Accountability and Stimulus Science Funds

As excited as they are by the prospect of tens of billions of dollars in federal research funds flowing from the federal government's recently enacted economic stimulus package, university leaders are nervous about the accountability expectations that might be attached to the money. Will research agencies expect that recipients will be able to prove that the funds have been used productively? The House Science Subcommittee on Investigations & Oversight held a hearing Thursday at which representatives of the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and other key government departments described their plans for following the money. Testimony is available here.