Saving Science and Saving Money

Perhaps no federal tax dollars are better spent than the dollars that go to federally funded scientific research. Now that the nation is in a mood to cut all federal spending, it is time for basic research scientists to expose the administrative sleight-of-hand that has bloated the science bill for years. By offering the appropriate corrections to present policy, scientists and educators could show a reluctant Administration that critical, high-quality basic research can continue in America at a lower cost.

The central problem is the so-called “overhead charge” made by grant-seeking institutions. For example, if a scientist applies for and receives a grant of $100,000 for direct costs—to pay for salary, research equipment and supplies, office costs, and all the rest—the institution, not the scientist, will receive an additional $30,000 to $100,000, depending on prior arrangements it has made with the government. On the average, this inflates the cost of research by over 50 per cent, and wrongly represents the scientific enterprise as costing more than it actually does.

MG

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Michael Gazzaniga

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Perhaps no federal tax dollars are better spent than the dollars that go to federally funded scientific research. Now that the nation is in a mood to cut all federal spending, it is time for basic research scientists to expose the administrative sleight-of-hand that has bloated the science bill for years. By offering the appropriate corrections to present policy, scientists and educators could show a reluctant Administration that critical, high-quality basic research can continue in America at a lower cost.

The central problem is the so-called “overhead charge” made by grant-seeking institutions. For example, if a scientist applies for and receives a grant of $100,000 for direct costs—to pay for salary, research equipment and supplies, office costs, and all the rest—the institution, not the scientist, will receive an additional $30,000 to $100,000, depending on prior arrangements it has made with the government. On the average, this inflates the cost of research by over 50 per cent, and wrongly represents the scientific enterprise as costing more than it actually does.