Facilities & Administration Cost Rates

Facilities & Administration (FA&A) Costs are also referred to as Indirect Costs or Overhead. F&A costs include administrative expenses, space costs, utilities, general office and computer supplies, etc. Every institution that receives federal funding negotiates its F&A cost rates with one federal agency known as its "cognizant agency." The cognizant agency for OHSU is the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The agreed upon F&A rates are then used to apply for funding from any sponsor.

The current OHSU F&A Costs Rates Agreement can be viewed and printed using the Adobe Acrobat Reader plug-in.    

As of May 7, 2010, the current F&A rates are as follows:

Activity	FY10	FY11	FY12	FY13
Externally Sponsored Research	54.0	54.0	54.0	54.0
Sponsored Research Training*	54.0	54.0	54.0	54.0
Other Sponsored Activity	33.5	32.0	32.0	32.0
Sponsored Instruction and Training*	40.0	40.0	40.0	40.0
Non-Industry Clinical Trial	33.5	32.0	32.0	32.0
Industry Sponsored Clinical Trial	25.0	25.0	25.0	25.0
ONPRC Core Grant	28.0	28.0	28.0	28.0
ONPRC Non-Core  Federal Research	75.0	75.0	75.0	75.0
*NIH Routinely limits F&A on these grants to 8%
Note 1: A fiscal year begins July 1 and ends June 30. Note 2: Off-campus rates remain at 26% for all activities.

Modified total direct costs exclude equipment, capital expenditures; charges for patient care,student tuition remission, rental costs of off-site facilities, scholarships, and fellowships as well as a portion of each subgrant and subcontract in excess of $25,000.For a description of OHSU's sponsored project mission codes, as well as examples of each, please see the Oracle Mission Code Definitions list.Given OHSU's goal of managing research efficiently so we can support a growing research program, we need to ensure full recovery of the real cost of doing research. Waivers or reductions from the negotiated F&A rates will only be considered for the following reasons:

• When a new OHSU investigator is transferring grants to OHSU from another institution, OHSU will (if necessary) reduce the F&A charge on the grant for the partial year immediately following the transfer. Each succeeding full year will carry OHSU's negotiated F&A rate. The investigator will be expected to negotiate with the funding agency or his/her division, department or school for any shortfall in those succeeding years. RDA will be glad to assist in negotiations with the funding agency.
• When applying for grants with an agency that has specific, consistently applied, written policies on F&A costs, OHSU will accept the F&A rate allowed by the agency. The F&A will not be reduced on any proposal to a granting agency willing to pay the negotiated rate. As OHSU evaluates its research mission and assesses the actual cost of conducting research, some grants that do not carry F&A because of agency policies may not be cost-effective and thus may be unacceptable. It is a goal for RDA whenever possible to either negotiate some F&A with these agencies or to attempt to obtain some other benefits in lieu of F&A on behalf of the institution and/or investigator.