Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation Terri Fiez
Highly-publicized threats to federal research funding in recent months have highlighted the importance of understanding the budget process and sharing the impact of our research. After deep cuts were initially proposed by the Trump administration, the House and Senate released an omnibus spending bill Sunday night, April 30, that provides continued support for research through the remainder of the fiscal year.
It is widely believed this bipartisan compromise will pass by the end of the week, thus avoiding a government shutdown—a big sigh of relief!
Next up is the fiscal year 2018 budget process. The previous several months have demonstrated that a stronger working knowledge of the federal budget process may help calm anxieties and reveal positive ways we can work together to arm our delegation with stories of research and innovation impact.
The process kicks off each year with the president’s request, which is only the first step in a months-long process of revisions, input, debate and compromise before Congress finalizes spending levels through the budget and appropriations process.
The president’s budget request is a detailed statement outlining the administration’s fiscal and policy priorities for the upcoming year, but the Constitution ultimately gives Congress the “power of the purse.” Congress can take into account the president's priorities, but it has the final say on federal spending.
Over the the next several months, Congress will pass its own budget resolution that describes its fiscal priorities. Congressional appropriators will then meet to make decisions on which programs are funded and at what levels. By the Sept. 30 deadline, a majority of Congress must approve the spending decisions, followed by the president.
Bottom line? Determining the federal budget is a lengthy and complex process that includes many opportunities for input along the way—and it often ends quite differently than it started.
Still, we all want to know what we can do while the process plays out.
- We can be patient while the process runs its course and avoid the temptation to assume the worst. The final budget may be quite different than the initial proposal.
- We can stay informed by understanding the budget process, keeping current on budget negotiations, identifying possible impacts on our projects or people and developing contingency plans to keep our work moving forward.
- We can share our perspectives and priorities with lawmakers. As a university, we are actively working with Colorado's congressional delegation and will continue to remain engaged throughout the budget process.
- We can diversify our approach by bolstering our efforts with our federal partners while also exploring untapped opportunities to increase funding and impact through alternative channels like collaborative proposals, industry partnerships and foundations.
Not to be forgotten are the ongoing efforts already taking place on campus to maintain and grow our research funding opportunities. I’m especially proud of the initiative we are taking in the following areas to strengthen our ability to pursue transformative research regardless of the federal funding environment:
- Grow industry engagement: We’ve formalized five major partnership agreements in the last six months alone, and we’re focused more than ever on partnering with industry for mutual benefit.
- Cultivate foundation relationships to support research and creative works: We’re just getting started here, but already making progress in several key areas.
- Provide resources to support faculty in pursuing large, collaborative funding opportunities: The Research & Innovation Office (RIO) offers a growing number and range of workshops and other resources to provide guidance and proposal support, especially for the most innovative and transformative opportunities.
What’s next? The administration is expected to release its detailed fiscal year 2018 budget request to Congress the week of May 22. The request will likely feature the same topline numbers as the initial proposal but with additional details included. Remember, Congress will have the final say on any potential funding levels, and months of negotiations are still ahead.
In the meantime, we’ve created a Research and Federal Funding webpage so you can track key budget developments and stay engaged in opportunities to take positive action. The page also invites you to share questions you have about federal funding; we’ll answer them for you and add the most common and broadly relevant questions to our FAQs on the page.
All the best for the last week of the term! Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me over the summer so I can meet you and hear about your research.
Terri Fiez,
Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation
