Proposal Budgets

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Proposal Budgets
Stephen F. Austin State University Office of
Research and Sponsored Programs Presents
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What is a Budget?

• A planning tool for you and an explanation of
  your narrative for the funding agency

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• Make it Clear and Simple
• Budgets are sometimes the first thing that a
  funding agency will review. So youll want to
  make sure its good!
• There is no absolute formula for developing a
  budget. They differ by the kind of work (tasks,
  overall project, etc) to be done and by the
  funding agency.

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• Be Accurate and Realistic
• Your budget is an estimate and a funding agency
  will usually give you some leeway in spending the
  money. They might permit requests to change the
  budget, BUT you may not exceed the total amount
  for the grant.
• Careful planning will decrease the number of
  changes that may be required, but it will also
  show integrity which will be necessary to get
  permission for future changes.

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• Research the source you have targeted carefully.
  
• What types of support they will (not) provide.
  What is a realistic award range?
• Engage all appropriate individuals in the
  development and approval of the budget. Release
  time, commitments, etc
• Anticipate increases in costs over the life of
  the project. (If its more than one year.)

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• Be cost effective and realistic. Make your
  proposal competitive, but also make sure you have
  sufficient funds to do the work.
• Anticipate other costs that might be incurred by
  SFA because of the project. (space/facilities,
  equipment use, etc.)
• Demonstrate institutional commitment, if
  appropriate. (Is there cost sharing or other
  contributions?).
• Enhance, dont Supplant.

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What are they looking for?

• Have you thought about your needs carefully?
• Will you spend their money wisely?
• Are you a reliable organization?

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Quotes from prospective funders

• "I don't like to see in-kind services in the
  budget, when often it's just a lot of volunteers
  licking stamps.
• "What makes me crazy is an organization ignoring
  our guidelines."
• "Don't try to pull the wool over our eyes. Be
  honest and straightforward."

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Presentation

• Use the format requested by the funding agency.
• You will need to prepare a detailed line-item
  budget for internal purposes, but if the agency
  doesnt request this you dont need to provide
  it.

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How to Begin

• You can start your budget before you even write a
  word of the narrative. This might even help you
  refine your ideas about what you will be doing.
• Analyze exactly what you will need to carry out
  the work.

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Direct Costs

• These are costs which can be directly identified
  with your project. The federal government also
  provides definitions of what are allowable and
  unallowable direct costs in OMB Circular A-21,
  Cost Principles for Education Institutions.

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Direct Costs

• Direct costs may include
• Personnel Benefits
• Equipment
• Supplies and Materials
• Travel
• Consultants/Subcontracts
• Other

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Personnel

• Indicate each person who will work on the project
  by title or job type and the amount of time they
  will devote to the project.
• A project may employ current SFA employees or
  hire new employees for the project with the
  understanding that their employment is for the
  duration of the grant.
• Be aware that the appropriate paperwork and
  postings will need to be done for new positions.

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Personnel

• The time University employees devote to the
  project while under contract to SFA is usually in
  the form of release time or overload (25 maximum
  additional compensation).
• Time commitments to a project must be approved
  by the appropriate department head.
• Additional compensation MUST be approved by
  the funding agency.
• A project may also provide for summer salary for
  employees who are on less than 12-month contracts.

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Personnel

• Personnel may include faculty members, research
  assistants and associates, postdoctoral
  associates, graduate students, undergraduate
  students, secretaries, evaluators, programmers,
  technical experts, etc

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Personnel
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Personnel - Benefits

• For each dollar paid as salary or wage to an
  employee, the University also incurs associated
  costs for fringe benefits (FICA, workers
  compensation, unemployment compensation,
  retirement, and health insurance).

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Personnel - Benefits

• Estimated Benefits for Unspecified Employees
• If the person who will fill a position has not
  been identified at the time of the proposal
  submission, benefits can be determined using an
  estimated calculation.
• This is 26 of salary and wages for full-time
  employees and includes fringe benefits and health
  insurance.

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Personnel - Benefits

• For Identified Employees
• Salary/Wages x 18.15(or 16.23 if hired 1996 or
  after)
• plus Health Insurance

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Personnel - Benefits
State law requires that when university
salaries are offset with external funding the
proportional amount of insurance must also be
offset.
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Personnel - Benefits
Note Health insurance is not included in the
additional compensation calculation
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Equipment

• Fixed, movable, and shared equipment that meets
  the Universitys definition for equipment (see
  SFA Property website).
• CAPITAL EQUIPMENT (5,000)
• CONTROLLED EQUIPMENT (500-4,999 TVs,
  printers, non-dig cameras, firearms (any))
• UNIVERSITY CONTROLLED EQUIPMENT (0 - 4,999
  computers, PDAs, digital cameras)

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Equipment

• Try to be specific in your description - model
  numbers, types, size, etc.
• Some agencies might even like a quote attached
  for major pieces of equipment.

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Equipment
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Supplies

• Itemize expendable supplies that are needed for
  the project
• Lab supplies such as chemicals, glassware, and
  disposables.
• Questionnaires and test materials.
• Instructional materials.

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Supplies
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Travel

• Attendance at professional meetings airfare or
  mileage, hotel and meal costs, and registration.
  
• Field work vehicle rental, mileage, living
  expenses.
• Local travel interviews, outreach, etc.
• In-state limits are 85 for lodging, 36 meals.
  Mileage is 58.5 per mile.
• For out-of-state rates go to www.sfasu.edu/control
  ler/travel

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Travel
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Consultants

• Paid consultants may be justified when a project
  calls for expertise of a well-defined nature for
  a fixed period of time.
• Consultants are usually paid a consulting fee
  plus travel expenses.
• When possible, identify consultant by name,
  indicate number of days of work, and provide a
  vita in the proposal.

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Subcontracting

• If your project involves expenses associated with
  a partner organization, these expenses should be
  included as a subcontract in the budget.
• The subcontract cost should be one line item in
  your budget, and a separate detailed budget
  should follow.

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Subcontracting

• A signed agreement committing the subcontractor
  to the proposed work should be included.
• Subcontracts should include fringe benefits and
  indirect cost calculated at the organizations
  negotiated rates (not SFAs).

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Subagreements
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Other

• These are typically those costs which do not fit
  into the established budget categories.
• Copying and printing costs
• Equipment maintenance/repair
• Communication charges
• Equipment rental

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Other
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Indirect Costs (FA)

• Real institutional costs that cannot be allocated
  to one project alone (purchasing, building use,
  utilities, payroll, ORSP).
• Include costs are essential to support a
  sponsored activity which cannot be broken down
  and directly charged to a specific grant or
  contract.
• In order to recoup these costs, the university
  applies to each sponsored program a composite
  indirect cost rate.

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Indirect Costs

• SFA has a federally Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate
  Agreement (NICRA) with the Department of Health
  and Human Services of 50 of Salaries and Wages.
  
• Not all agencies accept this rate or any indirect
  costs at all. Be sure to check the limits of the
  agency youre applying to.

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Indirect Costs
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Cost Sharing

• Resources contributed or allocated by the
  University to a sponsored project over and above
  the support provided by the external sponsor of
  that project.
• The University may share the cost of projects
  with external sponsors in accordance with its
  principal mission of supporting the search for
  and dissemination of knowledge.
• Cost share may also come from third parties

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Cost Sharing

• Some agencies require matching funds and/or cost
  sharing. If its not required, dont offer it!
  This should not be a gratuitous or competitive
  element.
• Matching funds are normally defined as cash (e.g.
  of the cost of a piece of equipment), whereas
  cost sharing is usually in the form of
  contributed time and effort by the project
  director or other project staff.

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Cost Sharing

• ORSP can provide suggestions as to sources of
  funds. Some sources of cost sharing are release
  time, graduate students, computer usage, special
  facilities usage, etc.
• Indirect costs may be used as cost share if they
  are associated with a direct cost (release time
  plus associated fringe benefits and indirect
  costs)
• BUT contributions solely in the form of FA are
  discouraged (waiving the indirect costs).

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Cost Sharing

• Remember that cost sharing will usually need to
  be confirmed and reported to the funding agency.
  
• Do not commit something that you cannot
  realistically provide as well as document.

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Budget Narrative

• The budget narrative is sometimes referred to as
  the budget justification.
• The narrative serves two purposes
• Explains how the costs were estimated
• Justifies the need for the cost

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Personnel Justification
A Project Coordinator will be employed at 1.0 FTE
to manage all project operations and activities.
The requested salary for the Coordinator is
41,000 (year 1) a 3 increase is included in
subsequent years for a total three-year salary of
126,727. A Project Assistant will be employed
at 1.0 FTE to provide oversight for teacher
interns who have received financial support from
the grant and to assist in management of
activities with the Coordinator. The salary
requested is 21,000 (year 1) a 3 increase is
included in subsequent years for a total
three-year salary of 64,909. Additional
compensation is requested for faculty members to
modify reading courses to include content on oral
language development - work that is beyond their
normal department load. The amount requested for
years 1 and 2 is 12,500 each year (25 courses
total, at 500/course modification) for a total
of 25,000. Additional compensation is also
requested for faculty members for the creation of
on-line Spanish modules, work that also is beyond
normal departmental load. The amount requested in
year one is 15,000 (5 modules _at_ 5,000 each).
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Fringe Benefits Justification

• Fringe benefits are calculated at the rate of 26
  for salaried employees and the rate of 18.15 for
  additional compensation payments (under
  institutional policy, additional compensation is
  subject to benefit calculations). The fringe rate
  covers health insurance, basic life insurance,
  and other standard benefits provided by the
  institution for all employees. Fringe benefits
  for additional compensation do not include health
  insurance.

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Equipment Justification

• The requested equipment will enable university
  faculty to observe and provide immediate feedback
  to student interns as they work in their
  classrooms at remote locations across the state.
• Equipment requested includes 20 laptop computers
  and software, _at_1,500 each for a total cost of
  30,000 (these computers will ensure that
  students who do not own their own laptop
  computers will not be excluded from participating
  in the program). The Administrative Assistant
  will be in charge of tracking and maintaining
  this inventory and coordinating with students for
  use.
• Future costs of Web cams and other interactive
  media/audio technology will be added as a student
  course fee.

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Supplies Justification

• Supplies - Program staff will purchase blank CDs
  for use in making program marketing and
  promotional materials available to participating
  colleges. These costs are estimated to be
  250/year, for a total of 750 for the project
  period.
• Marketing Materials/Printing and Postage SFA
  requests funds for the printing (1,500 in year
  one and decreasing to 500 in year 3) and
  dissemination (postage at 500 a year) of
  materials, including brochures, flyers and
  pamphlets to be provided to help community
  colleges market the program to current community
  college students and provide them with
  information on scholarship and other financial
  aid (4,500 total).

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Travel Justification

• Project funds requested for travel are
  reasonable and necessary to the conduct and
  success of the proposed project. All travel will
  be calculated using State of Texas or federal
  allowable rates, as appropriate.
• Categories of travel include
• travel to the fall FIPSE project directors
  meetings in Washington, D.C. (1,700/year for a
  total of 5,100)
• travel to partner sites as needed (750/year for
  a total of 2,250)
• travel to demonstration sites and for
  dissemination of best practices and results at
  state and national conferences of the project (2
  persons _at_ 1,250/trip, x 2 trips).

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Contract/Consulting Justification

• Each of the 17 participating community colleges
  will receive 2,500 in year one, 1,500 in year
  two, and 1,000 in year three, and each of the 4
  larger participating community college systems or
  districts will receive 6,000 in year one, 4,500
  in year two, and 3,500 in year three. This
  totals 146,000 in subcontracts to the college
  partners. These funds will be used to allow full
  participation of each college in the project,
  including costs to expand on-line AAT course
  offerings travel to partner meetings and program
  articulation meetings and the development,
  printing, and dissemination of marketing
  materials targeting their students and AAT
  programs.
• The External Evaluator will be Dr. Smith from the
  University of XX. Her areas of emphasis-standards
  based instruction and accountability, program
  evaluation, and educational policy. The budget
  provides 15,000/year for each year for the
  project, totaling 45,000. The contract will
  include professional services and travel costs,
  including annual travel to the FIPSE project
  directors meeting in Washington, D.C.

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Other Justification

• Long Distance Service - Long distance fees of
  500/year have been budgeted due to the high
  volume of communication anticipated between the
  Project Coordinator and partner schools for a
  three-year total of 1,500.
• Partner Meetings - SFASU will host a kick off
  meeting and yearly partner meetings to keep all
  participants actively involved in the progress of
  the project. At least one representative from
  each participating community college will attend
  the meeting. Costs for three working meetings
  include lunch and refreshments for participants
  and meeting materials (1,750 total).

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Thank You! Remember that the Office of Research
and Sponsored Programs is always available to
help with your proposals and budgets. Give us a
call at 6606 or stop by LAN 421