Budgeting for Sponsored Proposals and Awards

Transcription

1 Budgeting for Sponsored Proposals and Awards FAS Research Administration Services Last Update: 5/20/14 1 Use the Budget Template for: Proposal budget preparation Revised budget preparation Award administration compare budgeted amounts to actual spending 2 1

2 Budget Template Overview Available on the FAS RAS website Uses common expense types and object codes adapt for your use Comments (red triangles) explain things in the spreadsheet - hover mouse over to see Cost of living adjustment is calculated for certain expenses in years 2-5, if sponsor allows it (see solicitation or sponsor site) 3 Download the Budget Template (5-6) Develop an Easy budget (7-13) Develop a complicated budget (14-25) Customize the Start Date (16) PI Supplemental Salary (17) Vacation Assessments (18-20) Graduate Students (21) Subawards (22) Facilities and Administrative Rates (23) Part-of Accounts (24) Participant Support (25) Budget Justification (26-27) Bonus Pages Sponsored Project Costs (28-33) Best Practices & Resources (34-37) 4 2

3 Bookmark the FAS RAS Website FAS Research Administration Services Or Google FAS Research Admin 5 Download the Budget Template Go to the FAS RAS Website Click Job Aids and Workbooks on the left navigation bar Click Budget Template (Excel Download) to download the template Save the template where you ll be able to find it 6 3

4 An EASY Budget PI: Dr. Perseus Plum comes to your door. He s got a proposal he s developing and he needs you to do a budget for him. He wants to budget for a postdoc, some supplies & some travel. 7 More Information Needed? Look at the budget template and identify what other information you might need from Prof. Plum Make a list of questions to ask him Contact him and ask! 8 4

5 Think- what questions should you ask? When should the budget start? How many years should it go? Will the postdoc be devoting all her time to the project? How much will the postdoc be paid? What kind of supplies will you be buying? Over 5K + over 1 year lifetime = equipment Computer supplies? Lab supplies? Is the travel domestic or foreign? 9 PAIR-Up: Develop an EASY Budget 5 years Start date happens to be the same as the budget template Postdoc to be hired 45K/year the first year 12 months/year, 100% effort Lab Supplies: 10K/year Equipment: 25K each year in yrs 1-3 ($0 in yrs 4 & 5) (put details in budget justification) Travel: 2K/year for PI to go to the AAS conference in Miami to present results 10 5

6 Compare with your neighbor What do the numbers look like after you ve finished? Do you agree? Why or why not? 11 Use the Target Amount at the bottom of the Main worksheet Budget can t exceed 140K per year Change direct costs as necessary 12 6

7 Using the Target Amount Put 140K/year in the target amount row at the bottom of the budget template Lab Supplies: Copy and paste values Tweak Lab Supplies as necessary, using Approximate Non-Personnel Direct Costs to add to hit target numbers Add page charges to bring the budget up to 140K in year five 13 Develop a More Complicated Budget 14 7

8 Download the Budget Template Go to the FAS RAS Website Click Job Aids and Workbooks on the left navigation bar Click Budget Template (Excel Download) to download the template Save the template where you ll be able to find it 15 Customize template so the Fringe and Overhead will be correct when the project starts on. Project Months and Harvard Fiscal Years don t usually agree Harvard Fiscal Year (FY) is July June Budget Template: scroll right to see Number of Project Months in first Harvard FY Count number of months of the project in first FY Change the Number of Project Months in first Harvard FY to 16 8

9 PI Supplemental Salary 1 month supplemental salary/year Confidential! One Ninth of Academic Year Salary Ask PI or department for monthly salary Fringe must still be pro-rated See special language in Budget Justification Template For this exercise, department says his academic year salary is 71K 17 Vacation Assessments For Overtime Exempt and Non-Exempt employees paid bi-weekly only!!! Created so that grants would be charged as vacation is earned Combined with fringe rates into one percentage on the budget template 18 9

10 Budgeting Overtime Non-Eligible (Exempt) Employee making 100% FTE Exempt Employees are allowed 4 weeks of vacation per year Fringe and vacation assessment is applied only to the 48 weeks employee will be working In the template, budget 48 weeks of salary only (60,000/52 weeks*48 weeks = 55,385) Note: If proposal is awarded and employee doesn t take vacation, more will be charged to the award than has been budgeted Budgeting for 52 weeks is inflating the budget 19 Budget for an Overtime Eligible (Non- Exempt) Employee, 75% FTE Budget for 49 weeks of salary only (45K per year/52 weeks * 49 weeks = 42,404) 75% only (42,404 * 75% = 31,803) NOTE: Administrative and Clerical staff cannot normally be charged to federal awards. Exceptions: Must be a major sponsored project Must be budgeted in proposal See Administrative and Clerical Salary Policy dated 12/1/

11 Grad 50% Effort Science graduate students are normally appointed as an RA in ASPERIN tuition remission proportional to the amount of effort may also be budgeted ask your department what the salary and the tuition should be budgeted at Social Science and Humanities departments usually appoint RAs to the casual payroll. When this happens, tuition remission is not included Remember to include only 50% effort in the budget calculation! NO Fringe can be assessed to grad student salary! 21 Subaward Budgeting Overhead is taken only on 1 st 25K of each subaward total MIT: 50K per year Put 50K/year in Subaward #1 row Notice Subaward Base row at bottom of template: Put 25K in 1 st year only Extra Credit: Additional subaward to BU at 20 K per year Extra Extra Credit: Additional subaward to MIT at 20 K per year 22 11

12 Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Rates (also called Overhead or Indirect Costs) Pro-rate across Harvard fiscal years, if necessary 90% of the time, use the Research Rate Exceptions found in: Proposal instructions/solicitation Sponsor s Application Guide GMAS and OSP website Change the rate on the budget template by replacing the Research rate with the correct one 23 Part-Of Accounts Set up when part of the project needs to be accounted for separately Often used for projects With multiple Harvard PI s When sponsor doesn t allow overhead to be taken on certain expenses When participant support is budgeted (see next slide) Indicated by a different subactivity in the account string Budget template contains one Part-Of account worksheet linked to the Main + Summary worksheet 24 12

13 Participant Support Costs paid to, or on behalf of, participants, trainees, or speakers who are not Harvard employees in connection with meetings, conferences, symposia, or training projects. (e.g. travel, meals, registration fees) See proposal instructions for treatment of Participant Support costs NSF does not normally allow overhead Use the budget template Participant Support worksheet for these types of costs 25 What Information Is Needed for the Budget Justification? What do the proposal instructions say? What isn t already obvious from the numbers included in the proposal? The more specific it is, the easier it will be for Harvard to review the proposal and get it to the sponsor Imagine yourself as the reviewer Have someone else double-check your numbers against the budget 26 13

14 Additional Information Needed What will the Postdoc be doing on the project? What are the associated fringe rates? Is there a cost of living adjustment? What, in general, are the Lab Supplies and why are they required for the project? Who, What, Where, When and Why the Travel? What is the equipment and why is it needed to perform the work? What Facilities and Administrative ( F&A or Overhead ) rate are we using? 27 Sponsored Project Costs 28 14

15 Sponsored Project Costs Direct Costs Expenses that are easily assigned to the project University cost sharing (very rare!) Indirect Costs Rate negotiated with federal government Automatically applied to most direct costs 29 Direct vs. Indirect Costs Direct Costs Can be identified with a particular project with a high degree of accuracy Essential to accomplish the work Indirect Costs Cannot be readily identified with a particular sponsored project Nonetheless required to perform the work 30 15

16 Costs Often Charged Directly Personnel Salaries Fringe and Vacation Assessments Non-Personnel Lab Supplies Equipment Travel Subawards Other Direct Costs 31 Costs Normally Charged Indirectly* administrative & clerical personnel costs books & subscriptions conference fees hazardous waste disposal membership dues Building costs office supplies personal computers postage & shipping proposal preparation software- general telephone & fax services (basic costs) *Per HU s Disclosure Statement on OSP website 32 16

17 Consistency: Indirect (F&A) Costs Expenses normally considered F&A must not be budgeted directly to project unless Project is major Costs must be required for the project Fully explained in budget & justification 33 Best Practices for developing Proposal Budgets Use a checklist of things to ask the PI Follow proposal instructions Fully explain major costs in the budget justification Use Excel Have someone doublecheck the math for you 34 17

18 First questions to ask before starting the budget: When is the proposal due? Who is the sponsor? When should the budget start and end? Is there a limit to the amount the PI can request? Is the cap on direct or total costs? Is there a limited number of proposals that will be accepted from Harvard? RFP number / Solicitation 35 Best Practices for writing the Budget Justification Follow sponsor instructions in the solicitation Explain why each expense is needed to carry out the work Make it clear that all costs are reasonable and consistent with Harvard policy Organize according to budget detail page Give additional details about significant costs summarized on budget page 36 18

19 More Information FAS RAS Website: Where to Go For Help Office for Sponsored Programs (OSP) Developing a Budget ABLE (A Better Learning Environment) Download Full Excel Object Code List More about Harvard s Chart of Accounts 37 19