A partnership between a researcher, the university and the government
Research universities incur significant expenses to conduct research that improves the lives and health of Americans.
These are real costs that include:
building and maintaining state-of-the-art research laboratories
protecting patient safety (e.g., human subjects protections)
facilitating high-speed data processing
ensuring national security protections (e.g., export controls, cybersecurity, research data security)
managing radiation safety and disposal of hazardous waste
hiring personnel required to support the research
Through a partnership called F&A, the university is reimbursed, in part, for the indirect costs already incurred in supporting research activities.
What are indirect costs?
Indirect research costs, also known as F&A, are actual costs that are incurred in the process of safely and securely conducting high-impact research. These costs are shared by the federal government and the university.
These shared costs are necessary in order for the university to have the infrastructure in place to complete the work. Examples of shared research costs are listed at the top of this webpage.
What are direct costs?
Direct costs are project-specific expenses that are itemized in a grant or contract budget. These may include:
a percentage of salary support for the scientists and engineers conducting the research
specific supplies for the project
Direct costs cover specific expenses but do not fund the necessary infrastructure (lab space, utilities, maintenance) to do the work.
Why are reimbursements for shared costs important?
Shared (indirect) research costs support the infrastructure needed to conduct high-impact research, while at the same time ensuring national security protections and patient safety regulations for clinical trials.
This research has tangible benefits for the lives of Iowans.
Examples:
In summary, by partnering with the federal government on shared (indirect) costs, the University of Iowa is able to conduct important research that leads to scientific advancements in a wide range of fields, including healthcare. These advancements have real-world benefits for people across our state and nation.
How is the federal partnership determined?
The University of Iowa periodically negotiates standard F&A rates for federal grants and contracts with the Department of Health & Human Services. The current F&A rate agreement is available on the university’s website.
Learn more
FAQs about costs of federally sponsored research (source: COGR)
This website was last updated on February 19, 2025.