EVMS is participating in such a program where we accepted a lower IDC rate.
We are a subrecipient to a NHLBI sponsored grant.  The prime recipient
indicated to us that IF we were interested in participating, the maximum
we could receive was 25% of DC less patient care costs.  Our current IDC arte
for federal grants is 80% of salaries and wages.  After much deliberation,
I called NIH and asked for guidance.  The basic fact is....the negotiated
rate is the MAXIMUM a university can ask for when applying for funding.  A
specific university can accept a lower rate; it's a matter of whether they want
to.  In our case we did accept the lower rate.

Rebecca Bacon
Eastern Virginia Medical School
xxxxxx@PICARD.EVMS.EDU