Indirect costs

Indirect costs are costs that are not directly accountable to a cost object (such as a particular project, facility, function or product). Indirect costs may be either fixed or variable. Indirect costs include administration, personnel and security costs. These are those costs which are not directly related to production. Some indirect costs may be overhead. But some overhead costs can be directly attributed to a project and are direct costs.

There are two types of indirect costs. One are the fixed indirect costs which contains activities or costs that are fixed for a particular project or company like transportation of labor to the working site, building temporary roads, etc. The other are recurring indirect costs which contains activities that repeat for a particular company like maintenance of records or payment of salaries.

Indirect vs direct costs

Most cost estimates are broken down into direct costs and indirect costs.

Direct costs are directly attributable to the object. In construction, the costs of materials, labor, equipment, etc., and all directly involved efforts or expenses for the cost object are direct costs. In manufacturing or other non-construction industries the portion of operating costs that is directly assignable to a specific product or process is a direct cost. Direct costs are those for activities or services that benefit specific projects, for example salaries for project staff and materials required for a particular project. Because these activities are easily traced to projects, their costs are usually charged to projects on an item-by-item basis.

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Latest News for: indirect costs

Federal grant freeze, likely cuts chill local scientists, universities

Duluth News Tribune 21 Feb 2025
Many NIH grants for research universities help cover indirect costs or research expenses related to facilities, equipment or personnel.

UM's Ono warns higher education faces 'a critical moment' after Trump moves

Detroit news 21 Feb 2025
7 National Institutes of Health directive that all future and current research grants will be subject to a 15% cap on indirect costs, Ono said he worked with partners to mobilize a coalition of 22 ...

It shouldn't take Tony Blair to expose the myth about green jobs

The Daily Telegraph 21 Feb 2025
These costs are not just direct, in the form of state subsidies to industry to become environmentally friendly, or public sector jobs in “sustainability”, but also the indirect cost of British ...

US scientists protest against funding cuts

China Daily 21 Feb 2025
That measure will substantially cut federal spending on indirect costs essential for the operation of universities and research institutes, including expenses for new equipment, maintenance, utilities and support staff.

Former Acting Health Secretary Downplays Effects of NIH Cuts at IOP Event

The Harvard Crimson 21 Feb 2025
The forum comes two weeks after a maximum indirect cost cap of 15 percent on NIH funding was introduced in an NIH order, prompting criticism from health professionals and Harvard officials ... 21 ... “There is a tension on how to do it better,” He said ... .

Academic researchers sweat over Trump administration's funding cuts

People Daily 21 Feb 2025
SACRAMENTO, United States, Feb ... dollars in National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants in 2024, could lose about 121 million dollars under a new policy that caps indirect research costs, according to a New York Times analysis of NIH grant data ... .

Roundup: Academic researchers sweat over Trump administration's funding cuts

Xinhua 21 Feb 2025
(Xinhua/Liu Jie) ... dollars in National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants in 2024, could lose about 121 million dollars under a new policy that caps indirect research costs, according to a New York Times analysis of NIH grant data ... Comments. Comments (0).

‘I Was Scared to Say I Was A Republican’

The Harvard Crimson 21 Feb 2025
(Harvard spokespeople declined to comment for this article.) Trump has already tried to slash National Institutes of Health support for indirect research costs as part of his currently unsuccessful ...

Takeaways to understand ‘indirect costs’ and NIH funding (University of Pennsylvania)

Public Technologies 20 Feb 2025
F&A ("indirect") costs support critical infrastructure and personnel. Indirect costs can be broken into two categories ... All of these are similar to the support infrastructure that is supported by indirect cost recovery.".

'Heartbreaking to slow down': UW-Madison researchers warn funding cuts would delay new treatments for cancer, more

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 20 Feb 2025
Cancer researchers and other scientists do not know exactly how the cuts in NIH funding for overhead costs, also known as "indirect costs," would trickle down to their individual labs ... indirect costs.

Dartmouth researchers say Trump’s NIH funding cuts will hurt 'life-saving work'

Foster's Daily Democrat 20 Feb 2025
A directive from the president earlier this month attempted to cap “indirect costs” covered by NIH, which distributes funding to researchers at institutions across the country, at 15%, which would amount to an estimated cut of $4 billion per year.

Tennessee leaders raise alarm that NIH spending cap will hamstring medical research

Knox News 20 Feb 2025
7 to establish a 15% cap on how much of a grant's value the agency will provide researchers to cover indirect costs associated with research − including security, required maintenance and utilities for projects.

NIH funding cuts threaten LI research institutions

Newsday 20 Feb 2025
The change would cap the "indirect cost" reimbursement rates for any grant at 15% ... And those indirect funds are critical for our research institutions to function.

The silent victims of cancer: unravelling the indirect consequences on children

The Hindu 20 Feb 2025
While policies focus on reducing direct treatment costs, easing the indirect burden - through caregiver aid, educational support, and employment protections - is equally crucial ....

NIH funding cuts are Trump’s latest attack on education, professors say

AOL 20 Feb 2025
As part of the grants, the agency also covers the “indirect costs” of research – such as keeping the lights, heating and cooling on and maintaining often sophisticated lab equipment – all costs that are not easily attributable to a single project.
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