The Federal Demonstration Partnership has published A Profile of Federal-Grant Administrative Burden Among Federal Demonstration Partnership Faculty. The report is based on the FDP 2005 Faculty Workload Survey. The survey was designed to assess the extent to which faculty have experienced undue administrative burden as a result of new federal regulations and changes in cost-accounting standards.
The report outlines the findings from the survey, discusses the potential implications, and enumerates steps that might be taken by research institutions and federal agencies.
Key findings include that of the time that faculty committed to federal research, 42 percent was devoted to pre- and post-award administrative activities, not to active research. The overall top burdens reported by faculty included grant progress-report submissions, personnel hiring, project-revenue management, equipment and supply purchases, IRB protocols and training, training personnel and students, and personnel evaluations.
The 45-page report is available at http://www.thefdp.org/Faculty_Committee.html#P11_2305.
