A message to the community regarding the recent change
(Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)
Dear colleagues,
You may already be aware that the NIH announced a significant change in funding policy last night, the details of which can be found here.
NIH is reducing its indirect (IDC) recovery rate to 15% on current and future grants effective Monday, which represents a substantial decrease from our current negotiated rate (UConn: 62%; UCH: 66.5%). If implemented as announced, this change will impair our ability to produce innovative research that benefits all parts of society and place a significant financial strain on the university.
We are not alone in this impact, as this funding change will similarly affect most research-active institutions of higher education across the country. There are still many unknowns - e.g., whether there will be any actions to pause implementation, and whether other federal agencies will follow suit. We, along with our colleagues across the country, are quickly assessing the full impact of this change and anticipate this change likely will be legally challenged.
Here is a report from the AAAS which provides additional history and background on this issue.
We appreciate how challenging the uncertainty of these times are for everyone. The university and OVPR will continue to closely review the ongoing federal developments and work to quickly provide as much information as possible to the research community via a number of communication channels, including the Federal Research Funding FAQ page, direct correspondence with impacted principal investigators, and with research administrators through SPS admin listservs.
