>2- you're giving waaaaay too much credit to the University or Research Institute evaluators. This has always worked, somehow or other, there's a way around the rules for a determined researcher to get their toy. Plus, if $200K is awarded for instrumentation, then $200K is precisely what the widget will cost.
Not that there's no wiggle room, but the NIH and NSF had auditors, who then both send to field experts. They ask for photographs of the instrumentation, serial numbers, etc. Then my university has their own auditors, which do the same thing, including in-person visits and brief demonstrations, asset tags, and various other pieces of paperwork. Finally, the state itself has auditors which do also the same thing, although the state auditors would probably be pretty easy to pull the wool over their eyes.
Under $5000? Yeah it'd be trivial. But over $5000 is under quite a bit of scrutiny.
Not that there's no wiggle room, but the NIH and NSF had auditors, who then both send to field experts. They ask for photographs of the instrumentation, serial numbers, etc. Then my university has their own auditors, which do the same thing, including in-person visits and brief demonstrations, asset tags, and various other pieces of paperwork. Finally, the state itself has auditors which do also the same thing, although the state auditors would probably be pretty easy to pull the wool over their eyes.
Under $5000? Yeah it'd be trivial. But over $5000 is under quite a bit of scrutiny.