• Salaries and Wages
• Fringe Benefits
• Materials and Supplies
• Equipment
• Travel
• Communications
• Publications
• Contractual Costs
• Other Direct Costs
• Indirect Costs
• Cost Sharing
• Budget Justification

Salaries and Wages

Include all salaries and wages of personnel who will be spending full or part time on the project. For key personnel, provide the name, title, amount of time on the project, rate of pay, and the total amount to be paid to each individual under the award. The names of supporting personnel are not usually necessary. Salaries of employees should be expressed in terms of a percentage of total effort, rather than as hourly or daily rates.

If the proposal will be submitted to a federal agency, salaries and benefits for administrative and clerical staff may not be requested unless the project requires more than the usual level of administrative or clerical support because of its size or complexity. Such projects may be center or program projects, projects that entail assembling and managing large teams of investigators, projects that involve extensive data accumulation and analysis, projects that require making travel and meeting arrangements for large numbers of participants, and projects that require extensive work involving project-specific regulatory protocols. If clerical or administrative salaries are requested, they should be carefully justified in the budget narrative. The practice of including a specified fraction of pooled salaries for clerical or administrative staff is not allowed under federal guidelines.

Fringe Benefits

Materials and Supplies

These include consumable supplies such as office supplies, glassware, chemicals, computer supplies, etc. These may be listed under one general heading with an explanation of the types of items to be purchased. If the cost is substantial, the breakdown should be more detailed.

For proposals requesting federal funding, general office supplies are ordinarily considered part of indirect costs, and should not be included in the direct cost budget unless the nature of the project requires more than minimal expenditures and is easily justifiable.

Equipment

Travel

Communications

This category usually includes telephone, courier, fax, postage, etc. costs associated with the project. Depending on the significance of communications costs and the preferences of the proposer and the sponsor, this category is sometimes included in the "other direct costs" category.

Proposals submitted for federal funding should not include requests for postage or local telephone costs unless the nature of the project is such that expenses for these items will be unusually great. If, for instance, the project includes mass mailings or telephone survey work, the costs are appropriate.

Publications

Contractual Costs

This category should contain any contractual agreements to be entered into by the University, under which non-University employees or entities will be paid for contributions to the project as either consultants or subcontractors.

Consultant services should be justified and information should be furnished on each consultant's expertise, primary organizational affiliation, compensation rate, and number of days or percent of time contemplated. Some agencies limit the daily rate that may be paid to consultants. In any event, the daily rate should not exceed the rate that the consultant customarily receives for similar work.

When funding for subcontracts is requested, a subcontract proposal, including an appropriate budget signed by the authorized subcontractor official, should be included in the proposal.

Other Direct Costs

Indirect Costs

Indirect costs are those costs incurred in the general support and management of the proposed activities which cannot be readily determined by direct measurement. They may include:

• general administration, including such functions as accounting, personnel, payroll and other administrative functions
• research administration
• department administration
• plant operation and maintenance, including utilities, janitorial services, routine maintenance and repairs
• depreciation and use allowance
• libraries

Indirect costs must be requested at the approved rate unless a sponsor has a published policy restricting the payment of indirect costs. Any exceptions must be specifically approved by the appropriate Dean/Director.

Cost Sharing

Cost sharing is the process by which the total costs of a project are shared by the sponsor and the performing instituion. Formal cost sharing obligates the University to provide the resources in the agreed fashion and to account for their use in the performance of the project. Cost sharing must be authorized and approved by the Department Chair and Dean/Director.

One form of cost sharing is charging indirect costs at less than the full approved rate when required by the sponsor's policy, and as approved by the appropriate dean. When this is the case, the difference between the dollar amount that would have been charged at the full rate and the dollar amount allowed by, or agreed to, with the sponsor should be shown in the budget as cost sharing. Another common form of cost sharing is the contribution of individuals' time to a project when the portion of their time spent on the project is not funded by the sponsor. In these cases, the applicable benefits and indirect costs, in addition to the salary, should be calculated and shown as part of the cost sharing.

When formal cost sharing is not required, it is best to avoid it because of the paperwork burden associated with reporting it. In these cases, the University's cost sharing may be shown in the proposal, but should include a statement to the effect that it is informal cost sharing shown for information only.

Budget Justification

This section should explain and justify any budget items that may not be clear or that may raise questions.