MAY 2023 COGR UPDATE President’s Message - COGR Is Not Only Vital, But Critical

Without a mechanism for the federal government to share in these costs, the risks to the research ecosystem are real.3 In addition to COGR’s work on cost of compliance surveys, COGR recently completed its 2023 F&A Survey and is in the process of analyzing the results (see the Costing and Financial Compliance section of the COGR Update). [...] The DCL seeks to solicit feedback, ideas, and proposed recommendations from the research community to ensure the products, services, and tools provided by the RSI-ISAO align with the needs and expectations of the research community. [...] By far the most contentious issue in the NPRM was a provision that “march-in rights shall not be exercised by an agency exclusively on the basis of business decisions of a contractor regarding the pricing of commercial goods and services arising from the practical application of the invention.” The associations’ comments supported this clarification (with the deletion of “exclusively”). [...] The final rule states: “Given the comments received, NIST's examination of them, and the Executive Order, NIST removed this provision from the final rule… NIST intends to engage with stakeholders and agencies with the goal of developing a comprehensive framework for agencies considering the use of march-in provisions.” The March 2023 COGR Update noted “HHS and the Department of Commerce (DOC) have. [...] F&A Cost Rate Survey: Update at the June COGR Meeting (NEW) The F&A Cost Rate Survey closed at the beginning of May and the CFC is in the process of analyzing the results.