Facilities and Administrative Cost Recovery

The resources required to conduct extramural research include those elements which are directly attributable on a project-by-project basis.

The costs that indirectly support extramural research on an institutional basis (e.g., research administration and accounting, purchasing, library, space, maintenance) which cannot be directly attributed to a specific project are defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as F&A Costs.  There are specific rates, referred to as F&A Rates, established for each institution for the recovery these expenditures.

  • For additional information on F&A rates and related policy information, please visit the Costing Policy & Analysis page.
  • Resources are available through the Office of Research Sponsored Programs to understand how F&A Rates impact research proposals, grants and contracts.

Commonly referred to as Indirect Costs (IDC), when IDC is recovered by the institution we have historically referred to the funds as Indirect Cost Recovery (ICR). Given these funds are reimbursements for real expenses to the University related to F&A costs, we now refer to the funds received as F&A Cost Recovery Funds.  

Allocations of F&A Cost Recovery Funds were changed in 2011-12 as a result of the UC Funding Streams initiative and the implementation of UC Davis’ Incentive-Based Budget Model.  Funds are now allocated via the F&A Campus Return Program where a portion of F&A Cost Recovery Funds generated are allocated back to the school/college that performed the research and a portion is held centrally by the Central Campus to support campus-wide initiatives. 

Current allocation information can be found below.  


F&A Cost Recovery Program Overviews 


Recent Budget Model Allocations


Additional references and issue papers