Hi all, Thank you for the quick responses to my brief question last week regarding F&A return rates at various institutions. Many people wanted to see the data, so here is the aggregated results, with no information about specific responses.
I received information on 27 places, only two of which were from the same institution (and those from different departments). Several responses mentioned multiple institutions from folks that have/had worked there. Not everyone gave information about all the stats below, and so specific sample sizes are mentioned for each line. Of the respondents: The average institutional F&A rate was *51.8%* (n=26). *Returned to School/Department (if applicable):* Of the money recovered as F&A by the university (so not compared to the total grant amount): The average return to the school was 24% ( n=5) The average return to the department was 17.8% (n=11) *Returned to Faculty:* The average return to the faculty member was *7.1%* (n=24) The median return to the faculty member was *5.2%*, and the SD 8.0%. Min was 0%, max was 30%. For faculty who said something along the lines of "we don't get anything, but the department gets money which is dispersed competitively/via graduate TA's/on request/etc" the to-faculty value was set to 0%. This was intended to capture dedicated-to-specific-faculty funds. Several folks said this (total of eight 0% scores). The majority of responses were from R1 or otherwise large/research heavy institutions. I did receive some good notes from administrators desiring to remind folks that F&A does pay for important things behind the scenes as well. *The next steps:* There were several other questions that came up as a result of the responses, and a general interest in something a bit more formalized. I created a survey via Google Forms. The survey asks the same questions re rates, but also a bit more including access, perceptions of access, and needs for information. Plus the questions are more clear - precision helps! I would appreciate it if you would fill it out, *even if you emailed me last time* (there are a few more questions). It is anonymous, unless you choose to self-identify. The results of the larger form will be disseminated somewhere more broadly if I get enough results, as I think this is an issue of relevance to not only those of us writing grants but those using F&A for institutional support (e.g., administration). This isn't about getting information to negotiate or argue with, but rather seeing what information needs exist regarding the use of F&A for all parties. The link: https://goo.gl/forms/pnBwjptPW3cjbNJ02 Thanks again! --------------------------- Brian Buma, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Forest Ecology University of Alaska Ph: 907-796-6410 bb...@alaska.edu www.brianbuma.com
