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4. Are there any effective models, such as the NSF competitive 

 facilities program, which we could use as models for planning a 

 facility program? 



Federal support for science and engineering facilities was 

 at its peak in the late 1960s. Two of the largest programs 

 were the National Institutes of Health's Health Research 

 Facilities Program and the National Science Foundation's 

 Graduate Science Facilities Program. 



Facility funding by private foundations was also at its peak 

 in the 1960s, with the most prominent program being the Ford 

 Foundation Special Program in Education. In recent years, 

 the Kresge Foundation has operated a facilities program. 



All of the above are competitive grant programs. In 

 thinking of facility financing, it is important to consider 

 the full range of mechanisms, including indirect cost 

 reimbursement and debt financing, as well as the roles of 

 the states and the universities themselves. 



5. Why do you feel that universities compete for direct 

 appropriations to have their facilities needs funded? Do you 

 agree with the argument that limits on indirect cost 

 reimbursements have led to this phenomena? 



The major reason that universities seek direct 

 appropriations for facilities is the lack of organized 

 federal programs in the agencies to provide funds for 

 facilities construction and renovation. The fact that full 

 depreciation of facilities is not reimbursed through the 

 indirect cost mechanism is part of the problem, but in the 

 current environment of a large backlog of facility needs, 

 the absence of any grant programs is probably a more central 

 cause. A robust set of facilities financing arrangements, 

 including multiple sectors and funding mechanisms, would go 

 a long way toward decreasing the practice of direct 

 appropriations . 



Another cause of direct appropriations for facilities is the 

 increasing centrality of science and engineering capacity to 

 local, state, and regional economic development strategics. 

 Obtaining federal funds for a research building or other 

 visible local inititative is an effective means for 

 universities and elected representatives to demonstrate 

 their contributions to these strategies. Such practices are 

 likely to continue at some level even if new federal funding 

 programs are established. 



