ICR Expenditures in FY2025

The Central Indirect Cost Recovery (ICR) Allocation Formula Expenditures - 2025

August 19, 2025

This message was sent to all faculty and all staff on all campuses.

Dear Colleagues,

In August of 2024, IU Research (IUR) distributed the first communication in an ongoing annual commitment to share how centrally held indirect cost recovery (ICR) dollars under the purview of IU Research were invested. It was shared via email with all faculty on all campuses. To expand transparency, we write together today to share an outline of how both IUR and University IT Services (UITS), respectively, invested the combined total of centrally held ICR in fiscal year 2025 (FY25), as well as how they are currently committed for fiscal year 2026 (FY26).

As a reminder, per IU’s ICR allocation formula, 30% of ICR dollars from grants and contracts awarded, or renewed, on or after July 1, 2023 (FY24) are held centrally. During FY24, of the centrally retained ICR dollars, 65% was allocated to IUR and 35% was allocated to UITS for research technologies. Effective July 1, 2024 (FY25), the split of the 30% of centrally held ICR changed to the current rate: IUR receives 76% and UITS receives 24%.

The funding landscape may be in the midst of dramatic restructuring. It is important to note that FY26 ICR projections were calculated prior to the start of the current fiscal year (July 1, 2025). Conditional commitments on the chart below for FY26 were made based on those projections in the seven identified areas listed in IU’s ICR allocation formula, and are subject to reconsideration as more information is received regarding federal funding.

Given the ongoing evolution of the funding landscape, we anticipate a potentially significant reduction in ICR income. The Office of the Vice President for University Relations remains engaged and is continuously monitoring the federal landscape to ensure the university’s ability to learn and adapt as quickly as possible. Please continue to check this webpage for relevant executive orders and federal agency announcements.

For FY25, ICR forecasts proved accurate. IUR and UITS received and expended $21.8 million and $6.87 million, respectively.

The following table summarizes how IUR and UITS, respectively, invested the retained ICR funds in FY25, as well as how ICR funds are currently committed for FY26.

Summary of Centrally Held ICR Expenditures (FY24, FY25) and Commitments (FY26)

N/A	FY2024 Expenditures	FY2025 Commitments	FY2025 Expenditures	FY2026 Commitments
IU Research ICR Receiveed & FY26 Projected Pre 2025	$12,913,617	$21,500,000	$21,816,084	$23,169,535
UITS ICR Receiveed & FY26 Projected Pre 2025	$6,500,000	$6,788,571	$6,877,581	$8,228,571
Central ICR Receiveed & FY26 Projected Pre 2025 Totals	$19,413,617	$28,288,571	$28,693,665	$31,398,106

IU Research indirect cost recovery (ICR)

IU Research ICR Expenditure Categories:	FY2024 Expenditures	FY2025 Commitments	FY2025 Expenditures	FY2026 Commitments
Mission Critical Infrastructure - Programs	$2,409,396 % of Total: 17.7%	$1,870,000 % of Total: 6.0%	$1,750,555 % of Total: 7.8%	$1,470,412 % of Total: 4.8%
Mission Critical Infrastructure - Personnel	$4,603,484 % of Total: 33.9%	$716,304 % of Total: 2.3%	$576,652 % of Total: 2.6%	$793,808 % of Total: 2.6%
Research & Animal Space Renovation & Improvements	$112,902 % of Total: 0.8%	$3,000,000 % of Total: 9.7%	$3,493,416 % of Total: 15.6%	$3,160,982 % of Total: 10.3%
Research Infrastructure & Equipment	$1,932,285 % of Total: 14.2%	$1,249,701 % of Total: 4.0%	$1,761,350 % of Total: 7.9%	$7,181,651 % of Total: 23.3%
IU Research Cores, Core Sercives & CIMS/Equipment	$2,044,673 % of Total: 15.1%	$11,659,281 % of Total: 37.6%	$11,128,241 % of Total: 49.7%	$8,189,037 % of Total: 26.6%
Start-up & Retention Packages for Faculty	$54,594 % of Total: 0.4%	$1,030,000 % of Total: 3.3%	$1,234,209 % of Total: 5.5%	$1,316,313 % of Total: 4.3%
Big Initiatives & Opportunities Aligned with IU 2030	$1,118,722 % of Total: 8.2%	$8,266,507 % of Total: 26.7%	$1,718,885 % of Total: 7.7%	$7,296,432 % of Total: 23.7%
Cost-Matching External Grants and Contracts	$711,927 % of Total: 5.2%	$3,200,000 % of Total: 10.3%	$502,035 % of Total: 2.2%	$1,400,000 % of Total: 4.5%
Other Research Support	$596,617 % of Total: 4.4%	$22,500 % of Total: 0.1%	$239,621 % of Total: 1.1%	$0 % of Total: 0.0%
IU Research Totals	$13,584,600	$31,014,293	$22,404,964	$30,808,635

UITS indirect cost recovery (ICR)

UITS ICR Expenditure Categories:	FY2024 Expenditures	FY2025 Commitments	FY2025 Expenditures	FY2026 Commitments
Cyberinfrastructure - Compute, Storage & Maintenance	$1,525,690 % of Total: 99.8%	$4,718,907 % of Total: 59.2%	$4,599,000 % of Total: 54.5%	$11,723,000 % of Total: 72.3%
Research Software & Utilities	$2,500 % of Total: 0.2%	$975,000 % of Total: 12.2%	$1,552,000 % of Total: 18.4%	$1,681,000 % of Total: 10.4%
Research Network Infrastructure & Support	$0 % of Total: 0.0%	$288,000 % of Total: 3.6%	$354,000 % of Total: 4.2%	$451,000 % of Total: 2.8%
Research Operations & Support - Personnel	$0 % of Total: 0.0%	$1,995,601 % of Total: 25.0%	$1,939,000 % of Total: 22.9%	$2,354,000 % of Total: 14.5%
UITS Totals	$1,528,190	$7,977,508	$8,444,000	$16,209,000

Totals for centrally held indirect cost recovery (ICR)

Centrally Held ICR Totals	FY2024 Expenditures	FY2025 Commitments	FY2025 Expenditures	FY2026 Commitments
Centrally Held ICR Totals	$15,112,790	$38,991,801	$30,848,964	$47,017,635

Key Points: IU Research ICR investments for FY25 and commitments for FY26:

For FY25, IU Research spent $22.4M on priority research initiatives across IU. This was a 65% increase over FY24.

Highlights of FY25 ICR investments by IU Research include:
- An additional $9 million invested in supporting centrally administered centers, institutes, museums, and service centers/facilities (CIMS), including some CIMS that completed full transition from joint school/IU Research financial responsibility to full IU Research responsibility. Three notable examples are:
  1. The Gill Institute for Neuroscience;
  2. IU Center for Reliable and Trusted Electronics (IU CREATE); and
  3. IU Nanoscience Core Facility.
- To support the Faculty 100 initiative, IU Research funds $3 million per year to repay the bond utilized to renovate buildings on the Bloomington campus.
- An increase of $1.2 million was invested in faculty start-up and retention support requested by deans and in alignment with IU 2030 Strategic Plan priorities.
- A $4.0 million reduction in ICR utilization for Mission Critical Infrastructure – Personnel was due to a strategic shift of core services personnel costs to be covered by base funds.
FY25 expenditures were $8.6 million under the FY25 commitment due primarily to two factors:
- Spending delays mostly due to capital expenditures:
  1. Applied Research Center (ARC) - $3 million;
  2. IU Launch Accelerator for Biosciences (IU LAB) - $3 million; and
  3. Regenstrief Institute Partnership Agreement - $300,000
- Lower than anticipated need for required cost-matching

For FY26, IU Research has committed $30.8 million ICR dollars representing a 38%, or $8.4 million, increase over FY25 expenditures.

ICR forecasts developed prior to July 1, 2025, which will likely significantly decrease if the funding landscape shifts, projected IUR to receive $23.2 million in FY26.
- IU leadership is continuing to monitor the evolving federal funding landscape.
- New federal funding guidelines are expected in October 2025, but may possibly be delayed.
Two key IUR FY26 ICR investment areas:
- Research Equipment and Infrastructure: $5.4 million increase, including $5 million for build out of the IU Indianapolis Science Annex;
- Big Initiatives: $5.6 million increase, including significant investments in IU LAB and ARC
Completion of a $3.0 million commitment to the IU Nanoscience Core Facility is the majority driver of change in CIMS spending.

Key Points: University IT Services investments of ICR in research technologies for FY25

UITS carries forward unspent funds from prior fiscal years to ensure resources are available for major cyberinfrastructure investments, such as replacing computational and storage systems, that may exceed annual ICR revenues. This strategic approach, used in FY24 to support FY25 commitments, will continue in future years to sustain critical infrastructure upgrades.

The investments of ICR funds allocated to UITS in support of research are guided by input from the High Performance Computing Faculty Advisory Council and the Research Data Storage Advisory Committee, which are composed of faculty and staff users, as well as UITS and IUR leadership. These groups provide recommendations to the Vice President for Research and the Vice President for IT & CIO, who serve as executive sponsors.

For FY25, UITS invested in the following:

Research Cyberinfrastructure
- Geode storage system refresh - $2.08 million (invoices spread over FY25-26) 
- Quartz computational system GPU augmentation - $504,000 (in addition to $1.5 million invested in FY24) 
- Research desktop hardware refresh - $1.1 million
- Big Red 200 GPU memory augmentation - $122,000
- Scholarly Data Archive capacity upgrade - $643,000
- Slate/Big Red 200 InfiniBand Storage Network Refresh - $147,000
Research Software and Utilities
- Annual licensing for Research Software - $849,000
- Annual support and maintenance for computational and storage environments - $703,000
Research Network Infrastructure & Support
- Research Network engineer personnel - $106,000 (note: charges began Q2FY25)
- Research Network switch and optic additions to accommodate new systems - $143,000
- Annual support for high-speed connectivity between IUB and IUI data centers - $105,000 
Research Technologies Operations and & Support – Personnel
- UITS personnel supporting research students, faculty, and staff - $1.94 million (note: charges began Q2FY25)

For FY26, UITS has committed ICR funds to the following:

Research Cyberinfrastructure
- Geode storage system refresh (install in progress) - $1.2 million
- Research Desktop hardware addition - $800,000
- Big Red 200 refresh (phase I) - $7 million
- Big Red 200 storage / Slate refresh (phase I) - $2.25 million
- Scholarly Data Archive capacity upgrade (tape and disk cache) - $473,000
Research Software and Utilities
- Annual licensing for Research Software - $928,000
- Annual support and maintenance for computational and storage environments - $753,000
Research Network Infrastructure & Support
- Research Network engineer personnel $163,000
- Annual support for high-speed connectivity between IUB and IUI data centers $288,000
Research Operations and & Support – Personnel
- UITS personnel supporting research students, faculty, and staff - $2.35 million

Over the past year, we have continued conversations with faculty and research leadership groups, as well as individuals, from across the university. These ongoing engagements provide critical feedback and suggestions for how IUR and UITS can most effectively invest increasingly scarce ICR resources in line with the allocation formula.

We remain committed to our shared service missions and to being transparent regarding resource investments to support expansion of existing, and pursuit of new, research and creative activity in pursuit of IU 2030 Strategic Plan goals.

Please continue to share your ideas, questions or concerns with your department chairs, associate deans for research and faculty council leadership to help ensure the services provided by IUR and UITS are meeting strategic and real-time needs. And, as always, you may reach out directly at any time to:

IU Research via email: research@iu.edu or this online contact form. University IT Services via email: researchtechnologies@iu.edu.

Sincerely,

Russell J. Mumper
Vice President for Research

Aaron Neal
Interim Vice President for IT and CIO

ICR Expenditures in FY2025

The Central Indirect Cost Recovery (ICR) Allocation Formula Expenditures - 2025

Summary of Centrally Held ICR Expenditures (FY24, FY25) and Commitments (FY26)

IU Research indirect cost recovery (ICR)

UITS indirect cost recovery (ICR)

Totals for centrally held indirect cost recovery (ICR)

Key Points: IU Research ICR investments for FY25 and commitments for FY26:

Key Points: University IT Services investments of ICR in research technologies for FY25

For FY25, UITS invested in the following:

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