Research spending hits high

Research expenditures at IU have reached a new high.

IU spent a record-breaking $509 million on faculty research during the 2010-11 fiscal year, according to the National Science Foundation’s Higher Education Research and Development Survey.

Expenditures, money spent by the University, come from two sources.

External funding from the government primarily comes from major federal funders such as the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. All other money is internal funding that the University itself spends.

The rise in spending, a seven-percent increase from last year’s $475 million, was a welcome and multi-factored surprise, said Faith Hawkins, chief of staff to the vice president for research.

“It’s a larger increase than we were expecting,” she said. “In the past, increases generally tend to run three percent from year to year.”

Such an increase is indicative of the University’s heightening reputation as a research university, Hawkins said.

There is no one explanation for the increase — rather, it is a combination of a few factors, she said.

“I think one of the reasons we went up overall is because last year we had higher dollar amount awards that pushed up our total,” Hawkins said.

Another explanation is the federal stimulus package of 2009.

Awards from external organizations often come in the form of multi-year grants, meaning IU researchers are promised money that will be paid in installments for years to come, Hawkins said. The $509 million statistic takes into account award money actually spent during the fiscal year, not the money promised for future use, which explains why government funding from the stimulus is now being spent on research at IU.

Though numbers are not yet in from other research universities, Hawkins said she speculates most will report increased expenditures for a while due to the stimulus.

Increased spending at IU affects more than just researchers and their work. When money is awarded to researchers, research technicians, lab assistants and other personnel can be hired for support. Companies that manufacture lab supplies are also positively affected by award money, as are workers who construct new facilities, she said.

“When we say the University spent $500 million on research, that affects the economy,” Hawkins said. “As our research expenditures increase, the positive effect on the economy is really important to remember.”

While funding and spending increases do benefit many people, directly or indirectly, more money creates new issues.

“Awards assume we have the capacity to do the research we have to do,” Hawkins said. “In many respects, we are working really close to capacity, and by that, I mean many of our facilities need to be upgraded.”

For example, the new Multidisciplinary Science Building II is almost completely out of free space, said Roger Innes, chair of the biology department.

Innes said he is well aware of the current constraints of the system.

“We’re running out of space to conduct the research,” he said. “With more grants and more students and faculty doing research, the bigger the space is needed.”

Innes has hired more faculty in recent years, he said. As those faculty bring in increased awards, they also require space to do their work.

“As we get new money, as we become a more prominent research university, we need to make sure we have the facilities and support to take care of the research we promised to do,” Hawkins said.

In spite of the record expenditures, funding from the state has decreased, putting additional pressure on IU departments to secure other means of funding.

The College of Arts and Sciences usually receives the most external funding, largely due to its size and housing of the science departments, Hawkins said. Other academic units, such as the School of Informatics and Computing and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, also fare well with external funding.

The School of Education, which Hawkins said traditionally receives more money from state awards than other departments, is particularly affected by the state’s funding decrease.

Now, researchers’ proposals often must be stronger and better developed than ever.
“For some departments, the situation has gotten more and more competitive,” Hawkins said. “They’re having to work harder to do what they traditionally do.”

While the new statistic is an accomplishment for IU research, other University funding is at risk.

“What I wish the students and parents understood, when the state talks about cutting the state budget — that has implication, it has a ripple effect,” Hawkins said. “When we cut the national budget, it has a ripple effect. We need to think carefully about what the long-term effects of those decisions will be.”