About AIRI

Mike "Chip" Morgan AIRI President

The Association of Independent Research Institutes (AIRI) is a nationwide association of eighty-nine (89) independent, not-for-profit research institutes. These institutes are an integral part of the United States research community. Their scientists, who include nine Nobel laureates, perform outstanding research as judged by peers and funding agencies, and they train both graduate and postdoctoral students. These institutions, an important complement to university-based research, provide an environment that many scientists find preferable and more productive.

Together, the independent, not-for-profit research institutes composing AIRI receive about 11% of the extramural funds awarded by the National Institutes of Health and a lesser proportion of National Science Foundation awards. AIRI institutes also receive funding from other federal agencies, such as the Department of Energy, Center for Disease Control, and the Department of Defense, as well as voluntary health agencies, private foundations, and corporations.

AIRI institutions are distinct from other organizations involved in research, such as universities, hospitals, and for-profits, in their organization, mission, and size. They are independent; their primary mission is research (with education and service as important secondary functions); and they tend to be relatively small in size with budgets from less than one million dollars to several tens of millions of dollars. The nature of the challenges and opportunities facing the management of these institutions is also distinct. Independent research institutes are not unlike small businesses, with special opportunities such as the ability to move quickly without the constraints imposed by large bureaucracy, and also with special needs such as access to purchasing pools for employee benefits or liability insurance.

AIRI exists to promote communication among institute management staff about common interests and to pursue issues at the federal government level that are in the interest of member institutions and their scientists. Directors of AIRI member institutions may share such common challenges as best utilization of trustees, recruitment of new scientists, and fund raising. Transferring an invention to industry for further development into a marketable product can be particularly difficult for a small institute that cannot support an in-house professional licensing staff. AIRI members help each other manage such challenges. Administrators may share problems with selecting an appropriate computerized fund accounting system, developing employee benefit packages that meet the increasingly rigorous federal requirements, or securing adequate liability insurance without debilitating exclusions. In fact, AIRI has worked with insurance companies to develop an insurance program that provides appropriate coverage at premiums that will reflect the favorable claims experience of the group. Administrators may also share concerns about how to implement federal regulations and whether these regulations are being applied to their institute in a fair and equitable manner.

AIRI also focuses its efforts on federal issues that uniquely affect independent, not-for-profit research institutes. Independent, not-for-profit research institutes are sometimes subject to different federal regulations and laws than other institutions conducting research, leading to inconsistent treatment that can be detrimental to the funding of the best researchers regardless of their institutional affiliation. Independent research institutes want to be separate, but equal, with a chance to compete for funding on the same terms as universities.

The overall goal of AIRI is to ensure that independent, not-for-profit research institutes succeed in accomplishing their mission of conducting high quality research.

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