Webinar
Live Virtual Event on Wednesday, August 6, 2025
10a PT / 1p ET • 120-minute session
Indirect costs are a major component of all research project budgets. These necessary costs support research activities and typically represent approximately 25–30 percent of total project costs. Since February 2025, several agencies have proposed capping the indirect cost rate at 15 percent. If implemented, this would result in a severe loss of reimbursement to research institutions and significantly undermine U.S. research efforts, innovation, and global competitiveness.
Although legal action has temporarily halted the agencies’ efforts to enforce the rate cap, the Joint Associations Group (JAG) has proposed a new cost model—the FAIR Model—to improve accounting, transparency, and recovery of actual research costs.
This session will highlight the FAIR Model’s core concepts, current status, and potential implementation strategies if adopted as policy. It will explain the composition of newly defined cost categories, such as “essential research performance support costs,” and offer possible methods for developing charge rates and calculating federal reimbursement percentages under the FAIR Model.
What You’ll Learn
- What the FAIR Model is, and why it matters
- Composition and definitions of new cost categories, including “essential research performance support costs”
- Methods for developing charge rates and determining reimbursement percentages for federal grants
- Strategic planning and institutional preparation for transition and implementation
- Why the FAIR Model is gaining traction in the grantee community, and how your institution can stay ahead
Speakers and Panelists
Gil Tran, CPA
Senior Specialist Leader and OMB Emeritus
Attain Partners
Mike Leonard
Senior Grants Management Consultant
Attain Partners
Kelvin Droegemeier
Chair
Joint Associations Group (JAG)
Mark Davis
Managing Partner
Attain Partners
Wally Davis
Partner
Attain Partners
Hilary Craiglow
Library Leader
Attain Partners
Greg Baroni
Founder and CEO
Attain Partners
Live Q&A with JAG Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
Distinguished JAG experts and Attain Partners professionals will be present to answer your questions live:
- Dr. Kurt Marek, Chief Research Development Officer, Sanford Burnham Prebys
- Jenny Lodge, Vice President for Research and Innovation, Duke University
- Dr. Penny Gordon-Larsen, Vice Chancellor for Research, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
Indirect Cost Rate Policy Updates and Guidance
With decades of experience in the research ecosystem, Attain Partners is ready to help your institution navigate these changes.
