Because so many of our Nation's undergraduates are enrolled in RIUs, the stakes are high. A productive long- 

 lasting relationship between the Federal government and large universities must necessarily be built on the con- 

 tinuous improvement of the transmission of knowledge and the nurturing of the intellectual vitality of the Nation. 



DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 

 (HHS), NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH (NIH) 

 PERSPECTIVE 



General Description of Current Relationship: 



The relationship between the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the research-intensive universities has 

 been vital to accomplishing NIH's mission to improve the health of U.S. citizens. The relationship has evolved into a 

 partnership over the last half-century. NIH uses many mechanisms such as grants-in-aid, contracts, and cooperative 

 agreements to support research, to procure directed research, to conduct cooperative research, and to support educa- 

 tion and training. The bulk of the research dollar is expanded as grants-in-aid which are awarded through a two tiered 

 peer review process which judges the scientific and technical merit of investigator initiated applications. 



The ties between the NIH and research-intensive institutions through grants-in-aid are long standing, reflecting 

 the healthy interdependence that characterizes the conduct of science in the United States. In terms of physical in- 

 frastructure and intellectual base, they represent a national resource that is critical to the conduct of research. The 

 NIH is committed to maintaining a strong partnership with these institutions and, in so doing, to nurturing the pool of 

 scientific talent that makes possible exciting and promising breakthroughs in research. It is recognized that physical 

 infrastructure such as facilities, equipment, shared instrumentation and research resources are necessary for the nur- 

 turance of scientific talent. 



NIH transfers substantial funds to public and private institutions, requiring proper stewardship and account- 

 ability. For example, in FY 1990, the NIH made awards of $6.3 billion. Of this amount. United States institutions of 

 higher education received a total of $4.6 billion (73.4 percent) in grants and contracts. The grants are for fundamental 

 research to increase the knowledge base of health related processes, while the R&D contracts are, in general, for ap- 

 phed research and development. 



A profound change in the relationship has occurred over the last ten years. University faculty have become in- 

 creasingly dependent on funding for their research from sources in the private sector, such as industry and other or- 

 ganizations. The Federal share of total health R&D support declined from 50 percent in 1985 to 42 percent in 1991. 

 During the same period, industrial support grew from 40 to 47 percent of the total. Simultaneously, NIH funding of 

 research has become increasingly competitive. These trends have and will continue to have an impact on research ad- 

 vances in the public domain. 



As the rate of growth in Federal funding for health research may decrease, the universities, as recipients of this 

 funding, will be impacted. This may require an assessment of how available funds should be partitioned between 

 direct research funding and infrastructure, for example. Additionally, it may be necessary to determine whether fund- 

 ing policies should be established which keep as a priority scientific merit but tend more to a distribution of funds 

 over a wide range of institutions or result in more concentrated funding limited to centers of excellence. 



In the past, a rapid rate of growth in funding could result in both enhancement of existing programs and institu- 

 tions as well as expansion of research through the development of new academic centers. As funds become more 

 limited, however, the choice between expansion versus enhancement will have to be addressed explicitly, with all of 

 the issues and problems that this type of choice will bring about. 



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