Preparing Proposal Budgets

Office of Research Services

The University of Oklahoma

Types of Proposals

Federal Non-Federal

State or local government Foundation/Non-Profit Industry InternationalSubcontract/Subaward

Budget Components

Direct Costs

Indirect Costs (IDC) – hereinafter referred to as Facilities and Administrative Costs (F&A)

Direct Costs

Expenses identified specifically with a particular sponsored project, instructional activity, creative or artistic pursuit, or other institutional activity

Expenses that can be assigned to a particular sponsored project with a high degree of accuracy

Must be allowable, allocable, reasonable & necessary for the program, given consistent treatment and conform to sponsor limitations

Typical Direct Costs

Include: Compensation of employees for work

under a sponsored agreement Related fringe benefit costs Materials consumed or expended in the

performance of the work Other items of expense incurred for the

sponsored agreement provided such costs are consistently treated (e.g., travel, equipment)

Facilities & Administrative Costs

Costs incurred for common or joint objectives which cannot be allocated to a specific direct cost activity Facilities Salaries of administrative and clerical staff Office supplies (May be allowable if attributed

directly and specifically to the project) Postage (May be allowable if attributed directly

and specifically to the project-no stamps!)

Budget Categories

Personnel Costs Fringe Benefits Equipment Travel Participant Support

Costs

Other Direct Costs Research Materials and

Supplies Publication costs Consultants Computer/ADPE

Services Subcontracts Tuition Other

Facilities & Administrative Costs (F&A)

Cost Sharing

Note the following slides are formatted to follow the ORS generic budgetspreadsheet which is recommended for all budgets.

Types of Personnel Costs

Faculty – Academic Year

Faculty - Summer Professional Staff Post Docs Professional Staff –

Limited (temporary) Classified Staff

(hourly)

Graduate Students (GRA/GTA)

Undergraduate Students

Other

Fringe Benefits Rates - FY 08

Full Time Employees

Temporary Employees

Post Docs, Fellows

GRAs Undergraduates

39.6% 7.0% 14.2% 3.2% 0.1%

Equipment

Items costing over $5,000 and having a useful life of one year or more

Includes freight and shipping costs May include training and installation Fabricated Equipment Exempt from F&A Raises a red flag

Domestic Travel

Airfare, Lodging Car Rental (Not in Oklahoma) Per Diem, Mileage Parking Fees/Pike Pass Registration Fees Local Transportation (Taxi, Metro, Shuttle) Travel to Canada or Mexico is agency specific GSA Rates (http://www.gsa.gov) OU Travel Policy link:

http://www.ou.edu/aa/travel.htm

Foreign Travel

Airfare Lodging/Apartment Rental Car Rental Local Transportation Per Diem Registration Fees Safety and security costs may also be included

dependent on location Travel to Canada or Mexico is agency specific May raise a red flag

Participant Support Costs

Agency specific (only applicable in limited circumstances)

Intended for conferences, meetings, symposia, training activities, and workshops

Participants or trainees may not be employees Stipends Cost of transportation Subsistence Other related costs Raises a red flag

Other Direct Costs

Research Materials & Supplies

Publication CostsConsultant ServicesComputer ServicesSubcontractsTuitionOther

Other Direct Costs

Chemicals Expendable

Equipment Computer Software Computer Supplies Lab Supplies (Gases

and Fuels)

Cartridges for Copiers/Printers/Faxes

Research Supplies (allocable to the project)

Reference Materials

Research Materials & Supplies

Other Direct Costs

Publication CostsConsultant Services

Raises a red flag Letter of commitment

Computer ServicesSubcontracts

Raises a red flag Entire sub-proposal Institutional letter of commitment

Other Direct Costs - Tuition

Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) labor budgeted on sponsored programs determines the amount of tuition to be budgeted

GRA labor budgeted is multiplied by a percentage to arrive at the tuition amounts requested from sponsor and provided by the Graduate College

Tuition is excluded from F&A

Sponsor Share Graduate College Share

15% 19%

FY 09 Cost of Tuition Remission is 34%

Other Direct Costs - Other

Communication Costs: Express Mail Charges Fax Charges Mobile Phone Services/Pager Fees Postage (No stamps!) Telecommunication Long Distance phone calls All charges must be directly attributable to

project

Other Direct Costs - Other

Copying Animal care costs Human subject care costs Maintenance agreements Audio/visual services Construction/renovation/remodeling costs Costs for workshops/conferences/technical meetings

(if including food costs, state such in budget & justification)

Contractual/vendor expenses/services/fees Space Rental

Facilities & Administrative (F&A) Cost Rates – FY 10

On-Campus Off-Campus

50% 26%*

*Executive Director of ORS decides if the Off Campus rate can be usedafter review of the statement of work, budget, and budget justification

Facilities & Administrative (F&A) Cost Rates

OU’s rate is set by negotiation with Department of Health and Human Services

PI’s cannot negotiate F&A with sponsor If a sponsor has a rate set that is less than our

negotiated rate then we use their rate (however, it must be formally established)

PI may ask VPR to cost share IDC (may not be approved as OU volunteering not to collect our F&A may increase our rate in the future)

The VPR allows use of 26% for most state agencies unless the source of the funds is providing full F&A.

Calculating F&A Identify Exclusions

Equipment Capital Expenditures Tuition remission Rental costs of off-site facilities Scholarships/Fellowships Subcontract amounts in excess of first $25,000 (for

each subcontract) Patient Care Costs

Modified Total Direct Base (MTDC)= Total Direct Costs minus exclusions listed above

Common Budget Dilemmas

Subcontractor versus Consultant or Vendor Consultants on Oklahoma Teachers

Retirement Fellowship versus Stipends for Students (Is

the student an employee?)

Cost Sharing - Sources

PI Contributions Departmental Contributions University Contributions Vice President for Research Third Party Contributions (Subcontractors,

Industry, etc.) Oklahoma Regents for Higher Education Contributed and Unrecovered F&A

Sponsor-Required Cost Sharing

Equipment Contributed F&A Unrecovered F&A (F&A not allowed or F&A

associated with Cost Sharing; not in all cases-check guidelines)

Regents Matching Funds

Cost Sharing - Issues

May be tracked internally but not reported to sponsor

OU policy on 1% time commitment If in budget, budget justification, or body of

proposal the sponsor may require tracking and documentation to prove it occurred

Requesting Cost Sharing from the Vice President for Research

http://research.ou.edu/about/cost_share_req.asp

Arithmetic Fringe Benefit Rate GRA Tuition Rate F&A Rate MTDC Exclusions Budget Total

Correct? Within Sponsor Limits? For All Years?

How ORS can help you

Perform budget review Ensure calculations,

fringe and F&A rates are correct

Ensure budget conforms to sponsor requirements or limitations

Assist with sponsor forms and certifications

Ensure that subagreement documents are in line with budgeted amounts

Ensure that any cost sharing is approved and documented prior to submission

Useful Link for Proposal Preparation:

http://research.ou.edu/proposal/generic_budget.html

Site with downloadable budget templates.Note: If you contact your PDS for a budget template they can

ensure you are using the correct rate for the proposal.

http://research.ou.edu/about/rateagr.html

Site with downloadable F&A and fringe benefit

rate agreements.

Preparing Proposal Budgets

Proposal Development Specialists

Tena Smith (A – D, CAPS & CIMMS): tena@ou.edu or 405.325.6140

Tonya Easley (E – L): teasley@ou.edu or 405.325.3903

Fran Stephens (M – R): fran@ou.edu or 405.325.3904

Matt Berry (S – Z): mberry@ou.edu or 405.325.6131

Tarah Hayes (Tulsa): thayes@ou.edu or 918.660.3382

Proposal Services Main Line 405.325.3901