F&A Comments

The main problem is that faculty off-campus get almost all of their support from the local administration and facilities. However, very little or none of the requested F & A funds come back to the off-campus sites. The strong opinions against F & A will not change until distribution policies change.

Your frustrations are understandable. As the F&A video indicated, the indirect dollars we collect cover the costs already incurred in the pursuit of research, instruction and public service activities. Any distribution of recovered indirect dollars back to the colleges is a deliberate decision on the part of the University to reinvest in those programs. At this time, each college has discretion on how those dollars are allocated.
   Dr. Jack McIver

Well done! Very clear presentation of a complex issue.
Pam Miller - Director Sponsored Projects Office, Berkeley

Kelly, nicely done! This is a thoughtful presentation on a very difficult topic.
Diane Meyer - College of Engineering Pre Award Services, Iowa State

This is an outstanding video.  I am the Vice Chancellor for Research and UC Merced.  I am going to put something like this together for my faculty.  Thanks for your leadership!
Sam Traina - Vice Chancellor for Research, UC Merced

A very informative video - well articulated and edited for maximum effectiveness.
Savona Holmes - Office of Grants and Contracts, Lewis Clark State College


OSP Sincerely appreciates all the kind words and encouragement from our colleagues.  We strive to be a leader in the field and it's great to know that other colleges and universities are looking to similar methods of information sharing to help faculty and staff in proposal submission and award management.  Thank you for taking the time to provide us with positive feedback!
- OSP staff

I feel like a chump having paid the full 45% these past years. If an agency doesn't allow us to charge the full 45.3%, then why would we ask the taxpayers of the state of Idaho to charitably support that research? This is crazy! By not taking on those grants we would bring in less total money, but lower the actual work burden on OSP and other support agencies. Then you can use the money that you save by firing those admin people no longer needed to reduce tuition and hire more faculty.

It is frustrating that some agencies do not allow F&A to be charged, or require that the rate be reduced. However, many of the agencies that require reduced rates are the same agencies that support the University of Idaho’s Land Grant Mission (USDA, US Dept. of Education, and the State of Idaho among others). It may never come to pass that all sponsored projects have full F&A, but if those that have reduced rates are tempered with those that have full F&A, and if we reduce the instances where voluntary reductions of F&A are requested, we as a University move closer to increasing our effective rate and recovering more of these costs that we have incurred.
     Dr. Jack McIver
 

We’re so glad you think so! OSP is gearing up to produce several videos on different aspects of sponsored projects. If there is a particular topic related to sponsored activity that you would like to see made into one of these educational videos, please let us know. Polly Knutson - OSP Director
 

Thank you! We are getting a count together of how many people have viewed the video and will update the website with that information when it is available. Polly Knutson - OSP Director

Thank you for bringing that to our attention. That was an inadvertent typo and has been corrected. We will update the video accordingly as soon as it is rendered and available. Again, thank you for pointing out that mistake. Polly Knutson - OSP Director
  

Thanks so much! OSP staff have worked hard to make a complex concept understandable and we really appreciate your enthusiasm for our efforts. Polly Knutson - OSP Director
   

The video is housed on the main page of the OSP website. Clicking the graphic in the center of the page should automatically start the video. If you are unable to view the video this way, please let OSP know. Polly Knutson - OSP Director