For many Widening countries and others with relatively weak national research systems, indirect costs from Horizon Europe projects are an important source of funding. Typically, they cover electricity ...

Universities and their trade associations have already sued the NIH, DOE and NSF over these plans, arguing that capping indirect costs would hurt research production and compromise global ...

May 5, 2025 NSF has issued guidance regarding its "Adoption of Standard 15% Indirect Cost Rate for NSF Grants and Cooperative Agreements awarded to Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs)" .

These rates lead to a reimbursement that is generally between 25% and 33% of the total value (i.e., of the sum of direct costs plus F&A) of each grant.

Harvard’s indirect cost rate — the percent of federal funding that covers administrative costs of research — is currently 69 percent, the largest of any Ivy League school.

Uncertainty over the NIH’s policy directive to unilaterally cap universities’ indirect cost reimbursement rates at 15 percent (down from an average negotiated rate of 28 percent) has thrown ...

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has issued a grants policy statement regarding a change in indirect cost rates due to a recent executive order. The NIH is implementing a standardized 15% ...

Typically, NIH uses institution-specific negotiated indirect cost rates established by cognizant federal agencies. This new standardized 15% indirect cost rate applies immediately to new and existing ...

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on ECG’s website. The NIH announced an immediate cap on the indirect cost rate for all NIH grants, setting the standard rate at 15%.

For example, if a university had a 50% indirect cost rate in 2024, it would receive $150,000 for a $100,000 grant, with $50,000 allocated to indirect costs.

The average NIH indirect cost rate has historically been between 27 to 28 percent. Trump’s directive will take effect Monday and apply to both current and future grants.

The agency estimated that it could save $4 billion by capping indirect costs at 15%. The entrance to the NIH campus in Bethesda, Md., on April 2, 2019.