Adopt a Proactive Approach to Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Funding
While the research community staved off the threat of a proposed 10 percent cap on facilities and administrative (F&A) funding in 2017, chief research officers (CROs) were forced to confront persistent shortcomings in their F&A communication, recovery, and investment strategies. These shortcomings require universities to rethink their approach to a funding structure as old as the research agencies that fund them.
Develop audience-specific messaging for F&A communications
CROs and their teams should combine broad, general F&A messaging with targeted messages that align with stakeholders’ priorities and interests, including federal lawmakers, state lawmakers, faculty and staff, and the public at large. These messages should include:
- The history of F&A
- What F&A does (and doesn’t) fund on campus
- The university’s current F&A rate
- How the university administers F&A funds
After prioritizing the right topics for the targeted stakeholder, research leaders should adjust their messaging to ensure the message will resonate with that particular audience. For help, access the Stakeholder-Targeted Messaging Matrix in Tool 1 of our F&A Communications Toolkit.
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