OUTLINE

1. Session Objectives

  1. Demonstrate understanding of all parts of a budget
  2. Accurately explain what makes a strong budget and justification
  3. Demonstrate effective use of UNL’s budget templates

2. Qualities of a Strong Budget

  • Project scope dictates financial needs
  • Maps successful work progress
  • Reflectsthe project’s goalsfinancially
  • Clear, realistic, conforms to regulations and policies. There can be many layers, sometimes with conflicting requirements
  • Federal
  • Agency
  • Institutional
  • Program-specific
  • A scientistreviews the technical proposal. An administratoroften reviews the budget and justification
  • If the financial side is less clear, too small or too large for the project, the reviewer may question whether we know what we’re doing
  • Justification and budget should match:
  • In order
  • Category names
  • Compare side-by-side easily

3. Federal Cost Principles

Principle / Definition
Reasonable /
  • “Prudent person”
  • Document unusual circumstances
  • Necessary for the project
  • Benefit the grant directly
  • Follow all laws and regulations
  • Can vary based on the type of work, personnel doing the work, etc.
  • If there are unusual circumstances, document this

Allocable /
  • Solely for work of this agreement (not other projects)
  • OR benefits the agreement and other UNL work, in proportions you can estimate
  • OR is necessary to overall operation of UNL, a portion of which is assigned to this project
  • The award directly benefits in the proportion of the expense that was charged to it
  • Solely to advance the work under the sponsored agreement
  • OR Must benefit the agreement and other work of the university in proportions that can be approximated. (e.g., equipment)
  • OR It’s necessary to the overall operation of the university and it is deemed to be assignable in part to a sponsored project

Allowable /
  • By sponsor
  • By UNL, state and federal government
  • Expenditure is permitted under the terms and conditions of this specific award. This can include both direct and indirect costs, so long as a consistent calculation is used
  • E.g., not allowable are alcohol, lobbying
  • Sometimes PI salary isn’t allowable
  • To learn what is and isn’t, read the solicitation

Treated consistently /
  • Same type of costs = treat the same across UNL
  • Regardless of source of support
  • E.g., Can’t buy a computer for office use
  • Cost can’t be both direct and indirect unless granting agency specifically authorizes
  • E.g., Usually, secretarial/admin support is indirect
  • Like expenses are treated the same in similar circumstances. (i.e. office supplies generally considered indirect costs and not directly charged to an award unless there are documented, extenuating circumstances)
  • Can’t say sometimes yes and sometimes no
  • Re: an item can’t be both direct and indirect, this means the things covered by rate agreement aren’t included in MTDC (e.g., GRA tuition remission, equipment, etc.)

4. Budget Template/Categories

Direct Costs / Indirect Costs (Overhead or F&A)
Descriptions /
  • Costs specific to a particular project
  • Costs incurred because of this grant
/
  • UNL common/joint objectives
  • Costs exist regardless of this grant

Examples /
  • Portion of personnel time related to the scope of work
  • “the cost of liquid nitrogen and liquid helium consumption for refrigerating the superconducting magnetocryostat…”
  • Project related travel
/
  • Administrative support salaries
  • Furniture and Utilities
  • General office supplies
  • Computers
  • Memberships and Dues

PERSONNEL

•Only include UNL personnel in UNL’s personnel budget section.

•Use appropriate base salary and a reasonable time commitment for each person listed

  • UNL, and most federal agencies, use person months.
  • Base salary is determined by any compensation with FTE associated. Professorships with no FTE should not be included in the base salary.
  • Including a 3% increase in year one would be appropriate if project begins in the next fiscal year

FRINGE BENEFITS

•UNL Rateare Estimates

  • Can be found on our website, also included in our budget templates, use for consistency
  • Higher or lower rate may be estimated on a case-by-case basis, if justified
  • Actual benefits will be charged on project, per UNL’s federal rate agreement

•GRA benefits include:

  • Tuition remission, FICA, and Worker’s Compensation; health insurance is calculated separately, but included in the benefit total
  • Tuition remission is excluded from the MTDC for F&A calculation

EQUIPMENT

•Single item of scientific equipment OR Multiple items to fabricate a single piece of scientific equipment

  • Cost $5,000 or more AND have a life of a year or more
  • Fabricating Equipment requires a formal Accounting approval processbefore any purchases (contact Juliet Okuom 472-5278) – if not completed, fabricated item will not be allowed to be charged or tagged as equipment

•Excluded from the MTDC calculation

•Include Vendor quotes in budget justification whenever possible, especially on high end items

TRAVEL

•Include travel costs that: are required by the solicitation or program, facilitate collaboration, present and disseminate information, etc.

  • Use realistic estimates
  • Separate and accurately estimate and justify bothdomestic or foreign travel

•Foreign travel:

  • Potential restrictions and issues
  • Check with Research Compliance Services (Sam Padilla 472-6929)for any export control restrictions that may impact travel
  • May not be allowed or require special approval, even if accepted in proposal budget

OTHER DIRECT COSTS

Materials & Supplies

•Specific items needed to perform the project and detailed in the budget justification

Publication costs

•Include reasonable costs of publishing results of work

Consultant Services

•Costs established on an hourly or daily rate and may include travel funds

•UNL employees cannot serve as paid consultants on a UNL or NU sister campus project. They must be budgeted as personnel with effort if UNL employee or as a subaward, if consultant is employed at a sister campus

Subawards/Consortium

•If a separate institution/entity is carrying out a key portion of the work and has programmatic decision making responsibility, a subaward should be planned

•A detailed budget and budget justification from the other institution/entity is required by OSP

•Subrecipient budget amount becomes part of UNL’s direct costs – this includes both their direct and indirect costs

  • Red consortium tab calculates into budget spreadsheet for you
  • Subrecipients should include their full appropriate F&A within their own budget – Subrecipients should not use UNL’s rate

•A portion of subaward costs are excluded from the MTDC for F&A calculation

  • F&A is calculated only on the first $25,000 of each subaward total included in budget
  • No F&A on a subaward if an NU sister institution

Other Expenses

This category can include many different kinds of costs. Contact your Grants or Budget Coordinator if you need help determining where, or if, a cost should be included.

•Service fees (UNL Service Centers, Web or Survey Development, Specialized equipment maintenance contracts, etc.)

•Animal housing and maintenancecosts

•Rent and utilities

•Communication costs necessitated by project

FACILITIES AND ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS (F&A)

•Select rate type from drop-down list (i.e. MTDC, TDC or TFFA)

  • Direct costs excluded from MTDC include equipment, GRA tuition and the portion of subawards in excess of $25,000

•Enter allowable rate amount in blue box

Indirect/F&A Policy

•Required to request full allowable rates on all proposals unless sponsor has a publiclypublished limitation onF&A costs (usually foundations).

•Nebraska State agencies

  • Generally acceptable to userate of 10% oftotal direct costs – though no standard policy, no further documentation required
  • If State is submitting to a federal sponsor with UNL as subrecipient within the proposal, include our full allowable federal ratefor UNL’s budget portion submitted to the State.

•Requests for F&A reductions/waivers

  • Reductions or waivers of F&A costs should not be routinely expected
  • Request must be thoroughly justified and signed by the appropriate department chair and dean, then submitted to OSP for review and consideration well before the proposal deadline. This process takes some time.Requests should not be directed to the Vice Chancellor for Research

Talk to your Grants Coordinator if you have questions about a particular sponsor or solicitation

5. Budget Justifications: Why is this expense needed?

  • Personnel
  • Effort
  • Role
  • COLA
  • Benefit estimates, actual cost charged
  • Equipment
  • Project-specific
  • Vendor quotes
  • Travel: Who, where, when, why, estimates
  • Supplies: Project-specific
  • Subawards: Minimal if requires separate budget with proposal
  • Consultant: Role, rate
  • Facilities & Administrative: Specific language

6. Cost Share

Committed / Uncommitted
Mandatory /
  • Required by the sponsor, statute, administrative regulation
  • Can be quantified ($)
/
  • If mandatory, must be committed to meet the requirements

Voluntary /
  • Not required by the sponsor, statute, administrative regulation
  • Can be quantified ($)
/
  • Not required by the sponsor, statute, administrative regulation
  • Not quantifiable – if quantified (or can be quantified) anywhere, becomes mandatory when project is funded