Indirect Costs of Research: VERA Research Support

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Indirect Costs of Research VERA Research
Support January 13 and 14, 2009 Sara
Clark Gerard Husson Tony Laracuente Timothy
OLeary Fred Wright
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• VERA BOOK 2008, p14
• VAs three Medical Care appropriations fund a
  variety of activities that support its research
  mission.
• The total dollars of funded research was
  selected as the appropriate metric for allocating
  Research Support funds.
• For the period FY2000 through FY2008, networks
  passed through the Research Support allocation as
  it is computed for each Medical Center.
• Research Support from the Medical Care budget
  includes
• Personal services costs for individuals on the
  Medical Care rolls who spend part of their time
  working on research projects
• Facilities costs (Engineering, etc.)
• Administrative costs (Fiscal, HR, AMM, etc.)
  
  vaww.arc.med.va.gov/references

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Table 8 VERA FY09 Research Support Backup Data and Allocations Table 8 VERA FY09 Research Support Backup Data and Allocations Table 8 VERA FY09 Research Support Backup Data and Allocations Table 8 VERA FY09 Research Support Backup Data and Allocations Table 8 VERA FY09 Research Support Backup Data and Allocations Table 8 VERA FY09 Research Support Backup Data and Allocations Table 8 VERA FY09 Research Support Backup Data and Allocations
             
Medical Center VA Admin Discounted Medical Center Total National Price for Research Support Facility Allocation
             
medium 4,157,730 3,019,016 287,456 7,464,202 0.43 3,230,085
             
large 58,562,152 14,515,337 2,581,134 75,658,623 0.43 32,740,776
             
Grand Total 595,979,185 409,669,282 15,741,834 1,021,390,301 0.43 442,000,000
Not VA Admin PR discounted _at_75
Not VA Admin NPR discounted _at_25
vaww.arc.med.va.gov/reports
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1999
2006
2007
2008
2009
2000
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
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• Research and Research Support Funding Workgroup
• Chartered in April 2008 by
  Joel Kupersmith, CRADO, and Paul Kearns, VHA
  CFO
• Review uses of research funds (Research
  appropriation) and Research Support funds
  (Medical Care appropriations)
• Current practices
• Areas of ambiguity
• Questions to be resolved
• Areas for improvement and simplification
• Recommendations

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• Research and Research Support Funding Workgroup
• Site visits
• Baltimore
• Bay Pines
• Houston
• Little Rock
• Palo Alto
• San Francisco
• Tampa

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• Research and Research Support Funding Workgroup
• Site visits findings
• Allocation Some VISNs do not pass through
  separately identified Research Support funds.
• Accounting Fiscal services cant track Research
  Support costs the Decision Support System (DSS)
  does not do this.
• Purpose of Research Support Funds
  Interpretations vary widely regarding
  appropriateness of types of support costs
  (facilities maintenance, improvements, personnel,
  compliance, WOC appointments).

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Research and Research Support Funding
Workgroup Questionnaire Concerning VERA Research
Support Majority Views ACOS,AO Dir,
CFO Vera funds passed through? YES YES Vera
funds accounted for? NO NO Fund
projects with VERA ? NO NO Any ResSup
not appropriate? NO NO Agree with
current VERA model? NO YES Any obstacles
supporting research? YES NO Is ResSup captured
in DSS? NO YES
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• Research and Research Support Funding Workgroup
• Survey Admin cost of Research Office personnel
• Response 80 of 88 Medical Centers
• Types of costs
• General Office
• Budget
• Committee Management
• HR (WOC appointments, Training)
• Compliance
• Assistance to Principal Investigators
• Other

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Research and Research Support Funding
Workgroup Survey Administrative cost of Research
Office Research Cost of Research
Cost Center 101 Expenditures Office
Personnel Allocation FY 2007 FY
2008 FY 2008 gt10 M (25) 1.40 M
6.0 686,000 gt 5 M (15) 0.90 M
12.9 463,000 gt 1 M (18) 0.60 M
22.1 162,000 lt 1 M (12) 0.33 M
68.8 120,000 Total 744 M
(70) 63 M 26 M
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• Research and Research Support Funding Workgroup
• Survey Admin cost of Research Office personnel
• Sources of support
• Cost Center 101 (Research appropriation)
• 28,448,622
• VERA Research Support (Med Care appropriation)
• 29,856,256
• VA Nonprofit Corporations
• 4,316,720
• Affiliated Medical Schools
• 651,846