Texas A

1
Texas AM Research Foundation

• Proposal Preparation and Submission

2
The Texas AM Research Foundation

• A private nonprofit corporation
• Chartered in 1944 by TAMUS
• Closely affiliated with the University, but Not a
  State Agency
• Flexible Contracting Ability

3
One-Stop Shopping

• Program Development
• Preaward
• Contracts and Grants
• Purchasing
• Travel
• Compliance

4
Proposal Development

• Identifies Potential Sponsors
• Searches Funding Opportunity Databases Upon
  Request
• Publishes Monthly Funding Bulletin

Contact Linda Ramirez LDR_at_rf-mail.tamu.edu 979-845
-8677
5
Preaward _at_ BCD

• Receives and Routes Transmittal Forms
• Routes Proposal for Signatures

Contact Jo Spears jspears_at_bcd.tamhsc.edu 214-828-8
344
6
Preaward _at_ TAMRF

• Prepares Budgets According to
• Federal/Sponsor Regulations
• University/TAMRF Regulations
• Coordinates Subcontract and Collaborative
  Arrangements
• Monitors Sponsor Guidelines for Compliance
• Assembles, Copies, Binds, and Mails, or Submits
  Electronically
• Sends Campus Copies

Contact Catharine Inbody Corder ccorder_at_rf-mail.ta
mu.edu 979-845-8765
7
Contracts and Grants

• Negotiates the Award
• Establishes the Contract or Grant, and your
  Account
• Administers Spending and Reimbursing
• Provides Monthly Financial Reports
• Administers Progress Reporting
• And Much, Much More.

Contact Barbara Glover bglover_at_tamu.edu 979.845.86
56
8
Purchasing

• Acquires Bids for Equipment
• Administers Purchase Orders for Equipment and
  Large Orders
• Assists with Vendor Problems
• Provides Procurement Cards

Barbara Glover will assist you in making contact
with Purchasing
9
Logging-In a Proposal

• Contact the PA (Proposal Administrator) 2 Weeks
  Before the Deadline
• Provide the PA with
• Sponsor
• Program Announcement / Program Title
• Proposal Title (if possible)
• Co-PIs
• Outside Collaborators

10
Timing is Everything

• Log-in 3 Weeks Before the Deadline if at all
  Possible
• Confirm Finalized Budget and Justification at
  Least 4 Working Days Before Deadline
• There Can be No Budget Changes After Routing
• Provide Final Text at Least 24 Hours Before
  Deadline

11
Whats the Hurry?

• Routing Must Clear all Offices Before Submission
  to the Sponsor
• Subcontracts and Independent Consultants Are a
  Part of Our Budget
• Their Institutionally Authorized Proposals Must
  Be Received Before Routing at BCD
• Reported Cost Sharing Must be Authorized Before
  Submission to Sponsor

12
Routing on Campus

• Standard Routing (4 days)
• PI, Co-PI(s)
• Department Head(s)
• Deans (Juanna Moore and Larry Bellinger)
• VP for Research (David S. Carlson)
• Multi-System Routing (5 days)
• Off-Campus Routing (7 days)

13
Routing on Campus

• A Process of Budget Approval by the Department,
  College and University Prior to Submission
• Routing takes place while you finalize the text,
  but all budget related issues are complete
• Contact the PA with Changes, Dont Make Them on
  the Routing Copy
• The Routing Coordinator will Arrange for Courier
  Service

Contact Jo Spears 214-828-8344
14
Quality Control

• The Proposal Administrator is Looking for
  Compliance
• Federal/Sponsor Regulations
• University/TAMRF Regulations
• Formatting
• Broader Impacts/Intellectual Merit
• Current and Pending
• Biosketch Format
• Supplemental Documents
• Cost Sharing Documentation
• Allowable Costs
• Quality Check
• Before the Proposal is Copied and Packaged, One
  More Person Must Double Check it for Compliance

15
OMB Circular A-21 Standards for Cost Allowability

• Reasonable
• Allocable
• Treated Consistently

These standards apply to both proposals and
active projects. If an unallowable cost is
included in a proposal, the cost does not become
allowable because it wasnt removed during the
submission and review process.
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Allowable

• An Allowable Cost Must Conform to
• The A-21 (Federal Awards)
• Institutional Policy
• Terms and Conditions of the Agreement

17
Unallowable Costs

• Expenses Unallowable for Federal Reimbursement
  that are
• Reasonable
• Necessary
• Allocable
• Permitted by University Policy
• Paid for by the University, but Coded as
  Unallowable
• Expenses Unallowable by Private Sponsor
• Paid for by the University, and Coded
  Appropriately
• Expenses Unallowable by the University
• These Costs will not be Paid for by the
  University, and the Individual Must Incur the
  Cost

18
Reasonable

• Is it Necessary for Performance of the Award?
• Does it Advance the Scope of Work?
• Is it Consistent with Established Institutional
  Policies and Practices?

19
Allocable

• Allocation is the Process of Assigning a Cost to
  One or More Cost Objectives
• Responsibility of the PI
• Assigned to the Project in Proportion to the
  Benefit the Project will Receive
• Fund Availability should not Determine
  Allocability

20
Consistent

• Required Costs Incurred for the Same Purpose, in
  Like Circumstances, Handled Consistently as
  Direct or Indirect Costs.
• Clerical and Administrative Salaries
• Office Supplies
• Postage
• Local Phone Service
• Memberships

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Possible Exceptions

• Costs Normally Treated as Indirect can be Treated
  as Direct Under Exceptional Circumstances
• Major Project
• needs significantly beyond those normally
  provided by the department
• Extensive travel and meeting arrangement
• Extensive data accumulation, analysis, reporting,
  surveying, tabulation
• Specifically Tied to the Project
• Must be able to show how the project benefited
  through documentation
• Explicitly Budgeted

22
Direct Costs

• Salaries and Wages
• FTE (Full Time Equivalent) and Budgeted Salary
• FTE 100,000 (maximum
  allowable)
• Budgeted 75,000
• 50 Effort 50,000
• FTE Can Not be Increased As a Result of Receiving
  Grant Funds
• Graduate Students Salaries Must Meet Department
  Minimum

23
Direct Costs

• Fringe Benefits
• 15.6 Faculty and Staff
• 8.35 Students
• Used to estimate the costs of Social Security,
  Medicare, workers comp. insurance, unemployment
  insurance and retirement benefits.
• Medical Benefits
• Based on Actual Amount if Known
• Employee Only 291
• Employee/Children 374
• Employee/Spouse 423 (used for TBN)
• Employee/Family 489

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Direct Costs

• Materials and Supplies
• Individual items costing less than 5,000, and/or
  having a lifetime expectance of less than 1 year.
• Laboratory supplies vs. Office Supplies
• A-21 says Items such as office supplies,
  postage, local telephone costs, and memberships
  shall normally be treated as FA costs.

25
Direct Costs

• Travel
• Reimbursed or Advanced
• Travel Advance Request Form
• A contractual Arrangement
• TAMRF Travel Policy
• Outlines Allowable Costs

www.rf-web.tamu.edu
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Budgeting Travel

• Domestic Transportation
• Personal Vehicles _at_ 40.5 cents/mi
• Rented Vehicles Economy Class
• Airfare Economy Class

www.rf-web.tamu.edu
27
Budgeting Travel

• Domestic Lodging and Meals
• Subsistence
• Requires Receipts for Reimbursement
• Separate Meal and Lodging Rates
• Maximum Lodging 175/night
• Meal Rates are Based on the City
  (51/day Max)
• Per Diem
• Does Not Require Receipts
• Maximum of 129/day for Meals and Lodging

www.rf-web.tamu.edu
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Budgeting Travel

• International Transportation
• Airfare Economy Class
• Train and Bus Receipts Required
• Taxi and Limo
• If trains and buses are not available, or if
  taxis or limos are cheaper

www.rf-web.tamu.edu
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Budgeting Travel

• International Lodging and Meals
• Per Diem
• Based on the U.S. Department of State
  Standardized Regulations
• Subsistence
• Obtain from TAMRF Travel Branch

www.rf-web.tamu.edu
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Other Direct Costs

• Publication and Page Charges
• Long Distance Telephone Calls
• Anything Else?

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Direct Costs Exempt from Indirect

• Graduate Student Tuition
• Now a Mandatory Cost on all Proposals Including
  Graduate Students
• Exceptions
• Sponsor Disallows Tuition (Rare)
• Original Award didnt Include Tuition

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Direct CostsExempt from Indirect

• Equipment
• A Single Item Costing More than 5,000, and with
  a Life Longer than 1 year
• Software, When Part of the Operating System and
  Initial Set Up of the Computer
• Fabricated Equipment
• Subcontracts Beyond the Initial 25,000

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Subcontracts, Consultants, or Vendors?

• Subcontract
• Performs Substantive Programmatic Work Under a
  Grant or Contract
• Responsible for Decision Making and Measurable
  Performance Requirements
• Adheres to the Federal Compliance Requirements if
  Award is Federal
• If a University, Retains Intellectual Property
  Rights

34
Subcontracts, Consultants, or Vendors?

• Consultant
• Not a TAMU Employee
• Proven Professional or Technical Competence
• Performance or Result of Service is not
  Controlled
• Considered a Work for Hire and Doesnt Retain any
  Rights to the End Product

35
Subcontracts, Consultants, or Vendors?

• Vendor
• Provides Goods and Services from an Organization
  that Provides Those Same Services as Part of
  Normal Business Operations
• Not Subject to the Same Compliance Requirements
  as a Subcontract if Award is Federal

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Subcontracts

• The First 25,000 per Subcontract is Subject to
  FA Costs
• The Subcontracting Institution Must Submit their
  Signed/Authorized Proposal to TAMU
• Statement of Work (SOW)
• Budget
• Signed Letter or Cover Sheet
• TAMU PI must Justify the Choice of and Need for
  the Subcontract

37
Indirect Costs, or Facilities and Administration
Costs (FA)

• Costs incurred for the common and joint activity
  of the university that can not be easily or
  specifically identified with a particular project
  (i.e. Not Allocable).
• Federally Negotiated with our Federal Cognizant
  Agency (Department of Health and Human Services
  DHHS)
• 45.5 of Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC) for
  On-Campus work
• 26.0 MTDC, Off-Campus

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Indirect Costs (FA)How are they calculated?

• 45.5 of MTDC
• MTDC Total Direct Costs minus exempt items
• Equipment
• Tuition and Fees
• Subcontracts beyond 25,000
• GYRE

39
Indirect Costs (FA)How are they distributed?

• Total Direct Costs 100,000
• FA 45,500
• Total Award 145,500
• 71 of FA to TAMHSC (32,305)
• 29 of FA to TAMRF (13,195)

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Indirect Costs (FA)Why so much?

• General Administrative Costs
• Presidents Office
• Vice Presidents Office
• Accounting
• Purchasing
• Human Resources
• Department Administrative Costs
• Building and General Purpose Equipment Use
• Physical Plant Operation and Maintenance (i.e.
  Utilities)
• Sponsored Project Administration (VPR, OSP)
• Library Expenses

41
Reduced FA

• Sponsor Limits or Disallows Indirect Costs
• The Off-Campus Rate is Used
• 60 of the project is off campus
• Memo signed by PI, Dept. Head, Dean, VPR.

42
Cost Sharing

• Any Project Cost Not Borne by the Sponsor
• Reduced FA Cost Rate
• Contributed Effort by the PI
• Equipment Purchases
• Any Gift or Service Promised Within Your Text

43
Cost SharingA Cautionary Tale

• Any Cost Promised to the Sponsor on Behalf of the
  Project is Auditable
• Must have an accompanying account number
• Unaccounted costs promised to the federal
  government can and have been charged to the
  University
• Federal Money can not be Cost Shared with Other
  Sources
• If you have federal money for equipment, you
  cant show that as cost sharing on another grant
• You cant state that your time from a federal
  grant will cover you on another projecteven if
  the research is related (Not Allocable).
• In NSF Lingo Not Required means Dont Report
  it to Us.

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Budgeting Tips

• Dont Overestimate or Underestimate the Projects
  Needs
• The Budget Justification is Often the Weakest
  Part of the Proposal
• A Carefully Prepared Budget Can Strengthen Your
  Overall Proposal
• Provide Cost Sharing According to the Sponsors
  Guidelines
• Keep Cost Sharing to a Minimum