Actionable Ideas to Improve Government Efficiency Affecting the Performance of Research

COGR provides a set of specific, actionable recommendations to enhance the efficiency of federal regulations affecting fundamental research, focusing on areas such as grant reporting, proposal submission, research security, financial compliance, and oversight. In the document COGR identifies inefficiencies stemming from inconsistent agency requirements, redundant reporting, overlapping oversight, and non-standardized processes, and it recommends harmonization and simplification across agencies, adoption of unified definitions and systems, elimination of duplicative requirements, and utilization of risk-based approaches tailored to the nature of research activities. The overarching goal is to reduce administrative burden, streamline compliance, and improve both the effectiveness of research support and the stewardship of federal resources.