Report Slams Regulatory Burden on Research Universities

Federal regulation of government-funded research at colleges and universities is so burdensome on the institutions that it's diminishing the effectiveness of federal investment in research, a new report published Wednesday says.

The report, commissioned by Congress and produced by the National Academy of Sciences, found that growing federal requirements on research institutions were forcing researchers to spend more time on administrative matters instead of their research. It recommends that Congress, the White House and federal research agencies take steps to create more uniform rules and eliminate redundancies.