Well I never said CIC (or any single factor) was responsible for PSU's research funding, although PSU and the CIC would say it helps. Subscribe to the CIC newsletter and you'll find evidence that CIC influence, efficiencies, and connections, all help its members get grants. Even the CIC itself gets grants. Projects like the fiber optic interconnectivity initiative and shared admin resources are models for all cooperative research, and they reduce the cost of doing business for the schools. I think I read that over 10% of all federal research funds go to a handful of CIC schools; that's astounding.