Latest news with #Landrigan
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
More big checks from Des Moines' Big Grove Brewery
DES MOINES, Iowa — In less than three years on Ingersoll Avenue, Big Grove Brewery has already developed a reputation as a very generous neighbor. 'I almost walked right down the street and shook somebody's hand!' said Amy Landrigan, the executive director of The Beacon — a nearby charity dedicated to helping women in crisis. On Wednesday, Big Grove made The Beacon one of two recipients of its annual Big Grove for Good grants. 'First of all, it's right in our backyard in the Sherman Hill neighborhood,' said Lindsey Rawson-Van Wyk, Big Grove's community coordinator at its Des Moines location. 'We can literally walk there, they can walk to us, so that felt like a great way to support literally our neighbors.' Selected from a pool of applicants, The Beacon and Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice each got $8,000 checks from the newly formed Big Grove For Good foundation. The Beacon says that money will go a long way. Greenfield resident uncertain about rebuilding after tornado 'It costs $26 a day at a minimum to provide services to the women at The Beacon,' Landrigan said, 'so that $8,000 divided by 26, we can provide for that many women for that many days this year. That's just huge for us.' As a woman who originally came to The Beacon as a client, Marlena Hemphill can attest to all the good this money can do. 'When you're in that situation where life is coming down hard on you and you don't know which way to turn,' she said, 'it just feels amazing to know that you're supported by people who don't even know you.' Rawson-Van Wyk says this annual event has become one of her favorite parts of her job. 'Making those phone calls each year to the recipients honestly still brings tears to my eyes,' she smiled. 'Even though we're in our third year of doing it.' Big Grove is a brewery … and some of the women at The Beacon are struggling with sobriety and substance abuse. Landrigan says Big Grove made a special effort to bridge the gap. 'They've created a line of mocktails,' she said. 'That may not sound like a big deal, but we knew they had us in mind and we really appreciated that.' Big Grove has written grants to seven Des Moines non-profits so far, with all of the money coming straight off their bottom line. It's an effort that has not gone unnoticed. 'They don't just want to be another bar and another restaurant,' said Landrigan. 'They want to truly invest in their neighborhood.' Metro News: Downtown ride honors nearly 400 Iowa cyclists injured, killed in last year More big checks from Des Moines' Big Grove Brewery Homeowner describes how his family escaped burning home that left 3 dead Iowa man accused of fatally neglecting dog and 'dumping' its body to hide crime Names of victims in deadly Des Moines house fire released Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Boston Globe
14-02-2025
- Science
- Boston Globe
What are ‘indirect costs,' the money the NIH is trying to slash from science research?
'[Indirect costs] are essential for research because if those infrastructure costs are not covered, quite simply the researchers cannot do their work,' said Philip J. Landrigan, director of the Program for Global Public Health and the Common Good and professor of biology at Boston College. NIH's receive Advertisement 'If these infrastructure costs are cut down to 15% across the board, a lot of research — I won't say it grinds to a halt — but it slows way down. A lot of it is not going to get done because researchers won't be able to afford to stay on the jobs,' Landrigan said. We talked to researchers to understand the history of indirect funds, what they're used for, and how the change in policy will impact research. How, when and why did indirect costs originate as a separate bucket from direct costs? The government emerged as a major source of funding for scientific research after World War II. As more research was conducted, the government recognized that 'a successful university-based research infrastructure could expand and improve only if the costs incurred in connection with — beyond the obvious direct costs of research — were reimbursed,' according to the Advertisement Why and how has the rate increased since the 1940s, when it was just 8 percent? For years, limitations on indirect cost rates varied among government agencies; before 1955, the NIH limited its rate to 8 percent, according to the National Science Foundation. That cap steadily increased, and in 1965, individual institutions Since then, these costs have skyrocketed, mainly due to inflation, 'which has made the cost of all goods and services, including research, increase substantially over the last 40 years,' according to the Welkin Johnson, the chair of the biology department at Boston College, said indirect costs are negotiated with individual institutions because they are dependent on where the research is being done, and, for example, how much electricity costs in that area. 'Indirect costs recognize that there's a lot of infrastructure and compliance costs that are related to any grant,' he said. According to the NIH, it spent more than $35 billion in Fiscal Year 2023 on research grants. About $26 billion went to direct costs, while $9 billion was allocated to indirect charges. How are indirect costs determined? For the last several decades, institutions have negotiated their indirect funding rate directly with the government. Landrigan said that every few years, auditors from the federal government survey the cost of overhead expenses and factor that into the indirect cost rate. 'The rates go up and down over the years as reflecting changes in the economy, changes in the real estate market, things like that,' he said. Advertisement What can and can't funding for indirect costs be spent on? The NIH lays out what expenses are considered direct, indirect, or unallowable in its Among the expenses not allowable under direct or indirect costs are alcoholic beverages (unless they are used in the project), unrecoverable debts, building acquisition and entertainment. Why do private philanthropies and non profits pay just 15 percent in indirect costs? In its announcement slashing the indirect rate to a fixed 15%, the NIH pointed to comparatively low rates paid to research institutions by private foundations. The NIH wrote that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has a maximum indirect rate of 15%. But researchers said this is not a fair comparison. Daniele Lantagne, research professor at the Feinstein International Center at Tufts University, said that some private foundations calculate their indirect cost payments differently from the government. Private organizations usually cover what the federal government considers 'indirect costs' as part of their payment for direct costs, such as high powered super computers and their data storage, staff to care for animals used in research, and staff to ensure the research complies with government regulations. Researchers still get some indirect funding from private entities to cover costs that are harder to quantify for the project, like electricity and heating, Lantagne said. Could universities use their endowments to cover more indirect research costs? It's unlikely that universities would spend their endowment money to cover indirect costs no longer covered by the government, researchers said. Part of the reason is because endowment money is often locked in trusts, and universities cannot readily access that capital, Landrigan said. Advertisement Endowment money is usually used to cover faculty salaries, construction of new buildings, and teaching activities, Landrigan added. Johnson said that endowment donations often come with instructions on how they're to be used. 'They can't just cash all that money in and use it to run research,' he said. Kay Lazar of the Globe staff contributed reporting. Emily Spatz can be reached at
