facilitate acknowledgement and recognition of multiple co-investigators **
**Focus investigator effort on science and minimize unnecessary administration**

## Partnership

**Principle: *****“Collaborate on Business Systems While Supporting Outstanding Research Projects”***
**Each party has a stake in the performance, success, and financial viability of the other**
**The business relationship with many institutions is predictable and should be managed at an organizational  level, not a transactional level**
**Other, smaller organizations have less capacity to deal with requirements and require more outreach and support**
- Reaffirm and codify the principles of the partnership
- Align or “harmonize” principles, regulation, agency policy, and audit practice
- Seek agreement among agencies, the audit community, and the research community on acceptable principles and business standards
- Promote agency and institutional good practices, norms, standard interpretations, and models for implementation
- Coordinate policy development with partners to avoid unintended adverse consequences

## Accountability

**Principle:** ***“Make it Easy to Do the Right Thing”***
- Facilitate stewardship and accountability by emphasizing principles and streamlining procedures
- Emphasize accountability thru scientific outcomes, with tolerance for risk and negative findings, evaluated through publications and progress reports
- Streamline compliance procedures to facilitate follow through
- Examine the viability of “business-business” models for working together
- Consider “accrediting” institutional oversight systems
- Maintain Single Audit Act A-133
- Reduce or eliminate multiple and overlapping agency audit requirements
- Emphasize good practices, not negative testing of financial and administrative transactions
- Eliminate or streamline subrecipient monitoring
- Eliminate CAS requirements or only incorporate the principles

## Costs and Infrastructure 

**Principle:** ***“Let Science Drive Administration, Not Administration Drive Science”***
- Promoting fair and equitable cost reimbursement is essential to the conduct of research
- A compliance infrastructure is as essential to the conduct of research as the quality of facilities, instrumentation, and other resources
- Research administration fosters quality science and collaboration among investigators, institutions, and agencies
- A sound business model cannot tolerate a hybrid of conflicting goals or inconsistent practices among partners
- Equitable, effective, and appropriate costing and regulatory systems that reflect the diversity of research providers
- Curtail shifting legitimate research costs or the costs of research administration to recipients
- Caps on administration, salary, tuition, etc. undermine the institutions ability to carry out research
- Reimburse the reasonable costs of compliance to enhance the effectiveness of the research enterprise
- Standardize award notices, terms, letter of credit, and reporting procedures
- Establish one eGov. solution for proposal and reporting interfaces

## Summary

***Science-***
**Principle: *****“Maximize the Public Investment in Science by Maximizing the Intellectual Capital of Our Scientists”***
***Partnership-***
**Principle: *****“Collaborate on Business Systems While Supporting Outstanding Research Projects”***
***Accountability-***
**Principle:*** ****“Make it Easy to Do the Right Thing”***
***Costs and Infrastructure-***
**Principle:** ***“Let Science Drive Administration, Not Administration Drive Science”***

## Conclusion

- Next Steps will be outlined Wednesday
- Questions?  Comments?
- Thank you