How research costs are paid

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How research costs are paid

• Test tubes, mice, drugs, lab technicians
• Paid by direct grant dollars, i.e. what you ask
  for in your grant budget
• Electricity, building depreciation, HR, security
  
• Granting agencies send money to the institution
  based on a surcharge or indirect rate applied
  to the grant.
• NIH, industry, and foundations send indirects to
  BCM for grants that the school administers.
• Central Office sends VERA dollars to MEDVAMC for
  VA grants as well as other grants that use the VA
  as performance site
• Investigators salaries
• NIH pays salary from direct grant dollars
• VA pays clinician-investigators from VERA dollars
  except for CDA awardees
• VA Career Development Awardees salaries come
  directly to the hospital

HH Birdsall MD PhD ACOS R/D MEDVAMC Houston May
1, 2006
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VERA dollars (Veterans Equitable Resource
Allocation) cover salary, administrative, and
facilities costs.
VERA Research allocation for MEDVAMC in
FY06 7,760,758
HH Birdsall MD PhD ACOS R/D MEDVAMC Houston May
1, 2006
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How NIH indirect rates are calculated

• The medical school presents their estimate of
  expenses to NIH every few years and negotiates an
  indirect rate.
• BCMs NIH indirect rate is 50 meaning that for
  every 100 of grants, NIH sends 50 to BCM to
  cover indirect expenses.
• Industry and foundation grants are charged lower
  indirect rates.

HH Birdsall MD PhD ACOS R/D MEDVAMC Houston May
1, 2006
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How VERA Research are calculated

• Grant expenditures (i.e., money spent on test
  tubes and technician salaries) are summed.
• The sum includes
• 100 of VA-administered grant expenditures
• 75 of NIH/other federal, and national
• foundation grant expenditures
• 25 of industry-sponsored grant expenditures
• The sum is multiplied by 43.3 to get the VERA
  Research allocation.
• 43.3 is the current rate it has dropped 15
  over the past five years.

HH Birdsall MD PhD ACOS R/D MEDVAMC Houston May
1, 2006
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How VERA Research are calculated

• For NIH, industry, and foundation grants, only
  the of the grant expenditures related to
  MEDVAMC as a performance site contribute towards
  VERA dollars.
• i.e., if you list the VA as 50 performance site,
  then only 50 of the grant expenditures count
  towards VERA dollars.
• An NIH grant that does not use the VA as
  performance site does not count towards VERA
  research dollars, even if the investigator is
  VA-paid.
• VERA research dollars are not based on the
  effort that you list on your grant

HH Birdsall MD PhD ACOS R/D MEDVAMC Houston May
1, 2006
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Comparison of NIH indirects and VERA dollars

• VERA Research dollars
• Based on expenditures from grants using VA as
  performance site
• Based on data from 2 yrs ago
• Covers facilities, administrative and clinician
  salary costs
• Rate 43.3 (and dropping)
• Based on discounted of grant expenditures

• NIH indirect dollars
• Same
• Current year
• Covers facilities and administrative costs
• Rate 50
• Based on full amount of grant

HH Birdsall MD PhD ACOS R/D MEDVAMC Houston May
1, 2006
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