Research On The Research Indirect Costs And Their Allocation Method In Chinese Universities

Universities are the main body of knowledge innovation and the special "factory" of personal training. The production of research projects and graduates need not only the direct costs, but also the support of common resources such as buildings, equipments and administration. The study on the University Research Indirect Costs Allocation Method (URICAM) is to determine how to allocate the shared costs to research activity in a reasonable manner, so as to recover the full costs of research activity. The government and scholars in the U. S., U. K. and other developed countries have conducted in-depth research on the topic. The achievements play a major role to ensure that universities in these countries have a first-class research base. The results of search show that the reseach on the subject is almost blank in China. The problems resulted from lack of research on URICAM influenced the sustainable development of university research, and threat the quality of education. The thesis is derived from the cognition of the importance and urgency of this research in China and the inspiration acquired from learning and research during my stay in the University of Toronto as a government-sponsored visiting scholar. The research aims to 1) compute the costs of research projects scientiflcly, so as to provide information for budget and pricing; 2) to promote the government to compensate the research indirect costs reasonably, so as to ensure the sustainable development of university research and the harmonious advancement of teaching and research; 3) to control the expenses of direct costs effectively, so as to reduce the waste of money and build a saving country; 4) to provide theoretical and scientific basis for the government to formulate a unified policy about research indirect costs, so as to guide centralized management departments and universities a standardized operation; 5) to enforce universities to strengthen internal cost management, so as to realize the scientific management based on the standardization. The analyses of the relevant R&D policies, R&D expenses from government and the extent of recovery of indirect costs in the, U. S., U. K., Canada, Australia, HangKang and Mainland revealed that the government compensation mechanism in U. S. and U. K. have complete theoretical system and distinctive allocation methods. Accordingly, the author designed the content and ideas of the research. Selected appropriate research methods are comparative study, case study and field study, which used for different purposes. This research imported and digested the URICAM used in U. S. and U. K., created a model suitable for indirect costs allocation in Chinese universities, considering the problems esixted in the management of university research funds, and designed the protection mechanism to ensure the efficient realization. The case, through field study, proved that the designed model is scientific, feasible and exercisable.At first, the thesis in-depth analyzed the URICAM in U. S. and U. K.. It shows that the two countries have some common characteristics, for example, formulating consistent and scientific policies on research costs, fully compensating the research indirect costs, through research on the URICAM. The main difference of their allocation methods is that the method in U. S. could control the expenses of direct costs, and the method in U. K. is helpful for internal cost management. Then, it compared the administration status quo in China with that in U. S. and U. K., especially in U. S., and summed up four problems existed in the management of research indirect costs, for instance, the prescribed lower rate of indirect cost and inconsistent policies. Referring to the essences and princles of allocation methods in U. S. and U. K., an appropriate model and related calculating steps to distribute indirect costs to research projects was designed. The design of key elements such as cost attribution process and method and eliminated costs, and the solutions to the difficulties such as the salary distribution, the depreciation or use allowance, and the construction of indirect cost pools, shows the innovation and the consistence to Chinese practices. The case study result based on the datum from financial report, accounting system, and salary system validated the theoretical and practical value of the designed model and calculation. At last it studyed the mechanism to ensure the effective implementation of designed allocation method, including the five aspects at the government layer, i. e. regulation, administration mode, accounting, funding and supervision, and the micro protection on the university level. The management mode based on benchmark research indirect cost rate was explored.The initiatives of this thesis are: 1) systematically studied the operation mode, policy system, allocation method and etc. for the first time, extracted the basic principles, operational mechanism and management features, which provided reference for the study on the research indirect costs and that related; 2) created our university research indirect cost allocation model from the above results, considering the national situation and adaptability to solve practical problems purposeful, and tested the scientificity, feasibility and greater operability of the model through a actual case; 3) put forward the protection mechanism to achieve the efficiency of designed model, including the operation mechanism at government's macro-level and universities' micro-level, which are specific and innovative, and have strong reference value to the government decision-making and implementation in the universities.