National Science Board Seeks Faculty Input on Administrative Workload Associated with Federal Awards

In 2005 and 2012, the Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP) conducted faculty burden surveys that indicate that administrative burdens associated with federal research funding consume roughly 42 percent of an awardee’s available research time.

The National Science Board (NSB), which establishes the policies of the National Science Foundation and recommends and encourages the pursuit of national policies for the promotion of research and education in science and engineering, recently established a Task Force on Administrative Burdens charged with examining faculty administrative workload as it relates to federally sponsored research.

The NSB Task Force has released a Request for Information (RFI) seeking recommendations from principal investigators for reducing the administrative workload associated with their federal awards. Responses to the RFI will be accepted through May 24, 2013.

In addition, the Task Force will be conducting three Roundtable Discussions to elicit feedback directly from faculty and administrators. To attend any of the discussions, please send email to Administrative-Reform-Inquiries@nsf.gov.

• April 16, 2013, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, 4:00 PM, Location TBD
• April 30, 2013, Tufts University, Boston, MA, 11:30 AM, Winthrop Street Function Hall
• May 1, 2013, Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA, 1:30 PM, Georgia Tech Global Learning Center