A restricted research expenditure is an expenditure of funds for which the use of the funds qualifies as research and development and for which an external entity has placed limitations of use. When it established the Texas Comprehensive Research Fund (TCRF) and the Core Research Support Fund (CRSF), the Texas Legislature created formulas to allocate research funds to eligible institutions, based wholly or in part on institutionally certified restricted research expenditures. The purpose of this section is outlined in Texas Administrative Code, Chapter 13, Subchapter G.
Restricted Research Expenditures
The Coordinating Board established Standards and Accounting Methods (SAMs) for reporting restricted research expenditures, which are reviewed and may be revised as needed by the Restricted Research Committee. The Coordinating Board convenes the Restricted Research Committee annually, before the end of each accounting year, for review of awards and transparency of the award list.
Transparency Review Calendar for 2023
| Time Frame | Activity |
| June 5-23 (15 business days) | Submission of Awards |
| June 26-July 7 (9 business days) | THECB Review/Upload to Portal-Restricted Research Expenditure Award List |
| July 10-21 (10 business days) | Review of RRE Award List |
| July 27-August 3 (5 business days) | 2nd Review of RRE Award List (view corrected data in portal; mark questionable items; return spreadsheet with questions to THECB) |
| August 10-15 (4 business days) | Pre-Meeting Responses (receive list of questioned items and respond with justifications to THECB) |
| August 17-23 (5 business days) | Consensus Building – respond to Qualtrics survey (is/is not/undecided) using pre-meeting responses on questioned items |
| August 28, 2023 | Zoom Meeting 1 – 9 a.m. to noon |
| August 29, 2023 | Zoom Meeting 2 – 9 a.m. to noon |
| August 30, 2023 (if needed) | Zoom Meeting 3 – 9 a.m. to noon |
Restricted research classification according to SAMs is a public process that serves two purposes. First, it allows institutions to verify that other institutions have classified expenditures appropriately. Second, it encourages commonality in decision-making where institutions receive contracts and grants from the same programs. See document Overview of Review Process.
Reporting of Restricted Research Expenditures
Institutions shall submit verified reports of their restricted research expenditures to the Commissioner of Higher Education through the Sources and Uses template in the Coordinating Board’s annual Survey of Research Expenditures.
If an institution had expenditures for awards not captured on the Restricted Research Awards List, it may submit the form for unreported awards. The awards will be reviewed by the Restricted Research Committee the following year. Please submit the unreported awards list to Research@highered.texas.gov.
Contact
Restricted Research Expenditures
Inquiries regarding restricted research expenditures should be directed to the research team or Andrew Lofters.
Email Research TeamEmail Andrew Lofters