Research universities are critical contributors to our national research enterprise. They are the principal source of a world-class labor force and fundamental discoveries that enhance our lives and the lives of others around the world. These institutions help to create an educated citizenry capable of making informed and crucial choices as participants in a democratic society. However many are concerned that the unintended cumulative effect of federal regulations undercuts the productivity of the research enterprise and diminishes the return on the federal investment in research.


Optimizing the Nation's Investment in Academic Research reviews the regulatory framework as it currently exists, considers specific regulations that have placed undue and often unanticipated burdens on the research enterprise, and reassesses the process by which these regulations are created, reviewed, and retired. This review is critical to strengthen the partnership between the federal government and research institutions, to maximize the creation of new knowledge and products, to provide for the effective training and education of the next generation of scholars and workers, and to optimize the return on the federal investment in research for the benefit of the American people.

Table of Contents


Front Matter
Overarching Summary
1 Introduction
2 Partners in Research and Oversight
3 Federally Funded Research at Universities
4 Regulations and Policies Related to the Acquisition and Use of Federal Research Grants
5 Regulations and Policies Related to the Conduct of Research
6 Regulations and Policies Related to the Financial Management of Research Grants
7 A New Regulatory Framework for the Nation's Investment in Academic Research
8 Introduction
9 Ethical, Legal, and Regulatory Framework for Human Subjects Research
10 Reporting of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer
11 Research with Select Agents and Toxins
12 Export Controls
13 Operationalizing the New Regulatory Framework for the Federal Investment in Research Institutions
Appendix A: Biographical Information of Committee and Staff
Appendix B: Recommendations Table
Appendix C: Committee Meeting Agendas
Appendix D: Federal Obligations for Science and Engineering to the 100 Universities and Colleges Receiving the Largest Amounts
Appendix E: Federal Research and Development Spending
Appendix F: A Brief Primer on the Paperwork Reduction Act
Appendix G: The Grants Process at the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health
Appendix H: HHS and USDA Select Agents and Toxins
Appendix I: Report Briefings