This week the National Academies released a report titled, “Optimizing the Nation's Investment in Academic Research: A New Regulatory Framework for the 21st Century, Part 1.” The report details the expansion of the federal regulatory system and asserts that the current regulatory framework is negatively impacting the effectiveness of the US research investment by allowing administrative requirements to take time away from research.

The report lists specific actions to be taken by Congress, the White House Office of Management and Budget, federal research agencies, and research institutions, with the following recommendations:

• The research regulatory regime (comprising laws, regulations, rules, policies, guidance’s, and requirements) should be critically reexamined and recalibrated;
• Universities must foster a culture of integrity and accountability and demand the highest standards in individual and institutional behavior;
• Inspectors General responsibilities should give consideration to both uncovering waste, fraud, and abuse, and to advising on economy, efficiency, and effectiveness; and
• The creation of a new entity, a government-linked Research Policy Board, and a new Associate Director for Academic Research Enterprise in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, to foster a more effective conception, development, and harmonization of research policies.

Last updated: September 29, 2015