Facilities & Administrative Cost Recoveries
The University receives funding for research from various types of sponsors. Generally, sponsors include funds to cover the direct expenditures of conducting research such as the salaries and benefits of faculty and others working on the project, laboratory supplies, specific research equipment, and travel to conduct field work or to disseminate research results, as well as facilities and administrative (F&A) expenditures, also known as indirect or overhead costs. F&A costs are real research support costs that cannot be readily aligned to a single project.
Federal and industry sponsors typically pay a higher F&A rate than other sponsor types like foundations or other non-profits that may have internal restrictions on the amount of F&A their organizations will support.
The chart above illustrates the impact of the mix of the award portfolio on the amount of F&A costs recovered by the University. On average, for 2020-2022, federal sponsors provided the highest effective F&A recovery rate at 31.7%.
Exampes of F&A
- Compliance Activities
- Hazardous Waste Disposal
- Internet & Data Storage
- Laboratories
- Payroll, Accoounting & Purchasing
- Safety Practices
- Utilities