The June 2011 COGR Meeting Report provides a comprehensive overview of key policy, regulatory, and operational issues impacting the administration of federally funded research at U.S. universities and research institutions. The report details discussions with Commerce/BIS officials on evolving export control regulations and compliance expectations—especially around deemed exports and the I-129 certification—alongside an examination of the proposed overhaul of the National Science Foundation's grant reimbursement and cash drawdown systems, which aims to improve accountability and transparency but may require significant institutional adjustments. Additionally, the meeting featured a panel on academia's critical role in economic development, emphasizing measurement challenges and the need for enhanced university engagement with regional innovation.
The report further addresses major developments in costing policies, such as the suspension of HRSA “subaccounting” practices, ongoing concerns around NIH policies for genomic arrays, the establishment of an OMB-led task force to reform circular A-21, and recent COGR publications pressing for consistency and transparency in the federal indirect cost rate-setting process. On contracts and intellectual property, significant attention is given to the Supreme Court’s Stanford v. Roche decision, which clarifies the importance of assignment wording in university invention agreements and raises compliance risks for universities. Legislative updates include the passage of patent reform in the House and proposed revisions on organizational conflicts of interest in the FAR, both carrying substantial implications for university-industry-government relationships. In research compliance, the report covers anticipated impacts of the proposed DATA Act on federal reporting, advancements in electronic research performance reporting, recommended changes in select agent regulations, and ongoing regulatory delays (such as NIH's financial conflict of interest rule). The document reflects the sector’s ongoing challenges in managing evolving compliance environments while advocating for policies that maintain research integrity, operational practicality, and contributions to national innovation goals.
