The Council on Governmental Relations is an association of research universities located in the District of Columbia.
Since its inception in 1948, COGR has been continuously involved in the development of all major financial and administrative aspects of federally-funded research.
Today, COGR's primary function is to provide advice and information to its membership and to make certain that federal agencies understand academic operations and the impact of proposed regulations on colleges and universities. COGR helps to develop policies and practices that fairly reflect the mutual interests and separate obligations of federal agencies and universities in research and graduate education.
COGR holds three meetings each year to keep its membership informed of any and all issues facing research institutions today. The next meeting will be held at the Washington Marriott Hotel on October 27 and 28, 2011 and the 2012 meeting dates are: February 23 and 24, 2012; June 7 and 8, 2012; and October 25 and 26, 2012. COGR meetings are open for COGR members only.
Latest News!
January 12, 2012 - COGR Responses to OSTP
COGR submitted two separate comments to the Office of Science and Technology Policy: 1) Public Access to Digital Data; and 2) Peer-Reviewed Scholarly Publications resulting from federally funded scientific reseach. Click the links for copies of each letter.
December 9, 2011 - December 2011 Update
COGR has published its latest update for December 2011. Click here for the Update.
December 8, 2011 - Privacy Act Training
COGR sent comments on a proposed FAR rule to require contractors to complete training that addresses the protection of privacy and the handling and safeguarding of personally identifiable information. Click here for the letter.
December 5, 2011 - Small Business Administration Subcontracting Reporting
COGR submitted comments on proposed new requirements by the Small Business Administration for "covered contracts" where small business subcontracting plans are required. Click here for the letter.
January 12, 2012 - Two COGR Responses to OSTP
COGR has submitted two separate comments to the Office fo Science and Technology Policy concerning Public Access to Digital Data and Peer-Reviewed Scholarly Publications resulting from federally funded scientific research. Click the links for copies of each letter.
November 28, 2011 - Joint Letter on HR 3433, The GRANT Act
COGR, AAU and APLU wrote a letter to the Chairman of the House Government Oversight and Reform Committee, expressing concerns on HR 3433, The GRANT Act, and its potential adverse effects on scientific research and our nation's innovation system. The letter states that we appreciated the opportunity to comment on early drafts of the bill, but that in its current form, we would oppose the legislation if the full House were to consider the bill. Click here for the letter.
November 9 - Effort Reporting Requirement
At the request of the A-21 Task Force, COGR further elaborated its position to discontinue the effort reporting requirement. Click here for the document.
October 25 - Response to HHS and OSTP on Human Subjects Research Protections
COGR's has submitted a letter of comment to the HHS Office for Human Research Protections and the Office of Science and Technology Policy Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and request for comments concerning Human Subjects Research Protections: Enhancing Protections for Research Subjects and Reducing Burden, Delay and Ambiguity for Investigators. The letter is here.
October 2011 - Revised Tutorial on Technology Transfer in U.S. Colleges and Universities
COGR has updated the Tutorial on Technology Transfer in U.S. Colleges and Universities, initially published in September 2000. The Tutorial focuses on technology transfer through the transfer of intellectual property rights from universities to the for-profit sector for commercialization. Five copies were mailed to each member institution's Primary Representative. Click here for a .pdf version. Additional printed copies are available for $5.00 each plus shipping and handling from the COGR office. Click here for the Tutorial order form.
October 14 - Fall 2011 Update
COGR has publised the most recent update, Fall 2011. Click here for the document.
October 11, 2011 - House Bill Would Lower NIH Salary Cap
A group of 72 organizations sent a letter to both House and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairs urging them to oppose a provision in the House Draft FY12 Labor-HHS-Education funding bill that would reduce the cap on extramural salaries at NIH. The House proposal would lower the cap from Executive Level I ($199,700) to Executive Level III ($165,300). Click here for the letter.
September 13, 2011 - COGR, AAU and APLU Letter to Chairman Issa
COGR, AAU and APLU wrote to the Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to express concerns with the financial reporting provisions in HR 2146, The Digital Accountability and Transparency Act. Click here for the letter.
September 13 - Proposed Revisions to the Export Administration Regulations
COGR and AAU have sent comments to the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security on proposed revisions to the Export Administration Regulations - control of items the President determines no longer warrant control under the United States Munitions List. Click here for the letter.
September 8 - Arbitrary Agency Policies
COGR wrote a letter to OMB listing additional and recent examples of arbitrary agency policies. Click here for the letter.
September 1 - Reforming Regulation of Research Universities
COGR staff co-authored a paper with staff from the Association of American Universities on "Reforming Regulation of Research Universities." The paper was pubilshed in the Summer 2011 issue of the journal, "Issues in Science and Technology Policy". Click here for a copy of the article.
August 14, 2011 - NOAA Proposed Secintific Integrity Policy
COGR sent a letter offering comment on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's proposed scientific integrity policy. Click here for the letter.
August 1, 2011 - Proposed Implementation of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) Provisions as They Relate to HIPPA
COGR commented on the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Civil Rights proposed implementation of the Health Information Technology For Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) provisions as they relate to HIPPA privacy rules research provisions. Click here for the letter.
July 22, 2011 - Financial Disclosure by Clinical Investigators
COGR offered comments on the Food and Drug Administration's draft guidance on financial dislosures by clinical investigators. Click here for the letter.
July 28, 2011 - NIH RFI, Input on Reduction of Cost and Burden Associated with OMB Circular A-21
The COGR response to the NIH RFI, Input on Reduction of Cost and Burden Associated with OMB Circular A-21 is available. Click here for the letter and here for the attachment.
July 11, 2011 - NSB - NSF Proposed Merit Review Criteria Revisions and Principles
COGR has sent a comment letter to the National Science Board/National Science Foundation on proposed Merit Review Criteria Revisions and Principles. Click here for the letter.
July 11, 2011 - Genomic Arrays Costing Analysis - Costing and the Science
COGR completed a "Costing and the Science" analysis addressing the NIH Genomic Arrays policy from May 2010. The analysis was forwarded to NIH. Click here for a copy of the analysis.
June 29, 2011 - Joint Statement by University Associations on H.R. 2146, The Data Act
COGR, along with the Association of American Universities and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, has published a joint statement on H.R. 2146, the Data Act. Click here for the Statement.
June 3, 2011 - DOD Memorandum on Indirect Cost Limitation
The Department of Defense has issued a memorandum that provides guidance specific to the elimination of the DOD indirect cost limitation. Click here for the Memorandum.
May 24, 2011 - Joint Letter to NIH on Adoption and Implementation of the 8th Edition of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals
COGR, along with AAU and AAMC, has sent a letter to NIH on the adoption and implementation of the 8th Edition of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (NOT-OD-11-042, 056, 066). Click here for the letter.
May 5, 2011 - Improving the F&A Rate-Setting Process
COGR has completed a policy paper entitled "Improving the F&A Rate-Setting Process with the Federal Government." Click here for the paper.
March 22, 2011 - Retrospective Regulatory Review - Information and COGR Comments
On January 18, 2011, Executive Order 13563, entitled, Improving Regulations and Regulatory Review was published. Agencies have been charged with identifying regulations that may be "outmoded, ineffective, insufficient or excessively burdensome" and consider how to change them. COGR will respond to the request for comments from certain agencies. To provide our membership with additional information, we have provided links here to a number of documents: 1) Retrospective Regulatory Review Introduction; 2) Executive Order 13563; 3) OMB Guidance Memorandum to Departments and Agencies; 4) Recommendations to the National Research Council; 5) Department and Agency Regulatory Review Schedule; 6) COGR Comment to Department of Energy; 7) COGR Comment to NOAA; 8) COGR Comment to Department of Justice; 9) COGR Comment to Department of the Interior; 10) COGR Comment to Department of Transportation; 11) COGR Comment to Economic Development Administration; 12) COGR Comment to the Small Business Administration;13) COGR/AAU Comment to Department of Homeland Security; and 14) COGR Comment to Department of Health and Human Services.
February 7, 2011 - February 2011 Update
The February 2011 Update is ready for viewing. Click here for a copy.
February 7, 2011 - Joint Letter to Department of State on Munitions List
COGR, the Association of American Universities, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and the American Association for the Advancement of Science sent a joint letter to the Department of State on its proposed changes to revise the Munitions List. Click here for the letter.
January 28, 2011 - 10 Recommendations on Regulatory Reform to the National Academies
COGR, in a joint effort with AAU and APLU, submitted 10 recommendations on regulatory reform. The recommendations will help to contribute to the "Study on Research Universities," which is a bipartisan request from Congress to look at the health and competitiveness of our nation's research universiteis. Click here for the recommendations.
