Facts about Facilities & Administrative (F&A)/Indirect Costs
Last Updated: August 10, 2022 3:15:29 PM PDT
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Find information about UC San Diego's Facilities & Administrative costs and impacts.
Indirect costs - also referred to as Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Costs, IDC, or Indirects - are those costs not specifically identifiable for any one project or program, but which are real expenses of conducting research, instruction and other sponsored activities at UC San Diego.
Negotiated F&A Rate
- When seeking the reimbursement of indirect costs on a sponsored project, the University is recovering for costs already spent to support these activities.
- Rates are typically negotiated with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) every 4-5 years.
- UCSD Federal negotiated rate = 57.5% though FY2021 and 58% through FY22
- Sponsored program activity types fall into three major functions as defined by Federal Uniform Guidance: Organized Research, Instruction, or Other Sponsored Activity (OSA).
- For every $1,000 in direct research costs, UC San Diego actually spends ~$756 (75%) in facilities and administrative costs to support the research
- Administrative portion is capped by Feds at 26%, regardless of actual costs
- UCSD receives ~ 28-34% F&A (referred to as “effective rate” calculated as an average across all sponsored research expenditures)
- Why is it less than 57.5%? These factors impact the effective F&A rate:
- F&A applies to modified total direct costs; excludes equipment, capital expenditures, portion of sub-awards in excess of $25K, patient care costs, graduate student tuition remission, rental of off-site facilities, etc.
- Off-campus F&A rate = 26%
- Clinical Trials F&A rate = 30%
- Some sponsors establish policies for lower F&A rates e.g.; non-profits, , foreign governments, etc.
- Refer to UC San Diego F&A rate table
F&A (Indirect Costs)
Facilities
- Building depreciation, equipment depreciation and debt service costs
- Operations and maintenance such as utilities, repairs, custodial
- Environmental health and safety
- Libraries
Administrative
- Department, sponsored research and central services administration
- Student services administration
Comparing Negotiated IDC (F&A) rate of peer institutions (FY2021)
Links and supporting correspondence
- Letter from COGR and other organizations to Secretary Price and Director Mulvaney (PDF), 8/21/2017
- UC San Diego Indirect Cost Rates
- Association of American Universities: Cost of Research
- Letter from Chancellor to Secretary Price and Director Mulvaney (PDF), 6/28/2017
- Letter from VCR to UCSD Research Community, 7/12/2017
- Financial Analysis Office