Universities shy from research contracts

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Jul 30, 2008 | by Lisa M Krieger

Caught between the demands of academic freedom and national security in a post- Sept. 11 world, the Bay Area's two major research universities are walking away from lucrative research contracts rather than consenting to what they say are intrusive restrictions on their work.

A major new study of 20 top schools found 180 instances of "troublesome clauses" attached by the federal government to research contracts -- up from 138 in 2004. The survey, conducted by two Washington-based groups, Association of American Universities and Council on Governmental Relations, concluded that the vast majority of disputes involve the U.S. Department of Defense or defense contractors.

UC Berkeley reported 12 cases in which restrictions led to impasses in research grant negotiations; Stanford University reported three. University officials would not elaborate on how many of those cases were resolved -- or how much money the schools lost by passing up grants.

Federally funded research is critical to UC Berkeley and Stanford. But so is their ability to share discoveries with the vast scientific community in classrooms, conferences and journals.

"We have principles of academic freedom," said Carol Mimura, UC Berkeley's assistant vice chancellor for intellectual property and research. "And we can never violate those principles."

In an effort to safeguard research data from potential terrorists, the Department of Defense and other federal agencies increasingly tie strings onto their research contracts, despite a long-standing presidential order that such findings be open and public.

Sometimes they want the right to review, edit or prevent publication of research discoveries.