It is hoped that this account of the nature and present management of F&A costs will be of value to the University community. While the subject is of immediate relevance for those who propose and are awarded research grants, it is important that members of the faculty, staff and student body recognize that funding for a significant proportion of the University's programs is derived from F&A cost reimbursements.
The purpose of this overview is to promote a broader understanding of these issues. An ongoing goal is to address responsibly any questions and misunderstandings regarding F&A costs and to elicit carefully reasoned suggestions for improving our present practices to enhance the environment for teaching, research and scholarship at the UW. An increasingly important and parallel objective is to clarify this complex subject for the public, on whose support and advocacy we depend. As pressure on federal budgets mounts and efforts are made to adjust federal funding patterns, an informed and united academic constituency will be necessary to sustain reasonable funding levels for research and for higher education more generally.
