Lab techs are often classified as “administrative and professional” employees by university HR but on NIH grants they would be paid for as a direct cost, other personnel (B on the R&R budget form).
I think “core” facilites can be handled a bit differently.
There are certainly NIH mechanisms for supporting them, but I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them are partially supported—-or at least backstopped—-by indirects…
Yes, this is so. Ideally, you’d see a mix of direct support (e.g., a core as part of a large site grant like a U54) for things that advance the state of the art and indirect support for core activities supporting other investigators. Institutions vary how they manage core facilities as cost centers, what level they’re administered at (unit or uni-wide).
