Kathy Lang: April 2008 Archives

Commentary Reflection - Part II

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Two months have passed since we posted our first "Commentary Reflection" (see entry). The "Commentary Reflection" is a chance for the KIS Executive to highlight comments that have been posted on the blog. As always, we encourage you to post comments to the entries or to send us an email or drop us a line.

ROI losses due to administrative tasks

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Universities and research institutes often carry out research projects funded by government grants. In fact, the Knowledge Impact in Society (KIS) Project responsible for the Illative Blog receives half of its funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada.  A number of rules, regulations, policies and procedures have been put in place to ensure government funds are used appropriately. But are these very regulations and procedures, put in place to prevent the improper use of research dollars, actually limiting researchers' time to conduct research? Findings in a study by the Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP) in the United States show that the administrative tasks associated with grants can burden researchers to the point where 42 percent of time committed to federal research is spent complying with rules and procedures rather than conducting actual research.

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