A professor of epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh tracks the fiscal fortunes of the National Institutes of Health. Any tightening of the NIH budget might starve out talented young researchers at Pittsburgh. Support from the agency amounts to about half of all government support. (MLW)

Research and other projects for which Congress has directed federal agencies to provide support in fiscal 1992 are listed for over 200 colleges and universities. In each case, the agencies did not request money for the projects and did not sponsor merit-based competitions to determine which institutions should get the awards. (MSE)

Under a new cost-management plan at the National Institutes of Health, overhead rates charged on research grants, as part of the total project cost, could be a determining factor on "marginal" proposals. Some feel universities will learn to be more economical; others feel the policy penalizes one group of universities. (MSE)

Many scientists and policymakers are urging the federal government to set priorities for the scientific projects the government should support, but few can agree on how those priorities should be determined or on how much say researchers should have in the process. (MLW)

Congress has earmarked $440 million for projects involving specific universities for fiscal 1997, a 49% increase from the previous year but far from the $763 million earmarked in fiscal 1993. The funds are not subject to the competitive review typically used for distributing federal money. Critics say absence of review makes the awards a poor…

A study found that a typical research university would raise its overhead rate significantly if it constructed a new building by borrowing or using its own money, but, if it won a congressional earmark, the overhead rate could decline slightly. This encourages colleges to seek construction money directly from Congress. (MSE)

As state budgets decline, colleges and universities continue to hire lobbyists as a cost-effective way to increase finances. Many institutions are lobbying for support of specific research projects, despite criticism of "pork-barrel science." Although small lobbying firms are popular, many larger firms are expanding to include higher education…