pected to increase, their cumulative burden on RIUs, as well as their interaction with state and 

 local government policies, need to be better understood. 



The Federal government has a broad responsibility to achieve coherence and simplicity in its 

 regulatory activities as they affect relationships with the RIUs. For example, simplification, coor- 

 dination, and standardization of administrative practices and requirements across Federal agen- 

 cies can offer improvements in clarity and process to both the RIUs and the Federal government. 



RECOMMENDATIONS 



• The Federal government should review the requirements it places on research-intensive 

 universities in grant and contract administration, requests for data, research cost ac- 

 counting, and other areas, and simplify these to the greatest degree consistent with its 

 fiduciary responsibilities. An interagency coordinating mechanism should be established 

 to facilitate this process, especially through pilot projects to develop and test simplified 

 procedures. 



• Individual Federal agencies should review existing internal and intergovernmental re- 

 quirements, as well as proposed regulations, to minimize administrative burdens. 



• The Federal government should hold universities fully accountable for compliance with 

 Federal regulations and with high standards of professional integrity in research. 



ISSUES FOR FURTHER ATTENTION 



In this report, the WGRIU has addressed a number of complex issues whose purpose is to 

 provide direction on salient aspects of the Federal government's relationship with the RIUs. In 

 the course of its deliberations, the WGRIU additionally identified a number of issues, beyond 

 those already mentioned in the recommendations, that should be the subject of further study. 

 These include: 



• Effects of Federal policies on international activities of RIUs; 



• Relationships among academic researchers and RIUs and other Federally-funded research 

 laboratories, including national laboratories and Federally funded research and develop- 

 ment centers (FFRDCs); 



• Effects on the overall health of the RIU research base resulting from increases in Federal 

 emphasis on directed research; 



• Balance and relationship between individual investigator research and other modes of 

 university research support; 



• Effects of Federal policies toward salary funding on researchers and RIUs; and 



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