Washington — The governing board of the National Science Foundation wants to hear more comments — by October 1 — from colleges about “cost sharing” on the agency’s research grants.

A task force of the National Science Board recommended in February that the NSF resume requiring universities to ante up their own cash, including donations they secure from industry, as a condition for receiving certain kinds of industry-oriented research centers.

In 2004 the NSF ended a policy of requiring grant applicants to kick in a chunk of the direct cost of some research projects. Some scientists worried that the requirement had squeezed out cash-strapped institutions from competing for the agency’s research grants. However, others have argued that cost sharing is a way to stretch federal research dollars, and the board is reassessing the 2004 decision.

In a Federal Register notice last week, the science board requested comments on the effect of “voluntary” cost sharing. The NSF would not specifically require those, but the contributions could enhance a grant applicant’s chances of success. The board wants to know the impact of both mandatory and voluntary cost sharing on the ability of minority scientists and minority-serving institutions to win agency grants.

The notice requests comment on several other questions, including the workload for institutions to track and report cost-sharing expenses. —Jeffrey Brainard