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THE FEDERAL DEMONSTRATION PARTNERSHIP

PHASE V UPDATE

What is the FDP?

• The FDP is a cooperative effort among federal research agencies, universities and other research organizations aimed at streamlining and improving the federal/university research support relationship and reducing administrative burden.

• The National Academy of Science’s Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable (GUIRR) serves as the neutral convener and secretariat of the FDP.

• The FDP began in 1988 as the Florida Demonstration Project and is now entering Phase V which will extend through 2014.

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FDP MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of the FDP is to examine, improve and streamline the administrative processes involved in

the competitive appointment, allocation and management of federal funds which support research

activities at institutions of higher education throughout the country. This supports the primary goal of streamlining with accountability to decrease

researcher time focused on administrative requirements and so maximize the time available for

research.

Institutional Members

• 120 Research Organizations– Large, Medium & Small Research Universities– Emerging Research Institutions (ERI)– Hospitals– Independent Research Organizations

Federal Agencies

• 10 Federal Agencies– National Institutes of Health– National Science Foundation– Office of Naval Research– US Department of Agriculture– National Aeronautics and Space Administration– Army Research Office– Air Force Office of Scientific Research– Army Medical Research and Material Command – Environmental Protection Agency– US Department of Homeland Security

Affiliate Organizations

• 5 Affiliate Organizations– National Council of University Research

Administrators (NCURA)– Society of Research Administrators (SRA)– Council on Governmental Relations (COGR)– Association of Independent Research

Institutes (AIRI)– American Association of State Colleges and

Universities (AASCU)

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MEETINGS

• Three meetings per year

• Format of the meetings is informal utilizing– Broad plenary sessions– Break out sessions for working groups,

committee and task force meetings

– Networking opportunities

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PARTICIPATION• Being a member of the FDP is about participation.

• All members are encouraged to join and be active participants in standing committees and task forces.

• Participation from the floor during general sessions is always encouraged and ample time is provided for questions and comments.

• The membership, by design, is diverse so as to represent all parties affected by new research funding and administrative requirements.

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FACULTY AT FDP

• Faculty representation at FDP was introduced in Phase III and this group is still evolving although its influence and participation has grown significantly over the last two phases.

• The faculty representatives elect a Co-Chair of their standing committee who also sits on the Executive Committee along with the Chair.

• The Faculty Chair serves as the Vice-Chair of the Executive Committee.

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FDP STANDING COMMITTEES

• Functional Standing Committees– Faculty

• Update of Faculty Burden Survey• Changes in Peer Review Processes• Export Controls/Select Agents/Biosafety• Growing Burden Associated with Compliance Activities

– Electronic Research Administration (ERA)• Joint Application Design (JAD) Team providing information to

Grants.gov• Addressing Portions of the Faculty Burden Survey

– Research Administration Committee• ARRA Subcommittee• Contracts (Troublesome Clauses Study completed)• Subawards Task Force (International Template, Subrecipient

Monitoring A-133)• Federal-wide PI Profile

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FDP STANDING COMMITTEES

• Executive Committee• Operational Standing Committees

– Membership• Mentoring Initiative• Early registration at meetings

– Finance• FDP Foundation• Investment strategies

– Communications• Updated brochure• Report template• Updated website

FDP STANDING COMMITTEES

• Functional Standing Committees– Finance, Audit and Costing Committee

• Project Certification Pilot Project

• Direct-charging of Administrative Costs

– Research Compliance Committee• Human Subjects Subcommittee• Animal Care and Use Subcommittee

• Conflict of Interest

• Export Controls

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Success Stories

• Expanded Authorities

• Faculty Burden Survey FDP

• Subaward Agreement

• Standard Government-wide Terms and Conditions

• Emerging Research Institutions GUIRR Partnership Workshop

• FDP as key sounding board for Research Business Models Subcommittee of the Committee on Science, grants.gov, research.gov, etc.

Current Projects

• STAR Metrics Pilot– FDP is working with OSTP and NSF to create a reliable and

consistent inter-agency mechanism to account for the number of scientists and support staff that are on research institution payrolls supported by federal funds.

– Build on this information in future to allow for measurement of science impact on economic outcomes, scientific outcomes, and social outcomes.

– Builds on and expands existing research tools with minimal burden for government agencies and grantees.

– http://sites.nationalacademies.org/PGA/fdp/PGA_055531• A-133 Subrecipient Monitoring

– Created online database to gather A-133 audit information.– Designed to be a tool for streamlining the required notification

and review process. – 2nd purpose is to create the statistical evidence need to alter

various reporting aspects involved in subrecipient monitoring.

Current Projects

• Troublesome Clauses Database– Created to gather evidence of inconsistent applications

of terms & conditions in research grants & contract– Data was used by COGR & AAU to publish white paper

– DoD used data to align practices across agencies

– Version 2 is now being programmed

• ARRA Reporting Best Practices– With COGR, created FAQs about ARRA Reporting

– Published web site with ARRA Related information

– Created ARRA Listserv to share info and ask Questions

Current Projects

• Effort Reporting Pilot– FDP has identified a new process for collecting and reporting

time & effort– ONR (cognizant agency) is reviewing application of one

university for approval. A second university will be reviewed by ONR later this summer

– DHHS is also participating

• Grants.gov JAD Team– FDP ERA committee working with Grants.gov to deliver the

applicant perspective and priorities for fixes and new development

– collaborating with agencies to provide end-to-end test environment for troubleshooting, testing and training

– Meet with Grants.gov in conjunction with regular FDP meetings

Current Projects

• 2nd Faculty Burden Survey– The Faculty Committee is starting the process of

administering the next survey– Gather data to see what has happened since the last

survey (2005)• Administrative Burden Reduction

– FDP has groups looking at potential remedies to alleviate the stress of the increasing administrative mandates. Ideas include:

– Direct charging of some administrative time– Compliance supplement to 26% administrative cap– Increase/repeal 26% administrative cap

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QUESTIONS