The Council on Governmental Relations (COGR), representing over 200 research institutions, has written to Arif Karim of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to express concerns regarding significant delays in the establishment of indirect cost (F&A) and fringe benefit rate agreements between research institutions and DHHS. These delays have become more pronounced since the COVID-19 pandemic, which COGR attributes primarily to under-resourcing at the Cost Allocation Services (CAS) rather than any lack of professionalism among its staff. Despite innovative approaches such as virtual campus visits, the protracted review and approval process continues to cause substantial negative impacts, including budget uncertainty, increased financial and audit risk due to reliance on provisional rates, potential loss of legitimate cost reimbursements, and volatile fluctuations in fringe benefit rates—each of which threatens the financial stability and administrative efficiency of research operations.
COGR underscores that the current situation, while understandable given resource constraints, is unsustainable for research institutions, emphasizing the necessity for timely and predictable reimbursement processes as part of effective research management. The organization offers its collaboration and perspectives to help develop strategies that might expedite rate agreement processes for the benefit of both the federal government and the research community. The letter concludes by inviting further dialogue and expressing the willingness of COGR and its membership to engage constructively with CAS and other government stakeholders on this issue.
COGR submitted a letter to Mak Karim, the National Director for Cost Allocation Services at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In the letter, COGR requests assistance to facilitate improvements in the speed of the review and approval process associated with indirect cost and fringe benefit rates.
