An evaluation of indirect cost rate determination at the Naval Postgraduate School

Abstract

Since its inception, faculty of the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) have conducted research and development for the United States Navy, its sister military services, and other various agencies spread across the federal government. For its support of research efforts, NPS is reimbursed for actual costs incurred in association with providing research and development. Over the past several years the school has experienced a significant increase in the amount of reimbursable program dollars coming into the school. Recently, school administrators questioned whether reimbursement rates charged to research customers accurately reflected the actual cost incurred in providing the service. In 2003, NPS commissioned PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), a professional consulting firm, to study the current rate structure and make recommendations as to what rates NPS should charge for reimbursable research and education. PwC's final report was submitted to the school in the spring of 2004. The purpose of this research project is to analyze their final report to understand the methodology and procedures PwC used to determine rates, and determine if the rate structure proposed by PwC is appropriate for implementation at NPS.