COGR Meeting Report June 2010 1 COGR Meeting Report June 2010 COUNCIL ON GOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS 1200 New York Avenue, N.W., Suite 750, Washington, D.C. 20005 (202) 289-6655/(202) 289-6698 (FAX) June 24, 2010 MEETING REPORT THE COUNCIL ON GOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS WASHINGTON MARRIOTT HOTEL June 3 and 4, 2010 COGR Meeting Report June 2010 2 COGR Meeting Report June 2010 GENERAL DEVELOPMETNS New COGR Board Members, Board Chair Selected Guest Speaker – Dr. Robin Stafin, Director, Basic Research, DOD Panelists Discuss STAR METRICS Project COSTING POLICIES F&A/Compliance Reform and the Financial Viability of the Research Enterprise NIH Policy on F&A Reimbursement for Genomic Array Purchased Services DOE and ARRA Reporting Requirements ARRA Reporting and Audit Updates Other Costing Developments and Discussions RESEARCH COMPLIANCE AND ADMINISTRATION NIH Proposed Financial Conflict of Interest Policy NIH Review of Financial Conflict of Interest Policies NIH Vertebrate Animal Section Review Department of Agriculture’s Age of Enforcement Clinicaltrials.gov NSF to Change Data Sharing Policy ILAR Updates Guide for Laboratory Animals CONTRACTS AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Commercialization of University Research Receives Much Attention Administration Activities and Responses of Higher Education Associations Congressional Hearings House Democratic Caucus Task Force on Competitiveness Holds Forum NAS Committee on University IP Management Supreme Court Action Awaited in Stanford v. Roche Appeal COGR/NIH IP Roundtable Initiatives Proceed FDP Establishes Troublesome Clauses Website DOD Issues New Memorandum on Fundamental Research Administration Continues Planning for new Export Control System OMB Issues Proposed Policy on Reserving Work for Government Employees DOD Proposes New Requirements for Organizational Conflicts of Interest COGR Meeting Report June 2010 3 COGR Meeting Report June 2010 GENERAL DEVELOPMENTS 1. New COGR Board Members, Board Chair Selected The COGR Nominating Committee recommended, and the Board approved the selection of the following individuals for COGR Board membership, beginning August 1, 2010: Anne Hannigan, Associate Vice President for Research Administration, Stanford University; Michael Ludwig, Director of Sponsored Program Services, Purdue University; James Luther, Assistant Vice President for Financial Services and Research Costing Compliance Officer, Duke University; Denise McCartney, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Administration, Washington University-St. Louis; Kim Moreland, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Administration, University of Wisconsin-Madison; and Eric Vermillion, Associate Vice Chancellor for Finance and Treasurer, University of California-San Francisco As stated by Jane Youngers, Chair of the Nominating Committee in her report to the Board, “We had an excellent slate of candidates, nearly all of whom would have made excellent Board members, and believe this is a reflection of the strength of COGR, its stellar reputation, and its service to its members.” The Board also unanimously agreed with the Executive Committee’s recommendation to appoint David Wynes, Vice President, Research Administration, Emory University, to be the COGR Board Chair, effective August 1, 2010. We look forward to the contributions of these extremely well-qualified colleagues. Finally, we must say goodbye to those good friends and colleagues whose Board terms will expire July 31, 2010. Al Horvath, Pennsylvania State University and current Board Chair, Nikki Krawitz, University of Missouri, Jamie Lewis Keith, University of Florida, and Ara Tahmassian, Boston University. Their outstanding contributions during the past six years cannot be overstated, and we thank them for their dedication and service. 2. Guest Speaker – Dr. Robin Stafin, Director for Basic Research, DOD We were most fortunate to have Dr. Robin Stafin address the COGR meeting attendees. As Director for Basic Research, Dr Stafin determines policy and exercises oversight for science and technology programs of the military services and defense agencies. He ensures that the long-term strategic direction of the Department’s basic research program develops the fundamental science that underpins continued technological superiority of U.S. Forces. Dr Stafin explained areas of interest he sees as priorities during his tenure. Determining the right balance of use-inspired research versus curiosity driven research - He is concerned that DOD may have drifted too far towards use-inspired. Developing closer connections between the Office of the Secretary of Defense and universities. Scientific leadership is needed at DOD and Dr. Stafin is looking for at least five scientists interested in working in OSD under Intergovernmental Personnel Agreements. COGR Meeting Report June 2010 4 COGR Meeting Report June 2010 Maximizing discovery potential, partly by eliminating or reducing regulatory burdens. Related to the last point above, Dr Stafin talked about the May 24 memorandum on Fundamental Research issued by the DOD Undersecretary for Acquisition. The memo reinforces an earlier (6/26/08) memorandum on Contracted Fundamental Research and provides additional clarifying guidance. The intention is to assure that DOD fundamental research awards are “fully compliant with National Security Decision Directive (NSDD) 189.” As also stated in the CIP section of this meeting report, the memorandum reiterates earlier guidance that DOD awards for contracted fundamental research should not involve classified items or be subject to export controls. It states that “The performance of contracted fundamental research also should not be managed in a way that it becomes subject to restrictions on the involvement of foreign researchers or publication restrictions.” Exceptions require high level DOD component management approval. As Dr Stafin described it, an important clarification in the memo is that research performed with funds other than budget category 6.1 or 6.2 might still be fundamental research, and that “the DOD must not place restrictions on subcontracted unclassified research that has been scoped, negotiated, and determined to be fundamental research within the definition of NSDD 189 according to the prime contractor and research performer and certified by the contracting component…”. With respect to funding, Dr Stafin said that for FY 2011 the President’s budget proposed an 11% increase for Basic Research funding, which would bring the total to $2.0 billion. 3. Panelists Discuss STAR METRICS Project This project - Science and Technology in America's Reinvestment Measuring the Effect of Research on Innovation, Competitiveness and Science – was discussed in detail by the project leaders, Dr Julia Lane, Program Director from the National Science Foundation’s Science of Science and Innovation Policy, and Dr Stefano Bertuzzi from the NIH Office of Science Policy. Also on the panel was Dr Susan Sedwick, Associate Vice President, Research, at the University of Texas-Austin, and a COGR Board member, to describe the UT participation in the pilot testing of the project. The PowerPoint presentations are available on the COGR web site. As described by Drs. Lane and Bertuzzi, STAR METRICS has two phases – the first will create a reliable and consistent inter-agency mechanism to account for the number of scientists and support staff that are on research institution payrolls supported by federal funds. STAR METRICS will build on this information in the second phase to allow for measurement of science impact on economic outcomes, such as job creation, on scientific outcomes, such as the generation and adoption of new science, often measured by citations and patents, as well as on social outcomes such as public health. At each stage, according to Dr Lane, stakeholders will assess the effectiveness of the previous work in reaching goals and moving the project forward, and modify the approach as needed. Three sets of “products” are involved: COGR Meeting Report June 2010 5 COGR Meeting Report June 2010 Standardized measures of the impact of science investments on job creation and retention; Systematized, standardized and validated ongoing measurement of long-term impact of science investments: economic, scientific, social; Enabling a community of researchers in science of science policy. A critical element of STAR METRICS was to work with a group of volunteer PIs and universities to participate in the initial tests. Pilot Project - The pilot drew on the existing administrative records/systems of academic institutions and other new and existing data on the economic, social and scientific outcomes of federal science investments. The Federal Demonstration Partnership was a key test community for the pilot. To minimize the impact on the overall membership, the FDP involvement began with a few representative institutions selected to give the pilot team the best chance to uncover the nuances of how large and small, private and public, broad coverage and specialty institutions receive, manage, disburse and report on their use of Federal funding. Initial Participants: University of Texas at Austin; University of Delaware; George Mason University; California Institute of Technology; University of Alabama; University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. Susan Sedwick talked about the University of Texas’ experience in the pilot, and emphasized the minimal amount to effort needed to provide the requested information. Susan’s slides are also available on the COGR web site. STAR METRICS is now looking to expand