Lesley A. Brown
Director of Proposal Development
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A budget is another way to express your
project in terms of costs required to complete
the work.
Project
Activities
Line Item
Budget
Budget
Justification
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A budget should always tell the same story as
the narrative.
A carefully developed budget improves your
chances for success.
Program officers will review your budget to
see how well it relates to proposed activities.
Budgets are estimates, but they should be as
specific as possible.
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Ask for what you need and be realistic. Don’t try to
cut yourself short.
Budgets that are too low cast doubt on your
planning ability.
Inflated budgets raise flags with program officers.
Round numbers to the nearest dollar.
Always remember to follow the directions!
If no forms are provided, you can create your own.
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You do not have to develop your budget on
your own.
Your College-Based Research Officer can
help.
Erika Cottingham and Ellen Zavala in the
Office of Research Services and Outreach can
help.
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If program guidelines give overall dollar limits,
stick to those limits.
Look for allowable costs vs. unallowable costs.
Is cost-sharing required? If so, what level?
Is there a limitation on facilities and administrative
(F&A) costs recovery? If so, what is the limit? If no
limitation, request full F&A costs.
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Allowable costs for university grant projects are
governed by 2 CFR 220 (formerly OMB Circular A21).
Cost Accounting Standards Outlined in A-21:
◦ (1) Consistency in estimating, accumulating, and reporting
costs;
◦ (2) Consistency in allocating costs incurred in like
circumstances for the same purposes;
◦ (3) Identification and exclusion of specifically identifiable
unallowable costs;
◦ (4) Consistency in the selection and use of a cost
accounting period.
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Department of Education: Education
Department General Administrative
Regulations (EDGAR).
National Science Foundation: Award and
Administration Guide.
National Institutes of Health: NIH Grants
Policy Statement.
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR).
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Contact your College-Based Research Officer.
Contact Erika Cottingham in Research
Services and Outreach: 687-3429 or
Erika.Cottingham@uncc.edu.
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Direct Costs
Facilities and Administrative Costs (F&A)
a/k/a Indirect Costs a/k/a Overhead
Cost-Sharing
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Direct costs are explicit project expenditures listed
as line items that can be specifically identified with
a particular project or program.
Direct costs are usually categorized into personnel
(people) and non-personnel (things):
 Personnel – salaries, wages, fringe benefits, consultant
fees.
 Non-Personnel – equipment, travel, materials and
supplies, publications, printing, communications,
subcontracts, tuition.
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Salaries
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Faculty
Students and Postdocs
Technicians
Clerical (complex projects only)
Fringe benefits
Consultant fees
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Equipment
Travel
Materials and supplies
Publications
Printing
Communications
Subcontracts
Tuition
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Defined as capital equipment costing more
$5,000 or more.
Several items of small equipment that total
$5,000 (e.g., 5 computers costing $1,000
each) should NOT be listed on the equipment
line but on the materials and supplies line.
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Use UNC Charlotte (state of North Carolina)
approved travel rates unless it is an
international project where the sponsor
explicitly approves using U.S. Federal travel
rates.
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Show graduate student salary separate from
tuition.
Tuition should be listed under “other direct
costs.”
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A subcontract is an award to another
organization to perform part of the work.
The other organization provides us with their
budget for their personnel and nonpersonnel items.
The subcontract becomes a line item on our
budget, and the other organization’s indirect
costs become a direct cost for us.
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It is important to know the difference
between subcontractors and vendors.
A subcontractor helps design the project,
performs part of the work, and helps with the
final report—there is an intellectual
contribution to the project.
A vendor sells a service that the company
sells as a normal part of their business
operations.
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We charge F&A (indirect costs) on the first
$25,000 of each subcontract.
We charge F&A on the total amount of each
vendor purchase.
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Do NOT list a miscellaneous budget category.
The “Other Direct Costs” category should be
used for specific charges that can be
identified, quantified and associated with one
project.
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Facilities and Administrative Costs (F&A), aka
Indirect costs, aka overhead
Facilities and Administrative Costs (F&A) are
real project costs that are hard to tie back to
a specific project:
 Examples include payroll and accounting, space, use of
equipment, library usage, lighting, and general project
administration costs.
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Indirect Costs (F&A) are governed by University
Policy # 86.
Facilities and administrative costs will be
reimbursed by a federal sponsoring agency at their
UNC Charlotte negotiated F&A rate.
Rates can be found on the Research Services and
Outreach website.
The University expects all non-federal sponsored
programs to be reimbursed for their full costs,
both direct and F&A.
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At UNC Charlotte they are calculated on a
percentage of the budget.
Modified total direct costs base includes:
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All salaries and wages, fringe benefits
Materials and supplies
Services
Travel
Subgrants and subcontracts up to the first $25,000 of each
subgrant or subcontract (regardless of the period covered
by the subgrant or subcontract).
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Modified total direct costs base excludes:
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Equipment costing in excess of $5,000
Capital expenditures
Charges for patient care
Tuition remission, scholarships and fellowships
Rental costs of off-site facilities
The portion of each subgrant and subcontract in excess of
$25,000
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UNC Charlotte has different rates for
Organized Research, Instruction, and Other
Sponsored Activities.
There is an on-campus and an off-campus
rate for each type of activity.
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For 2014 through 2017 the on-campus F&A
rate for Organized Research is 51% of
Modified Total Direct Costs.
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For 2014 through 2017, the on-campus F&A
rate for Instruction is 51.5% of Modified Total
Direct Costs.
Many Federal agencies, e.g., NIH and DoED,
limit F&A on training grants to 8%.
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Defined as anything that is not organized research
or instruction.
Contact your College-based Research Officer, Erika
Cottingham or Ellen Zavala to determine if your
project qualifies as OSA.
For 2014 through 2017 the on-campus F&A rate
for OSA is 35% of Modified Total Direct Costs.
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In order to use the off-campus rate, rent must be
paid to a third-party landlord and at least 51% of
the project must take place in an off-campus
facility.
The Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic
Development will also approve the off-campus
rate for faculty members who are resident at a
federal or corporate laboratory outside the
Charlotte region for the entire project.
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The Off-Campus rate for all activities and all
fiscal years is 26% of Modified Total Direct
costs.
Check with your College-based Research
Officer, Erika Cottingham or Ellen Zavala to
confirm that your project qualifies for an offcampus rate.
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Always include F&A Costs at the federally
negotiated rate unless the program
guidelines state otherwise.
Contact your College-Based Research Officer
or Erika Cottinghan (687-3429 or
Erika.Cottingham@uncc.edu) if you have
questions about F&A Costs.
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In projects funded by local government and nonprofit agencies, but excluding those funded by
federal “pass-through” dollars, the University will
charge an “administrative” cost of 26% of in lieu of
F&A.
Ellen Zavala, Director of Research Services and
Outreach, or Lesley Brown, Director of Proposal
Development, must approve the use of
“administrative” costs in lieu of F&A.
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Many non-profit foundations have an established
policy of not paying indirect costs.
In such cases, you must attach a copy of this policy
to your proposal when it is routed for signatures.
In all other circumstances, only the Vice Chancellor
for Research and Economic Development may
approve a waiver of Indirect Costs.
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The University will return 10% of recovered
F&A and “administrative” costs to the project
director’s academic department.
For awards involving multiple investigators,
the allocation among departments will follow
the allocation of credit assigned on the
Internal Processing Forms.
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Costs that the institution will contribute to
the total project costs are considered shared
costs or cost-sharing.
Examples include:
◦ the value of someone’s time plus fringe benefits,
◦ departmental or college cash for any operating
costs,
◦ equipment, and
◦ the indirect costs associated with these dollars.
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Include cost-sharing only when it is required
by the sponsor.
Showing cost-sharing when it is not required
will not help you get funding.
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Explicit commitments to cost share should not be
included in proposals unless specifically required
by the sponsor.
If PIs spend time on research projects for which
they receive no salary from the sponsor, they
should describe their participation in terms that do
not commit them to specific percentages of effort
(salary) or to non-salary expenses.
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Sometimes called budget narrative.
This section justifies each line item in your budget
by explaining why it is necessary to the completion
of the project.
The budget justification is an important part of
your proposal and should provide sufficient detail
so that reviewers can understand the full costs of
your project.
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In general, a budget justification should make the
following clear:
◦ How salary costs were calculated;
◦ How fringe benefits were calculated;
◦ The details for travel costs (# of trips, # of travelers, airfare,
lodging, per diem);
◦ How expenses for materials, supplies and equipment were
derived (quotes, past experience);
◦ Basis for the F&A rate.
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The budget justification for personnel should
include a description of the tasks each person
will perform.
Project
Activities
Line Item
Budget
Budget
Justification
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Show the basis for your calculations.
 Ex. – Local mileage for PI, 125 miles/month for 12
months @ $.36/mile = $540
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Show the components of the fringe benefit
rate.
 Ex. – Faculty/staff fringe benefits are calculated @25%
of salaries and include FICA, retirement, and health
insurance.
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In multi-year budgets, allow for yearly
increases and indicate annual percentage
increases. You can generally use 2-3%. Note
that projected salary increases take effect July
1 of each year.
Itemize the budget and justify each item such
as personnel, equipment, travel, and other
major expenses.
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All costs must be incurred during the
proposed project period.
Every reasonable expense associated with the
project can be included in your budget.
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Remember that the budget and budget
narrative/justification are meant to persuade
the reviewer that sufficient funds (not too
little and not too much) are requested to
achieve project goals and objectives in a
cost-effective manner.
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Your budget is an approximation of what you
plan to spend. If funded, you will have
flexibility to revise your budget as needed.
You must work with the Office of Award
Management or your college/departmental
administrator on budget revisions.
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Do not list budget figures in the text of the
proposal. You do not want to look through
the entire proposal at the last minute because
of budget changes.
Work with your College-Based Research
Officer or Erika Cottingham in advance of the
deadline to avoid the last minute rush.
Be sure your numbers add up!!!!
Ellen E. Zavala, Director
Office of Research Services and Outreach
314 Cameron Hall
704.687.2592 or eezavala@uncc.edu
Erika Cottingham, Associate Director
Office of Research Services and Outreach
312 Cameron Hall
704.687.3429 or Erika.Cottingham@uncc.edu
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College-Based Research Officers:
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COE: Lauren Beastall
COED: Kris Duryea
CHHS: Vikki Cherwon
CLAS: Peter Szanton
CCI: Pat Bridges
All other colleges and units work with Erika
Cottingham