Salaries & Wages
Determined by amount of time spent by each person on the project (“time & effort”)
A 40-hr. week is NOT the definition of 100% effort from which a percentage of time & effort on a sponsored project is calculated.
For faculty, generally: calculate a dollar value for time & effort by multiplying percentage by their current 9-month base salaries.
Salary requested should cover PI/PD’s AY time & effort, not salary for someone to replace him/her in the classroom.
PIs should discuss AY effort with chair/dean well in advance.
Yearly increases to base salary: 3%. Explain this in the budget justification!
For “supplemental pay” for non-faculty positions, time & effort must not be part of regular assigned duties and responsibilities and must be performed outside normal work hours.
Total supplemental pay that can be earned outside the contract period (for those employed less than 12 months): equal to annual salary divided by number of appointment months, multiplied by the number of non-appointment months
See Supplemental Pay Policy, Policy No. 3281: limits on supplemental pay (paid within contract period) for non-faculty personnel: for non-faculty EHRA = 25% annual salary; for SHRA = 19.5% per month of employee’s monthly salary
Other personnel: students, postdocs, site/program coordinators/managers
Check salaries for new positions with HR.
Also, discuss new positions, and their space/equipment needs, with chair/supervisor well in advance.
Fringe Benefits
Calculated in proportion to salaries charged to grant
Includes Social Security, medical, retirement, workers compensation, unemployment & other terminal benefits
Can generally list a single, flat percentage for fringe (35% for faculty & staff; 7.65% for students)
Rates change periodically, so always check for current rate!
Equipment
Defined as tangible, nonexpendable property having a useful life of more than 1 year and costing $5000 or more per unit
Consider where it will be installed and what costs will be associated with its installation, calibration, maintenance.
Discuss with chair/supervisor.
Include quotes.
May need to submit sole source justification to Purchasing.
Need to know if the sponsor has rules for return of the equipment at end of the project (see who pays for the cost of returning the equipment).
Travel
Mileage reimbursement
Airfare
Ground travel
Per diem for meals & lodging
Conference registration fees
Follow university’s travel policies as is usual.
Can include incremental annual increases (~3%); describe that in the budget justification.
Participant/Trainee Costs
May include stipends paid as incentives for participation in training, professional development
Should include costs for those receiving instruction/training/education ONLY—not costs for those leading the training/instruction
Materials & Supplies
Are expendable items
Should not include general office supplies (they’re covered under F&A)
Computing devices allowable when essential and allocable to performance of the project
Provide breakdown of items in the budget justification
Contractors/Consultants
Includes individuals or companies who provide professional advice (consultants), goods (vendors), or services (web design, project evaluation) for a fee
Need little or no oversight or direction
Are not involved in the overall project design and/or development
Would not be listed as co-authors on publications reporting results
Provides similar goods and services to many different purchasers and normally operates in a competitive environment
If the budget form does not include contracted services, use “Other.”
Subrecipients
Have responsibility for programmatic decision making
Are engaged via an agreement for a portion of the programmatic activities and receive a portion of the award funds
These agreements made with other institutions, organizations, or companies—rather than individuals
Request a letter of commitment, scope of work, budget and budget justification from each potential subrecipient before submitting proposal to the sponsor.
Are involved in the overall project design and/or development
Would be listed as co-authors on publications reporting project results
Need a subrecipient commitment form, too–to gather info needed for risk assessment. Usually handled by Sponsored Program offices.
Other
May include marketing/advertising costs, space/equipment rental, student tuition, lab analyses, fees for use of campus services, human subject payments, maintenance agreements—and anything that doesn’t fit anywhere else!
New: depending on the program, dependent care costs may be allowable.
BUT…should not include “miscellaneous”
Be sure each item here is detailed and justified in budget narrative.
F&A/Indirect CostsF&A costs are “those that are incurred for common or joint objectives” and cannot be specifically attributed to an individual project—whereas direct costs are “those costs that can be identified specifically with a particular sponsored project relatively easily with a high degree of accuracy.”
F&A reimburses the institution for costs incurred to support research and scholarly endeavors.
UNCA’s on-campus rate: 59.5% salaries & wages; off-campus rate: 30% salaries & wages
F&A policies must be applied fairly and equitably to all sponsored programs in order to comply with audit expectations.
Some sponsors do not allow it; we need documentation of that, if it’s the case.
F&A rate is established by negotiation with a cognizant federal agency, such as U.S. DHHS or DOD. UNCA’s is with DHHS.
Our current rates are good through 6/30/23.
Services of accounting staff and research administrators
Cost of utilities for buildings housing and supporting research projects (labs, libraries)
General office supplies, postage, local telephone service and communications infrastructure
Salaries of personnel engaged in providing departmental support activities (departmental administrative assistants)
Items covered by should not therefore be included in the proposal budget as direct costs.
Cost share
Cash match: can include items or services with a cash value (maintenance contracts, faculty members’ time and effort)
In-kind contributions: can include the value of donated space or unpaid volunteer time
“Third-party match” is cost-share from another institution or organization.
Do not include matching funds if not required.
Always secure documentation of cost share commitments before submitting proposal!
Tips for Cost sharing:
Check to see if sponsor requires “new” money.
Federal grants must use non-federal money as match.
Must be accounted for during the approved project period (not before or after) and only for that particular sponsored project (and no other projects)
oCost-share is REAL MONEY and must be documented in the same manner as actual expenditures.
Documentation can be audited, just as expenditures paid for by the funding agency.
All cost share must be ALLOWABLE, ALLOCABLE, REASONABLE!