Cap on overheads may put universities off defence

You have full access to this article via your institution. Download PDF The US Congress has set a limit on overhead expenses for research done at universities on behalf of the Department of

Defense. The provision, approved in a final version of the defence-spending bill on 8 November, says that no more than 35% of research funding can be spent on costs such as maintenance and

utilities. The bill now goes to President Bush to be signed into law. ?It's going to be a disincentive for the nation's best universities to conduct defence research,? says Barry

Toiv, a spokesman for the Association of American Universities in Washington DC. After the Department of Agriculture set a similar cap, he notes, fewer universities applied for government

grants. Currently, overhead expense rates are negotiated individually with the university department ? the average is 34%, according to the latest survey from the Council on Governmental

Relations. RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Cap on overheads may put universities off defence. _Nature_ 450, 332 (2007).

https://doi.org/10.1038/450332e Download citation * Published: 14 November 2007 * Issue Date: 15 November 2007 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/450332e SHARE THIS ARTICLE Anyone you share the

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