The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report examining federal research grant administrative requirements, focusing on the efforts of agencies and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to streamline compliance and reduce costs for universities. The GAO conducted interviews with university staff and key federal agencies, reviewing nine primary areas of administrative burden, five of which relate to OMB’s Uniform Guidance (including budgeting, documentation, and subrecipient management) while the rest concern agency-specific requirements, such as biosketches and conflict of interest disclosures. The report identifies three principal factors increasing workload and costs for universities: inconsistent implementation of requirements across agencies, extensive documentation required at the proposal stage, and prescriptive, inflexible regulatory demands. These practices necessitate significant investments in administrative infrastructure and staff expertise, especially as researchers must customize submissions for different agencies, often for unfunded proposals.
While the GAO acknowledges incremental progress through initiatives such as standardizing forms, implementing electronic portals, and establishing federal-wide reporting systems, it concludes that overall reductions in administrative burden remain limited. The report recommends further harmonization and risk-based targeting of compliance requirements, particularly for purchases and subrecipient monitoring, to maximize efficiency. The GAO also urges that certain documentation be deferred until later in the grant process when appropriate, to minimize unnecessary effort on unsuccessful proposals. Additionally, the report suggests reevaluating and possibly relaxing some conflict of interest disclosure provisions, as these rarely uncover significant issues. The document notes support for a more inclusive Research Policy Board, as proposed by the National Academies, to improve stakeholder input and oversight, though it points out slow progress and dissatisfaction with current efforts. Overall, the report stresses the continuing need for coordinated federal action to streamline research grant administration and enable researchers to devote greater focus to their scientific work.
