VINAY PRASAD: NIH reduced indirects from 60+% to 15%: 10 things you should know. “You might not realize that when the National Institutes of Health gives out grants, it also pays the institution getting the grant with ‘indirects’, which can be used for any purpose. That means if 100 dollars is paid to the individual grant recipient, 60 dollars or more may be paid to the university. For some facilities it is 90 (see links below). This is obviously money that can’t be spent on more grants. . . . The NIH is now in line with many philanthropic associations that cap indirects at 10-15%. See below. This is widely considered acceptable by universities.”