I also received "off the record" advice from a program officer along these lines.  If the program is explicitly for job creation, then reducing indirect costs allows more direct allocation of the award to those activities.  I don't think this is across the board, but I chose to follow the program officer's advice and reduce indirect recovery for our proposal to his program.

Best of luck!

Teresa Wilke
Director of Grant Development
Southeast Missouri State University
www.semo.edu/grants

________________________________

From: Research Administration List on behalf of Taylor, Laurie A
Sent: Thu 6/4/2009 4:03 PM
To: xxxxxx@hrinet.org
Subject: [RESADM-L] written and unwritten review criteria

We are going to apply for a federal grant (part of the stimulus funding) and have heard through the grapevine that having little or no indirect costs on the grant will make our proposal more competitive.  However, it doesn't state this anywhere in the application guidelines-the guidelines allow for requesting our full indirect cost rate.  When we've contacted people affiliated with the grant to clarify this, no one will put in writing that a reduced rate will make our proposal more competitive (which we need to get approval from our institution to use a reduced rate)-but at the same time they don't deny that this may be the case.  I've heard from colleagues that they have been told this on a few other federal grants.  Have any of you encountered this?  If so, how have you handled it?

Thanks!

Laurie Taylor

****************************

 Dr. Laurie A. Taylor

 Director of Research Administration

 University of Wisconsin-Parkside

 900 Wood Road, P.O. Box 2000

 Kenosha, WI  53141-2000

 (262) 595-2006 (office)

 (262) 515-4908 (cell)

 (262) 595-2630 (fax)

 xxxxxx@uwp.edu

****************************

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