Research universities are critical contributors to our national research enterprise. They are the principal source of a world-class labor force and fundamental discoveries that enhance our lives and the lives of others around the world. These institutions help to create an educated citizenry capable of making informed and crucial choices as participants in a democratic society. However many are concerned that the unintended cumulative effect of federal regulations undercuts the productivity of the research enterprise and diminishes the return on the federal investment in research.

Optimizing the Nation's Investment in Academic Research reviews the regulatory framework as it currently exists, considers specific regulations that have placed undue and often unanticipated burdens on the research enterprise, and reassesses the process by which these regulations are created, reviewed, and retired. This review is critical to strengthen the partnership between the federal government and research institutions, to maximize the creation of new knowledge and products, to provide for the effective training and education of the next generation of scholars and workers, and to optimize the return on the federal investment in research for the benefit of the American people.

Contents

• The National Academies of SCIENCES • ENGINEERING • MEDICINE
• COMMITTEE ON FEDERAL RESEARCH REGULATIONS AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS: A NEW FRAMEWORK FOR RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES IN THE 21^ST CENTURY
• COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND LAW
• BOARD ON HIGHER EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Overarching Summary
  • OVERARCHING FINDINGS
  • RECOMMENDATIONS
• 1. Part 1
  • 1. Introduction
    • CONGRESSIONAL CONCERN
    • CHARGE TO THE COMMITTEE
    • ORGANIZATION OF PART 1 OF THIS REPORT
  • 2. Partners in Research and Oversight
    • CHARACTER AND OUTCOMES OF THE PARTNERSHIP
    • DIVERSITY OF EACH PARTNER
    • PATTERNS IN FEDERAL INVESTMENT IN RESEARCH
    • THE IMPORTANCE OF REGULATIONS TO FEDERALLY FUNDED RESEARCH
    • HOW THE GOVERNMENT FUNDS ACADEMIC RESEARCH
    • THE GROWTH AND COST OF REGULATION
  • 3. Federally Funded Research at Universities
    • THE PROCESS FOR ACQUIRING AND USING FEDERAL RESEARCH FUNDS
  • 4. Regulations and Policies Related to the Acquisition and Use of Federal Research Grants
    • PROPOSAL PREPARATION
    • RECOMMENDATIONS
    • PROGRESS REPORTS
    • RECOMMENDATION
    • SUBRECIPIENT MONITORING
    • RECOMMENDATIONS
  • 5. Regulations and Policies Related to the Conduct of Research
    • CONFLICT OF INTEREST
    • RECOMMENDATION
    • HUMAN SUBJECTS RESEARCH
    • RECOMMENDATIONS
    • ANIMAL RESEARCH
    • RECOMMENDATIONS
  • 6. Regulations and Policies Related to the Financial Management of Research Grants
    • THE AUDIT CLIMATE
    • RECOMMENDATION
    • REPORTING OF COMPENSATION FOR PERSONNEL EXPENSES
    • RECOMMENDATION
    • THE UNIFORM GUIDANCE
    • PROCUREMENT STANDARDS
    • RECOMMENDATION
    • FINANCIAL REPORTING
    • RECOMMENDATION
    • COST ACCOUNTING STANDARDS
  • 7. A New Regulatory Framework for the Nation's Investment in Academic Research
    • OVERARCHING FINDINGS
    • A NEW REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR THE NATION'S INVESTMENT IN ACADEMIC RESEARCH
    • RECOMMENDATIONS
• 2. Part 2
  • 8. Introduction
  • 9. Ethical, Legal, and Regulatory Framework for Human Subjects Research
    • Nature of Concern
    • Analysis
    • Findings
    • RECOMMENDATIONS
  • 10. Reporting of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer
    • Nature of Concern
    • Analysis
    • Findings
    • RECOMMENDATIONS
  • 11. Research with Select Agents and Toxins
    • Nature of Concern
    • Analysis
    • Findings
    • RECOMMENDATIONS
  • 12. Export Controls
    • Nature of Concern
    • Findings
    • RECOMMENDATIONS
  • 13. Operationalizing the New Regulatory Framework for the Federal Investment in Research Institutions
    • HOW THE PROPOSED RESEARCH POLICY BOARD MIGHT SERVE AN ANTICIPATORY FUNCTION
    • HOW THE PROPOSED FRAMEWORK MIGHT WORK IN THE ISSUANCE OF A NEW REGULATION
    • HOW THE PROPOSED RESEARCH POLICY BOARD MIGH ASSIST IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF METRICS, THE COLLECTION OF DATA, AND IN EVALUATING AND ASSESSING DATA
• Appendixes
  • Appendix A. Biographical Information of Committee and Staff
  • Appendix B. Recommendations Table
  • Appendix C. Committee Meeting Agendas
  • Appendix D. Federal Obligations for Science and Engineering to the 100 Universities and Colleges Receiving the Largest Amounts
  • Appendix E. Federal Research and Development Spending
  • Appendix F. A Brief Primer on the Paperwork Reduction Act
  • Appendix G. The Grants Process at the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health
  • Appendix H. HHS and USDA Select Agents and Toxins
  • Appendix I. Report Briefings

Suggested citation:

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Optimizing the Nation's Investment in Academic Research: A New Regulatory Framework for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21824.