Congress imposed a ban on earmarks, which means those days are gone now. So university presidents and their scientists are going straight to agencies to peddle their work for federal cash. CU recently hatched a two-person Washington operation so staffers could aggressively engage the federal workers who rarely get on planes to go to places like Boulder or the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora. "You get to know whoever is in charge. You get to know the person who is making the decisions," said University of Colorado president Bruce Benson. "Getting personal relationships is the key and then working those relationships." CSU is also working the federal angle more than it used to since state funding support has fallen from 16 percent of the school's overall budget a few years ago to just 11 percent this year. President Tony Frank recently came to Washington to mingle with officials at the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Interior to boast about current projects.
http://www.dailycamera.com/news/ci_21040062/colorado-universities-court-research-funding-washington
