Developing a Project Plan and Budget

1. Developing a Project Plan and Budget October 28, 2009 Laura Dorman, Resource & Policy Analyst, Institutional Research Patrick Mullen, Assistant Professor, Public Administration Deb Koua, Grants and Contracts Coordinator, Academic Affairs

2. Developing a Realistic Plan for Data Collection Establishing your data collection plan should be viewed as a fundamental step in any research project. Laura Dorman Office of Institutional Research

3. Data Collection Planning • Ask this question: “Who will collect what, when, and from where?

4. Advantages to Developing a Plan for Data Collection • Understanding of needed tasks • Identification of staff assignments • Overview of the time needed to complete tasks • Organization of resources to boost efficiency • Minimization of errors and delays

5. When Should You Develop Your Data Collection Plan? • Data collection plan and budget go hand-in-hand. • Develop the “first-draft” of your data collection plan while developing your project proposal. • Make revisions of your data collection plan as needed during the project proposal stage. • You’d rather make changes prior to funding as opposed to after a contract has been signed.

6. Data Collection Plan Once you’ve defined your research questions and identified the data needed, think through these questions: • How will you gather your data? • Do you need permission (internal/external)? • Is there an order or natural sequence to the data collection? • How long will data collection take?

7. Work Plans It is helpful to create a project work plan. • One possibility is to identify the major task, subtasks, time-frame, person(s) responsible, and the resources needed. • Another possibility is to link the task to the primary issue, also identifying activities, person(s) responsibility and time-frame.

8. Work Plan Example 1

9. Work Plan Example 2

10. Key Points • Establishing a data collection plan should be a fundamental step in any research project. • Your data collection plan and your budget go “hand-in-hand”. • Your should develop your “first draft” data collection plan while working on your proposal. • Always slightly overestimate the period needed for data collection and analysis to allow for unforeseen delays. • Check with the “owners” of data for scheduling concerns. Talk with them early and often. • Don’t underestimate the time needed for IRB approval. Contact them early. • Don’t over-promise in your proposal.

11. Pat Mullen http://www.aabpa.org/

12. Budget Categories • Personnel • Faculty and staff normally as a % of time • GAs at monthly rate • Students and hourly workers • Fringe Benefits • Faculty and staff • Students and hourly workers • Travel • State travel rates and regulations apply • Equipment • Threshold varies depending on sponsor

13. Budget Categories cont… • Supplies • Must be specific for the project • At times can include computers & software • Printing/Mailing/Duplicating • Contractual • Outside entities contributing to the project • Indirect • State and non-profits grants - 10% • Federal grants - 44.1%

14. University Rates www.uis.edu/grants/proposals/rates.html www.uis.edu/grants/proposals/policies.html#budget

15. General Principles • Inflate costs in multi-year budgets • Be realistic, but estimate a bit high • Indirect costs are real costs to the University and are not normally waived