Managing a Scientific Laboratory
Financial Management and Budgeting
Start-up Funds
Nichole Phillips
Director of Research Administration
Viterbi School of Engineering
Budgeting for Proposals
Sabrina Feeley
Director of Research Administration
Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Managing your Grant Award
Janet Stoeckert
Director of Research Administration
Keck School of Medicine
Start-Up Funds
Getting your Lab Started
Nichole Phillips
Director of Research Administration
Viterbi School of Engineering
nicholep@usc.edu
Start-up Package
1. Resources a university makes available for research support
2. Office and lab space
3. Housing/Moving Expenses
4. Lab equipment, computers and software
5. Technician and/or other staff support
6. Salary Support for course buyout or summer effort
7. Supplies
8. Travel
Negotiating a Start-up Package
1. During the process of discussing an offer is when to put the dollar
values on your needs
2. Offer time is the time “you have the most leverage than you will
have for years when joining a faculty”
3. Be prepared - part of the job search process is
completing an assessment of your minimum
requirements to get your research up and
running
Negotiating a Start-up Package
4. Research current salary information
5. Keep in mind only the department chair or dean can
make commitments to you
6. Be collaborative on ways to get expensive items
7. Be sure to get commitments in writing
Hard Money vs. Soft Money
1. Hard Money refers to guaranteed funds you receive from the
university
2. Can be part of your start-up package or other discretionary
funding
3. Quasi- hard money include various types of internal funding the
university may provide to assist in jump starting your research
• Zumberge Individual Research Grant http://research.usc.edu/forinvestigators/funding/usc/zumberge/
Hard Money vs.
Soft Money
4. Soft Money refers the funds you receive from sponsors
5. Funding you competed for with deliverables
Start-up Funds & Your Lab
1. All or a portion of your start-up funds may be made
available in an account for you to manage
2. Spending limits/requirements.
a. Were these addressed in your offer letter
b. Work with your department or the school regarding any
specific policy
3. Think strategically when setting up your lab
a. Start-up funds will be the basic funds available while
acquiring grant funding
b. What are the items required to launch your lab
Staffing your lab
1. Staffing
a. Are they part of your start-up funds
b. What type of Staff do you need
• Post-doc
• Lab Technician
• Graduate Research Assistant
2. Keep in mind
a. Time for training
b. Time for mentoring
Resources
1. http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/careerprep/jobsearch/ne
gotiating.html
2. http://chronicle.com/article/The-Right-Start-Up-Package-/45611/
3. http://research.usc.edu/for-investigators/funding/usc/
Budgeting for Proposals
August 22, 2013
Sabrina Feeley
Director of Research Administration
Dana and David Dornsife
College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
BUDGET | 12
Goals
Gain an understanding of:
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Identifying Funding Opportunities
Why Prepare a Budget?
Budget Elements
Budget Justification
Cost Sharing
Compliance
Submitting Your Proposal
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Identifying Funding Opportunities
- solicitation, RFP, program announcement, BAA
On-line Information Systems:
Sponsored Programs Information Network (SPIN)
FedBizOpps.gov – Federal Opportunities
Pivot Community of Science (COS)
ResearchResearch.com
Grants.gov
Sponsor Websites
Read carefully and thoroughly!
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Why Prepare a Budget?
Definition of a Budget:
A categorical list of anticipated project
costs that represent the Principal
Investigator's best estimate of the
funds needed to support the work
described in a proposal.
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Function of a Budget
•The budget estimates, as realistically as possible, the
cost of completing the objectives identified in the
proposal.
•The sponsor will use the budget details to determine
whether the proposal is economically feasible and
realistic.
•The budget provides a means to monitor the project's
financial activities over the life of the project.
•Many sponsors (especially government agencies)
provide either a form or a format for the budget. It is
imperative to follow the agency's instructions explicitly.
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Impacts on Budget Planning
Sponsor’s Budgetary Restrictions
Type of Sponsor (federal, non-federal, international)
Project Period – Phases/Option Years
Task Budgets
Types of personnel appointments (faculty, research staff,
postdoc, student)
Fringe Benefit Costs
Sub Awardees and Collaborators
Location of Project (on or off campus)
Facilities and Administration Costs
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Go through your project narrative and make a list of
everything that will have to be paid for.
People, consumables, publications, equipment,
conference travel, collaborators…
Do not forget to review sponsor guidelines for any
restrictions or special guidance.
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Budget Elements
Compensation
Salary
Fringe Benefits (Federal & Non-Federal)
Wages
Materials and Supplies
Equipment
Travel
Publication
Sub Awards or Consultants
Other Direct Costs
Facilities & Administration Costs (Indirects or Overhead)
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Budget Justification
Explains:
• why each cost is essential to performing project
• how project costs were estimated
• any special circumstances
• what each person will contribute to project,
12 month versus 9 month faculty
• lab and animal costs
• equipment needs – include quotes
USC Research - Current Rate Agreement - June 26, 2012
http://research.usc.edu/dcg/proposal-development/rates-at-a-glance/
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Budget justifications should answer the questions a
skeptical reviewer would ask.
Make a persuasive case for investing in you and your
team.
It is important to include budget justifications since they
can be essential for surviving an audit.
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Cost Sharing
When federal or agency regulations require that the
institution share in the cost of sponsored research projects,
the institution contribution is referred to as “cost-sharing.”
In general, cost sharing and matching represents that portion
of project or program costs not borne by the sponsor
(generally the federal government).
Cost sharing can be voluntary or mandatory (that is, required
by means of a statute or law), and can take the form of either
cash or in-kind contributions.
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USC Policy - Cost Sharing
http://policies.usc.edu/p2admOpBus/cost-sharing.pdf
Individual school policies.
Be sure all appropriate institutional approvals are
secured prior to submission.
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Compliance
OMB Circular A-110 – Uniform Administrative Requirements
for Grants and Other Agreements with Institutions of Higher
Education, Hospitals and Other Non-Profit Organizations.
Federal cost accounting standards, are a series of federal
regulations, detailed in OMB Circular A-21, which stipulate
how educational institutions administer the financial aspects of
grant management.
Costs must be reasonable, allowable, allocable
and consistent.
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If any of the following are involved, institutional review
boards may be required:
-Human Subjects
-Human Embryonic Cells
-Animal Subjects
-Radioactive Materials
-Biohazardous Materials
Conflict of Interest
-diSClose
-HHS Required COI Training
Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)
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Submitting your proposal
Route proposal package for approval
• Internal paperwork – Proposal Approval Record (PAR)
• Sponsor paperwork – Have the right forms been filled
out correctly?
Research Administrators and Department of Contracts
and Grants (DCG) will assist with review and submission.
Do not wait until last minute…Submit early!!
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Wrap-up
Read the funding opportunity!
Prepare your budget
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Does the budget reflect reasonable costs for the project?
Is the budget justification in line with the project narrative?
Are there unallowable costs in the budget?
Can you complete the scope of work on this budget?
Review and finalize all aspects of your proposal.
Submit early and wait for it to be awarded!
Managing Your Grant Award
August 22, 2013
Janet Stoeckert
Director, Research Administration
Keck School of Medicine
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Goals
Gain an understanding of:
• Types of Grants
• Award versus Spending Plan
• Budget Management & Monitoring
• Award Close Out
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Congratulations!
You have a grant award!
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Types of Grant Awards
• Grant
– Transfer of money, services, or anything of value
to recipient to accomplish a public purpose
– No substantial involvement with sponsor
• Cooperative Agreement
– Transfer funds to recipient to accomplish a public
purpose
– Substantial involvement between sponsor and
recipient
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Types of Grant Awards
• Contract
– Acquisition of property or services for benefit or
use of sponsor
• Purchase Order
– Fixed priced for a product or service
– Other (IPA)
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Types of Grant Awards
Grant or Gift?
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Grant or Gift?
 Proposed work binds the
Institution to a specific line
of scholarly or scientific
inquiry
 Includes work statement or
the testing of specific
hypotheses, methodologies
or validation of particular
approaches
 There is a specific
commitment regarding the
level of personnel effort or
items of output, or specific
performance targets as a
condition of funding
 A line item budget detailing
expenditures by activity,
function.
 Project period must be
adhered to as a condition of
funding
 Detailed fiscal reporting is
required at intervals during
the course of the work or at
the end of the project.
 Any unexpended funds must
be returned to the sponsor
at the end of the project.
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Review Award Document & Spending Profile
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Scope of Work
Time table
Budget and Cost Sharing
Reporting Requirements
Compliance Requirements
Clauses
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Review Award Document & Spending Profile
• Sponsor may request reduction in budget
Scope of work should be reduce accordingly
• Sponsor may agree to full budget but only
allocate (incrementally fund) a portion of
funding for specific time-frame
– How can budget be adjusted to
accommodate funding
• Sponsor may reduce funding if expenses do
not match budget
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Budget Management & Monitoring
Spending
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What is my grant account number?
• Notification of Award via Kuali Coeus (KC)
• Notififction of Account and budget via Kuali
Financial System (KFS)
• Obtain Access to Account in Financial System
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Budget Management & Monitoring
• Encumbrance known expenses
—Personnel
– Subcontracts
– Large Dollar Volume Expenses
– Independent Contractors – Reoccurring
– Maintenance of encumbrances
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Budget Management & Monitoring
• Review Projections
– No less than quarterly
– Review for abnormally high or low burn rate of
funds
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Sample Projection
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Account Status Report (ASR)
• Replace with new sample
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Financial Compliance
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Costs Must Be . . .
Allowable - Must conform to regulations
- Must conform to any exclusions contained in
the sponsored
agreement
- May be an appropriate institutional expense
but not
allowable on a sponsored project
Allocable - Necessary to the project
- Directly benefits the project
- NOT determined by fund availability
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Costs Must Be . . .
Reasonable - What “prudent person” would pay
in like circumstances
- Necessary?
- Advance the scope of work?
- Consistent with established policies &
practices?
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Certifying Effort
• After-the-fact confirmation of effort
• Demonstrates that salaries charged to
sponsored projects or to cost sharing
reasonably reflects effort performed
• Way for government and other sponsors to
verify salary charges to grants
• Required by institution policy and OMB
Circular A-21
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Effort Certification - How do you certify?
• eCert: On-line web-based
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Charging Effort to Grants
• % Effort should reasonably reflect actual effort
spent
• Include cost shared effort subsidized by
Department, School, Institution
• Take into account sponsor’s salary cap if
applicable
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How much effort can you charge?
• Faculty effort on grants should usually not
exceed 90-95%
• Effort towards teaching, committee work,
preparing new grant proposals may not be
charged to grants
• Exceptions are reviewed by Office of Financial
Analysis
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Cost Transfers
• Institutional Policy
– “The first step in
charging costs is
to be certain
that the initial
charge is
appropriate.”
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Cost Transfers
• Sponsored Projects Accounting (SPA) reviews
and approves cost transfer
• Processed within 90 days
– Attach detailed justification and supporting
documentation
– PI and Administrator sign off
• Over 90 days
– Attach detailed justification and supporting
documentation
– PI, Administrator, Manager and Director sign off
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Grant is Completed
Close Out of Award
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Close Out of Award
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Close outstanding encumbrances
Ensure no outstanding charges
Programmatic/Technical reports submitted
Personnel Expirations
– Notify project staff as soon as possible
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Close Out of Award
• Data Retention and Access
– Provide reasonable access
– Retain for 7 years after final reporting
or publication
– Retain financial records 3 years after
audit resolution
– Don’t forget to shred!
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Moving?
Grant Transfers
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PI notifies administration of transfer
Review sponsor requirements
Estimate balance remaining
Prepare relinquishment statement
Final financial statement to sponsor prior
to transfer to new institution
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Summary
• Review your grant award with your Department
or School for terms and conditions, scope,
awarded budget, discuss spending plan
• Review budget and projections at least
quarterly
• Inform your administrator if you wish to change
to make changes to personnel effort,
purchases, subawards, or need to transfer
expenses
• Stay current on compliance requirements
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Questions?
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Thank you!
Nichole Phillips
Viterbi School of Engineering
nicholep@usc.edu
Sabrina Feeley
Dornsife College of Letters Arts and Sciences
slf@dornsife.usc.edu
Janet Stoeckert
Keck School of Medicine
Janet.stoeckert@usc.edu
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