SOM RESEARCHERS
DEPARTMENT CHAIRS
DEPARTMENTAL BUSINESS OFFICERS
February 23, 1999
SUBJECT: VMRF
We have been engaged in lengthy negotiations with VMRF to establish an
agreement to effectively govern the complexities associated with UCSD/VA
joint appointee sponsored research awards administered by VMRF. We have
recently concluded that it will not be possible to reach an agreement with
VMRF that satisfies UCSD's concerns, principally in the Risk Management
area. We have also concluded that the continuation of this impasse is more
harmful to UCSD and our joint appointees than our inability to satisfy these
concerns. Therefore, we will take the following two steps as of today:
1.	UCSD will accept Personnel Agreements (PAs) requested by VMRF for
any
University faculty and staff employees doing VMRF sponsored research.
Overhead for such agreements will be at a 16% rate which will be subject to
annual UCSD review, as appropriate.
2. In order for UCSD/VA joint appointees to submit human subject protocols
to a single IRB, UCSD will formally request approval from the Federal Office
of Protection from Research Risks to add VMRF to the UCSD Multiple Project
Assurance. After such approval is received, investigators will only be
required to submit to one entity for protocol approval.
We will continue agreement negotiations, and are confident that an
agreement with VMRF can now be reached quickly, but formal implementation of
a PA qualification process, and UCSD IRB approval services will no longer be
contingent upon our efforts to finalize a document. If you have any
questions concerning this topic, please contact Linda Dale in the Office of
Contract and Grant Administration, x43333 (email -ldale@ucsd.edu).
John F. Alksne	John A. Woods
Vice Chancellor, Vice Chancellor,
Health Sciences	Resource Management and Planning