Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
Grant Budgeting Tips
1. Budget planning and project/grant planning should proceed hand in hand. Don’t wait until you’ve completed the final draft of the grant narrative to start the first draft of the budget. If you feel overwhelmed by the task, ask RSP for help.
2. Always create budgets in Excel; do not usea Word chart and a calculator.RSP will provide you with an Excel budget template suitable for your project or download one from the RSP website. Contact RSP if you need a different/ modified budget template. You can become more familiar with Excel by asking your secretary for assistance or by viewing Lynda tutorials. Learn the rounding function and use it when calculating indirect costs
3. You must submit a proposed budget as required by the funder’s instructions, in as much detail as requested. Typically, public funders will require a budget based on basic line item cost categories, such as Salaries, Benefits, Supplies, Equipment, Other Direct Cost and Facilities and Administrative Costs. If no format is provided, you can use one from the RSP website.
4. RSP requires a detailed budget, for account set up, even if the funder does not, so take the time to develop your budget in as much detail as possible. Your budget plan becomes your spending plan once awarded, so make sure you don’t leave out or over-budget important items.
5. Budgets need to be as accurate as possible; don’t try to submit a barebones budget or a padded budget. This is poor project management. Use RSP budget templates because they have built-in formulas to calculate salaries, fringe, etc. and will account for annual increases.
6. Facilities and Administrative costs (F&A) at the full negotiated rate must be included in your budget, unless the request for proposals/guidelines for funding has specifically disallowed them. F&A costs are not a “tax” on your project, they are real costs associated with doing research.
7. The university is the grant recipient, not the PI/PD. That means all funding received at UNI must be spent in a manner consistent with other university funding. The funder may impose additional funding restrictions, which should be described in the request for proposal.
8. Required Budget Review: All budget proposals must be reviewed by RSP prior to submission. Email your draft budget and budget narrative, along with a copy or link to the funder’s guidelines to RSPfor a preview and feedback. Please don’t wait until the last minute. Visit the RSP website for other submission policies.
Revised: 8/7/2014
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