In response to the freeze, schools are turning to Washington lobbyists to prowl the federal bureaucracy on their behalf, pleading with local benefactors to make up the difference in funds, and aggressively seeking federal grants. Researchers have been forced to shift priorities or lower their ambitions. In some cases, workers have been let go.
“What’s happening now in the post-earmark world is that it becomes a multifaceted strategy,’’ said Michael Armini, who oversees Northeastern University’s government relations. “It’s not just all about Capitol Hill.’’
For large institutions such as Northeastern and Boston University, the shift means beefing up their staffs with consultants and lobbying firms to help them navigate other potential funding paths and pitch directly to federal research agencies.
“All serious major universities are strengthening their federal relations,’’ said Jean Morrison, provost at BU, which is seeking an assistant vice president for federal relations. “Lobbying is just one part. The other part is to be knowledgeable about what kinds of things the federal government and different agencies are going to want to be funding.’’
Northeastern has added two full-time lobbyists as part of an effort to expand its footprint in Washington. Its president, Joseph Aoun, flies down here monthly, more frequently than any previous leader of the university, and the school is hiring additional D.C.-based lobbying firms with a specific focus on federal agencies.
Though earmarks accounted for less than 5 percent of its federal research funding, Northeastern has long fared well under the system, most notable being its 1986 haul of $15 million for the construction of its main library, secured by Senator Edward M. Kennedy and House Speaker Thomas P. O’Neill Jr.
Since the practice ended earlier this year, the university has scaled back its ambitions. It had sought $6 million to study the effects of fatigue and dehydration on combat troops, as well as to launch a center on defense-related information technologies.
