Budgets and Proposals

1. Budgets and Proposals A workshop for budgets and compliance at UGA Office of Research Noel Gregg, Associate Dean Kim Wright, Research Administration Manager Grace Thornton, Research Development Manager

2. Budget and Compliance Workshop Agenda • Welcome • Resources available in COE • Agencies to which you might apply • What to do when you find a funding opportunity • Budget • Budget justification • Internal Forms and Deadlines

3. College of Education Resources Research Information and Resources • Grace Thornton – Research Development Manager • Assists with finding funding for your project and editing your project narrative • Kim Wright – Research Administration Manager • Assists with creating budgets, checking for compliance with RFP, CASB and UGA accounting standards, and completion of all forms • Signs on behalf of the Dean and the College of Education • Paula Alexander – Business Manager I • Assists with creating budgets, completion of all forms, and is Kim’s back up Sponsored Projects Administration Site (SPAS): http://spas.uga.edu/

4. Funding Sources • Government Sources • U.S. Department of Education/IES • National Science Foundation (NSF) • National Institutes of Health (NIH) • State Agencies • Private Sources • Private Foundations • Corporations • Professional Organizations

5. What to do when you locate a funding opportunity • Review the RFP or Funding Announcement • Eligibility: Institution of higher education, 501(3)(c), etc. • Limited Submission: If the RFP limits the number of proposals, contact your grants office immediately. OVPR holds internal competitions with internal deadlines. • Priorities: Does your project fit within the goals of the RFP? • Due Dates: Is a letter of intent required? Is there enough time to complete the proposal? • Funding Limits: Is this enough money and enough time to meet your needs? • Alert the Research Office and your department of your intention to submit.

6. If the Funding Source is Private • REQUIRED: Corporate & Foundation Relations (CFR) Approval • UGA requires that we obtain approval from Corporate & Foundation Relations (CFR) prior to submitting a proposal to either a corporation or private foundation • Either Grace or Kim will email CFR on your behalf –99% of the time this is a formality but occasionally it does affect the proposal. For example, we cannot approach Coca-Cola. • PLEASE do not contact private foundations or corporations without prior approval from CFR. • Register with the site if necessary • Example: Proposal Central • Make an appointment with your grants office.

7. If the Funding Source is Federal • Electronic registration • You do not need to register with Grants.gov or CCR (this is done at the institutional level). • If applying to NSF or NIH, you will need a login and password for their electronic systems. Your grants office can register you. They will need your full name, email, degree type and year. • Make an appointment with your grants office • Electronic submission • The proposal will likely be submitted through either Fastlane (for NSF proposals) or Cayuse (for most other federal proposals). Cayuse interfaces with Grants.gov. The Research Office will complete these electronic forms for you.

8. Parts of a Proposal • Abstract/Project Summary • Narrative Proposal • References Cited • Budget • Budget Justification • Biosketches/CVs • Current & Pending Support • Letters of Support • Other forms/data as required by sponsor

9. Compliance • Human Subjects • Animal Care & Use • Biosafety • Export Controls • Financial • Office of Management & Budget (OMB) Circular A-21 • Cost principles for Educational Institutions • Cost Accounting Standards Board (CASB) Note: Institutional and state’s rules also apply!

10. Budget A budget should reflect your narrative proposal in numerical terms. • Direct Costs + Indirect Costs = Total Project Costs • Project costs may be covered by the sponsor, your institution and/or or another party • Approved budget should be your spending guide • Sponsors understand that things don’t always go as planned, but rebudgeting authority varies greatly by sponsor. The budget should be your best estimate of what it will cost to carry out your project.

11. Direct Costs Direct costs are those items—both personnel and non-personnel—that can be directly allocated to a project. • Examples of direct costs: • Percentages of effort for project personnel (PI, GAs, etc.) • Travel costs: PI meetings; project sites; professional conferences to present project results • Supplies: Video equipment to use in classroom data collection; lab supplies; statistical software • Participant costs: Stipends, subsistence, travel, supplies • Evaluators or consultant stipends and travel • Transcription costs

12. Facilities & Administrative Costs (Indirect Costs) Facilities & Administrative Costs (F&A) (a.k.a. indirect costs, overhead, OVPR’s cut, etc.) are those expenses that cannot be easily identified or quantified or linked directly to a specific project. • Examples of F&A: • Departmental administrative or accounting support • Office supplies, furniture, phones, computers/printers • Utilities (lights, water, etc.), grounds keeping • Campus libraries • Indirect costs are real costs that are budgeted as a percentage of direct costs.

13. Facilities & Administrative Costs (Indirect Costs) UGA’s F&A rate is negotiated with the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. 07/01/08 – 06/30/12Federal Non-Federal Research, On-Campus 48.5% 50% Research, Off-Campus 26% 33% Public Service, On-Campus 37% 38% Public Service, Off-Campus 26% 33% Instruction, On-Campus 56% 57% Instruction, Off-Campus 26% 33% • Base: Modified total direct costs(MTDC) consist of all salaries & wages, fringe benefits, materials, supplies, services, travel, and subcontracts up to the first $25,000 of each subcontract. Modified total direct costs (MTDC) exclude equipment, capital expenditures, patient care costs, student tuition remission, rental costs of off-site facilities, scholarships and fellowships as well as the portion of each subcontract in excess of $25,000. • Off-Campus Definition: If more than 50% of a project is performed off-campus, the off-campus rate will apply to the entire project.

14. Facilities & Administrative Costs (Indirect Costs) • We use our federally negotiated rate unless the RFP states otherwise. • Most federal training grants limit F&A to 8% MTDC. • Many private foundations limit indirect costs to 10-15%. We abide by their written policies. • For Georgia Department of Education proposals (that are not federal flow-through) we include a Project Management line at 10% of direct costs to recover a small portion of our actual costs. • Indirect cost waivers or reductions • On rare occasions, the Research Office will request an indirect cost waiver or reduction. These must be submitted to Regina Smith, Associate Vice President for Research, and include a budget, scope of work, and rationale.

15. So what does this mean for the budget? Most funding agencies limit total costs.* • That means that you need to back out the F&A costs in order to figure out your direct costs (i.e. how much you can budget for your project). • For example, if the funding limit is $400,000 total costs over 3 years and your project is considered on-campus research (48.5% F&A rate), you can calculate your direct costs in the following manner: $400,000 ÷ 1.485 = $269,360 total direct costs $269,360 x 0.485 = $130,640 total indirect costs Note: The above does not include possible F&A exclusions such as equipment, subcontracts, etc., but is a close approximation. * NIH limits direct costs only; F&A (and subcontract F&A) is not included in NIH funding limits.

16. Budget: Direct Costs Direct costs must be: • Allowable • Are the items allowed by the RFP, funding agency, UGA, or my department? • Must conform to the cost principles in OMB A-21. • Allocable • Can the costs be directly tied to the project? • Reasonable • Can the costs withstand public scrutiny? Would someone, not connected to the project, deem these costs appropriate?

17. Budget: Direct Costs • Personnel Costs • PI • Co-PI(s) • Other key/non-key personnel • Graduate students Use this category for all UGA employees, regardless of role on grant. • Fringe Benefits • Comprised of insurance, retirement, taxes (state, FICA, etc.) • Rates change annually • Budgeted using institutional average or composite rate • Actual fringe benefits are charged to grant • If you have over budgeted, excess funds may go back into your project. • Caution! If you have under budgeted, your project is still responsible and must take the funds from another category to cover the benefit shortage.

18. Budget: Direct Costs • Equipment • Defined as an item with unit costs of $5,000 or more and a life expectancy of more than 3 years. • Must be specifically identified and utilized on the project; may require sponsor approval if purchased late in the project period. • Exempt from F&A. • Travel • UGA employees only (consultant and participant travel is budgeted in those respective categories). • State and/or federal per diem rates apply. • Differentiate between foreign and domestic travel.

19. Budget: Direct Costs • Supplies • Refers to consumable goods–including lab supplies, curriculum materials, laptop computers, software, interviewing supplies (recorders, cameras), etc. • Many of these items are included in UGA’s F&A rate. On federal grants, we need to include a “CASB-level” justification for these items. Be sure to explain how they will be directly allocated to the project and are above and beyond the “normal cost of doing business”. • For example: The project will collect extensive amounts of qualitative data from teachers and students, we will purchase nVivo software to assist with the analyses of this data. • Computers/laptops are difficult to purchase using federal grant funds. Talk to your grants office about their allocability.

20. Budget: Direct Costs • Participant Support • Teacher/student/subject stipends, travel, subsistence. • These costs are handled differently by different sponsors – be sure to check RFP carefully. • NSF excludes Participant Support from F & A calculations. • Consultants • A consultant is an individual (or firm) providing professional or technical advice, usually over a short period of time. • Consultants are non-UGA employees. • They do not commit the resources of their respective institutions. • They are paid a reasonable hourly or daily rate. Include the rate and number of hours/days in the justification. • Examples: Evaluation teams, advisory board members, computer programmers, etc.

21. Budget: Direct Costs • Other Direct Costs • Transcription • Publication costs • Meals/snacks/subsistence • Food is typically considered “entertainment” and not allowed on a grant. • Meals/snacks may be considered allowable for research/conference participants, advisory boards, or grant meetings, but these expenses must be detailed in the budget. • Meeting/event cannot only include UGA employees • Include a brief description tying the event to the project • Include number of participants, where, when, and for whom • Provide an agenda when submitting the expenses • Meals for employees on travel status working on a project are typically allowable (this is budgeted under the “Travel” category). UGA rules and per diem rates apply.

22. Budget: Direct Costs • Other Direct Costs, con’t. • Communications • Long-distance communication may be charged to a grant. • A dedicated phone line (for large-scale projects, if allocable) may be charged to a grant, but office and lab phones cannot. • Cell phones and blackberries cannot typically be charged to a grant—unless they are approved as CASB exceptions. • Postage/Shipping • Postage and mailing expenses are included in the F&A rate and include routine mailing (reports, proposals, etc.) • If mailing large quantities of surveys, etc., these costs may be directly charged to a grant. Include quantities in justification. • Differentiate between postage and shipping. Shipping costs would include FedEx/UPS expenses incurred when shipping samples of confidential student/school data and are allowable.

23. Budget: Direct Costs • Subcontract A mechanism used when another institution or entity will carry out an integral part of the project. • The sponsor’s terms flow down to the subcontractor. • The PI is responsible for the work done by the subcontractor (reviews and approves invoices, reports, etc.). • The following are required from each subcontract: • Scope of work (typically less than 1 page) • Detailed budget • Budget justification • Letter of collaboration, signed by authorized institutional official • Other documents as required by sponsor (CV, etc.)

24. Budget Justification A budget justification is a narrative explanation of your budget components. • Provide a justification for each item in your budget and explain how it relates directly to your project. The format or your budget justification should follow the sponsor’s budget categories. • Example, Senior Personnel: Dr. Smith, PI, is requesting 11.111% of her academic salary (1 academic month). Dr. Smith will provide the overall direction of the project, including making arrangements for and directing the (symposium, conference, research, etc.) and coordinating the schedule of work to further (develop the project, meet the goals of the grant, develop the scholarship, complete the project, etc.). The Research Office currently has budget justification templates for NSF and IES. We can easily amend them to fit your sponsor’s budget categories.

25. Budget Justification • CASB Exceptions • On federal projects, we need to obtain approval from the Office for Sponsored Programs (OSP) to direct charge items that are typically charged as F&A. The budget justification should provide a clear explanation as to how the proposed charges will meet the following criteria: • Items are required for the project’s scope of work • Costs can be specifically and easily identified to this project • The number and/or cost of the items needed is clearly in excess of what would normally be considered F&A costs by OMB A-21 and UGA policy. • OSP has examples of CASB exceptions: • Administrative: http://www.ovpr.uga.edu/docs/policies/osp/CASB-Admin-Exception.pdf • Non-administrative: http://www.ovpr.uga.edu/docs/policies/osp/CASB-Non-Admin-Exception.pdf Note: We can request a CASB exception after the grant has been awarded by completing and submitting a form to OSP.

26. Budget: Cost Share • Cost Share • Cost share is the quantifiable commitment of university resources or personnel time without reimbursement by the sponsor. Cost sharing—or matching—is tracked and reported in a separate account. • Cost share can be mandatory or voluntary and may be stated anywhere in the proposal (not just in the budget or justification). • Statements of cost sharing commitment are binding to UGA. • Personnel effort committed as cost share is “tied down” to that project and cannot be used for anything else. IMPORTANT! WE DO NOTWANT TO COST SHARE UNLESS MANDATED BY THE SPONSOR. • In-Kind Contributions • Costs borne by an external organization, typically in conjunction with primary funding. Funds do not flow through UGA’s financial system but must be documented by the contributor.

27. Budget: Cost Share Cost share avoidance examples from AskUGA: http://askuga.uga.edu/default.asp?SID=&Lang=1&id=1426 • DO SAY: • “UGA fully supports the academic year salaries of Professors, Associate Professors, and Assistant Professors, but makes no specific commitment of time or salary to this particular project. Key personnel will be available to oversee and direct the project, as proposed.” Adapted from Massachusetts Institute of Technology • “Dr. Smith is Principal Investigator and requests 25% salary support for this project. She will provide additional support to the project, as needed.” Adapted from University of Alabama-Birmingham • DON’T SAY: • “As a state supported institution of higher education, Dr. Martin's salary is paid by the State of Georgia; she will devote 25% effort toward this project.” • “Effort equivalent to $15,000 in salary and benefits will be provided by the PI.”

28. Internal Forms UGA Transmittal Form (internal routing form) Can be completed online or in pdf format. • Essential for UGA, but not submitted to the sponsor. • Indicates academic credit and indirect cost return split for PI and Co-PIs. Key Personnel sign but do not receive academic credit or indirect cost returns. • Your signature indicates that you comply with UGA’s certifications and conflict of interest policy. • Indicates departmental and college approval of the proposal. • Should be turned in before your proposal is submitted. • Your proposal will be tracked in UGA’s accounting system. It’s assigned a proposal number and, if awarded, an account number.

29. Proposal Submission • Internal Deadlines • The COE Research Office requires your complete proposal 10 business days in advance of the deadline. • The Office for Sponsored Programs requires the complete proposal 5 business days in advance of the deadline. These deadlines allow us to properly review the proposal for completeness and compliance, request revisions if necessary, and ensure timely submission.

30. Proposal Submission • Proposal Components • Please submit all completed documents to either Grace or Kim. We ask that you do this as you complete them, instead of waiting to send everything at once. • Format • Microsoft Word or Excel: Please send narrative components, budgets, CVs, etc. to Grace or Kim in either Word or Excel. • Letters of Support: These may be sent as pdf documents. • Electronic Submission • If you allow us permission, we prefer to complete the forms for your electronic applications (Fastlane, Cayuse, Proposal Central, etc.). We’re used to the idiosyncratic requirements. • Please do not attempt to upload proposals into Grants.gov! We rarely use this (we use Cayuse instead) and it can be tricky.

31. Don’t Forget • Always check with the COE Research Office before: • Submitting a proposal • Contacting a private foundation or corporation • Proposals must be submitted to the Research Office 10 business days in advance of the deadline so that we have time to review and submit to the Office for Sponsored Programs 5 business days in advance of the deadline. • TELL YOUR DEPARTMENTAL ACCOUNTANT & DEPARTMENT HEAD ABOUT YOUR PROPOSAL

32. Contact Information Paula Alexander palexand@uga.edu / 706-583-8234 • Budget assistance • Compliance, forms Grace Thornton gthorn@uga.edu / 706-542-9068 • Proposal review • Contacting agencies • Compliance and proposal submission Kim Wright kawright@uga.edu / 706-542-3873 • General questions • Budget assistance • Compliance, forms, and proposal submission