GOVERNMENT-UNIVERSITY-INDUSTRY RESEARCH ROUNDTABLE: THE FEDERAL DEMONSTRATION PARTNERSHIP

The Federal Demonstration Partnership is a cooperative initiative among 10 federal agencies and 92 institutional recipients of federal funds; its purpose is to reduce the administrative burdens associated with research grants and contracts. The interaction between FDP’s 300 or so university and federal members takes place in FDP’s 3 annual meetings and, more extensively, in the many collaborative working groups and task forces that meet often by conference calls in order to develop specific work products. GUIRR currently provides all permanent staff support for FDP activities and committees, as well as logistical support for FDP’s 3 annual meetings. In 2002, GUIRR supported the 50% expansion of FDP to its current membership size, in conjunction with FDP’s planned transition to Phase IV. Phase IV promises to bring a number of new and continuing initiatives to FDP, including:

Working on behalf of the research community to streamline and standardize the research administration process as federal agencies implement Public Law 106-107, specifically in the areas of Pre-award, Post-award, Audit Oversight and ERA.
Illustrating the relationship and trade-offs among regulatory burden, research productivity, and administrative support
Supporting the President’s Management Agenda, specifically e-Government initiatives and the proposal to improve R&D investment criteria
Supporting implementation of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Presidential Review Directive-4: Renewing the Federal Government-University Research Partnership for the 21st Century
Suggesting equitable methods for providing and documenting cost sharing and direct effort
Identifying ways to broaden participation of underrepresented populations in sponsored research, including outreach to minority serving institutions
Encouraging effective, productive working relationships with the audit community