Principles to guide research funding adopted by AAU member presidents

In the wake of recent announcements from Washington that the Clinton administration and members of Congress generally support increased funding for science and engineering research, the leaders of the nation's top research universities have agreed on a set of principles to guide efforts to expand the science and engineering research partnership.

The principles were adopted April 21 by presidents and chancellors of member institutions of the Association of American Universities at the group's spring meeting in Washington, D.C.

Cornell President Hunter Rawlings, who attended the meeting, said the principles are an important guideline for universities to use in developing funding proposals and in allocating research dollars on campuses.

"These principles emphasize our commitment to utilizing federal research support in an effective way to broaden educational opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, to foster integrity in research and to manage our resources in an efficient and productive manner," Rawlings said.

The text of the AAU principles follows:

The American quality of life and economy have benefited from many decades of productive collaboration in peer-reviewed scientific research between universities and the federal government. AAU institutions are pleased that the Congress and the executive branch propose expanding the funding base of this partnership. Such an expansion will demonstrate the long-term federal commitment to research and offer younger generations fulfilling career opportunities in scientific and engineering fields. The AAU institutions recognize their responsibility to these young people to provide a rich environment for undergraduate and graduate education. In receiving federal research funding, the institutions also recognize their responsibility to ensure the highest level of research integrity and a fiscally prudent and efficient stewardship of research resources. The AAU suggests the following principles to guide efforts to expand the science and engineering research partnership.

1)The central focus of expanded funding should be research programs that are grounded in rigorous peer review of investigator-initiated proposals.

2)High-quality education of graduate students should be recognized as an inseparable component of research conducted in the academic setting.

3)Funding increases should be allocated across a broad front of scientific opportunity in recognition of the increasing interdependence of research across disciplines.

4)As support for research is expanded, funding increases should be structured to assure stability and sustainability over the long term.

5)Expanded investment should include science and engineering infrastructure needs, such as facility renovation and modernization,
instrumentation, information and computer technology, and animal care support.

6)Federal research policies should support full recovery of institutions' appropriately incurred costs of federally supported research conducted on their campuses.

7)Universities should assume responsibility for wide dissemination of the results of federally supported research and encourage the use of new knowledge for public benefit.