Research Enterprise Solutions Podcast NSF Data Audits

Anne Sullivan Pifer

The National Science Foundation has been changing its approach to client audits, now using what it calls data analytics audits. The bottom line is that researchers who receive NSF grants can expect much more thorough reviews.

This change is creating apprehension among some grantees about how to prepare for the audits. In this podcast, the first in a new series of podcasts from the Research Enterprise Solutions practice at Huron, Anne Sullivan, a Huron senior director, talks about the audits and what can be expected. What kind of data will NSF want to review? What is a “high risk” institution? How should a response to the audit be structured within an institution?

She suggests a very thorough and detailed justification for every decision. That approach helped the University of California, Santa Barbara reduce a proposed NSF fine from $6 million to a mere $43,000.