"Forget it, Honey!" Smaller agencies with more limited constituents get away with implicit favored client relationships by pulling play it our way or forget it moves not acceptable to  players at the NIH, NSF level of operation with regular audits and published procedures.  Assignment of university resources to a research project involves a contract relationship between the authorized university officer and the granting agency. The end run to the P. I. is often an attempt to dodge justified indirect costs.