A federal judge on Friday vacated the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) new policy that capped indirect cost rates on research grants awarded to universities.
The decision followed a lawsuit filed last month by the Association of American Universities and several institutions, challenging the NSF’s move to cap indirect cost rates at 15 percent for new grants and cooperative agreements awarded to universities.
Typically, the institutions negotiate these rates with the NSF and other agencies, according to the court filing.
The NSF is an independent federal agency that supports science and engineering fields by issuing research grants. Its investments make up about 25 percent of the federal funding U.S. colleges and universities receive for basic research, according to its website….