Budget Justification Instructions & Template
University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc. or University of Georgia
Phrases in Blue are instructions and information about types of costs.
Phrases in Black are sample Budget Justification headings and examples of budget items.
Phrases in Red are highly recommended for most budget justifications.
Note: Follow sponsor proposal instructions as closely as possible, providing as much detail and
justification as necessary. Budget requirements will vary by funding agency and by grant
mechanism. Check agency policy for exclusions: such as PI salary, equipment, travel,
computer purchases, maximum dollar allowed, and/or F&A costs restrictions.
GETTING STARTED: If a multi-year proposal, include a phrase like:
“An increase of 2% per year has been added for the [list positions].” Only if the sponsor allows
anticipated salary increases.
PERSONNEL COSTS
Only UGA employees should be listed under Personnel. If the person who will perform the work
is a current UGA employee, list his or her name, title, the amount of time he or she will spend
working on the project (Example: 50% effort = 6.0 calendar months), and what he or she will be
trying to accomplish. Please adjust according to guidelines. PLEASE NOTE: Avoid saying
anything like “Person X will work Y amount of time at no cost to the sponsor”, because that is
considered cost sharing. UGA doesn’t recommend the use of cost sharing unless it is required
by sponsor. See Cost Sharing Policy: http://askuga.uga.edu/default.asp?id=1426&Lang=1&SID.
Senior Personnel
This category should include anyone who is a PI, Co-PI, Co-I, or Project Director. A Co-PI must
have PI rights (usually faculty1). A Co-I can be anyone who is necessary to the project.
IF SALARY IS REQUESTED, use something like the phrases below:
Dr. X (Principal Investigator) will provide scientific direction and supervision for the
project [including...]. Salary support is requested for 2 summer months for years 1
through 5 of the project. One summer month represents 1/9th of the PI’s academic year
salary.
Dr. X (PI): The PI is requesting 1.5 months of summer salary for each year of the
budget. The PI is responsible for the over scientific and teaching direction of the project
and will supervise the overall administration of the grant. He will act as an expert
advisor and provide technical assistance in all areas.
Dr. Y, Co-PI, is requesting 2 summer months per year. She will lead development of
instructional materials and video materials as well as the web-based and work sessions,
develop and carry our research components of project, and work closely with the
Principal Investigator.
More information on PI and Co-PI eligibility is on OVPR website under “Eligibility to Submit Proposals”
http://ovpr.uga.edu/docs/policies/research/eligibility.
1
Dr. Y will serve as Principal Investigator on this project. She will be responsible for
leading the analysis, finalizing the study design, supervising the data collection process,
analyzing the data, and preparing and presenting the final evaluation report. Dr. Y will
devote 20% of $75,000 ($15,000/.20 FTE) her academic year and 50% of $25,000
($12,500/.50 FTE) her Summer time to the project.
Dr. Y, Principal Investigator, is requesting 22.22% of her academic salary (2 academic
months) and 33% of her summer salary (1 summer month). Dr. Y will direct and
supervise all stages of the project design, implementation, dissemination, and
evaluation.
IF NO SALARY IS REQUESTED, be careful not to quantify the amount of time and effort the
PI will spend because this constitutes an effort commitment, which means you and your
PI must track and certify it later and it would be cost sharing. Suggested phrases are
below:
Professor X will direct all research activities associated with the project [specify...]
Professor X will oversee [all aspects of] the project.
Professor X will participate in the project at every stage [specify...]
Professor X will provide scientific direction and supervision for the project [including...]
Other Personnel
Common UGA personnel types budgeted include: Professionals, Research Associates,
Postdoctoral Associates, Graduate Student Research Assistants, Undergraduate Research
Assistants, and Technicians. Note: Please list researcher, appointment title, percentage of
effort, and what they’ll be doing. Examples:
Professional Staff:
We request 50% of support for Mr. X, Project Manager, who will develop work plans and
monitor the daily progress of the project.
We request 7.2 months (60%) support throughout the project for Dr. Y, Scientific
Computing Prof., who will design tests and carry out advanced data analyses of test and
survey results.
Research Associate: Dr. X, Research Associate Testing Coordinator, will oversee
recruitment of High School teachers and coordinate the administration of student tests
and surveys. Her effort is calculated at 75% for years one through three of the project.
Postdoctoral Associate: Dr. X, Education Specialist, will contribute to the development of
the survey questions and interpretation of test and survey results. His effort is estimated
at 20% throughout the project.
Graduate Student Research Assistant: Mr. X, Graduate Student Research Assistant, will
write code for the teacher online survey and maintain the survey database. His effort is
estimated at 75% throughout the project. He will support the work of the PI, including
data collection and analysis for the research and evaluation components and the design
and implementation of on-line educational modules and podcasts.
Undergraduate Student: Undergraduate Student Research Assistant to be hired will
work 15 hours per week during the academic year and 35 hours per week in the summer
months logging, scanning, and compiling all test forms. The hourly rate will start at $12.
Fringe Benefit Rates
Use the latest fringe rates and vacation assessments for the types of personnel in your
proposal. The latest rates may be found on OSP website at http://ovpr.uga.edu/osp/frequentinfo/.
Fringe Benefits are calculated at 27% and 18% for Dr. Y’s academic and summer
salaries, respectively, 33% for Mr. X’ salary and 5% for the doctoral research assistant.
Fringe benefits are calculated as follows: 27% for Dr. X’s summer salary; 42% for the
postdoctoral researcher and project manager; 5% of a 1/3-time graduate student health
insurance; and 0% is requested for the undergraduate student worker.
Fringe benefit rate is 17% for PI in years 3, 4 and 5. 5% is requested for the graduate
students in years 1-5.
Equipment
Equipment is defined as a single item, a multiple-purchase “system” or a “fabrication” with a
useful life of more than one year and a unit cost of at least $5,000. A “system” can be made up
of many items that must interact with each other and, when added up, total $5K or more. A
fabrication is just like a system except it cannot provide useful results right away. Overhead is
not taken on equipment. Note: A scientific justification is required.
None
Spectrophotometer: The Spectrophotometer measures the amount of light that the
sample absorbs by passing a beam of light through the sample and recording the
intensity of light reaching the detector. This instrument will be used to analyze samples
generated from exhaled breath condensate, in particular, ammonia and amylase levels.
The Spectrophotometer will be allocated solely to this project. 1 unit @ $6,450
High Performance Liquid Chromatograph with Fluorescence (HPLC) and UV-NIR: The
HPLC will be used to evaluate the level of various breath condensate components
including glutathione, ethane and ethylene. In addition, when coupled with a mass
spectrometer, it is capable of measuring overlapping volatile components also found in
breath condensate. Use of the HPLC will be solely allocable to this project. 1 unit @
$44,345
Travel
Whenever possible, list “who, what, where, when, and why”. For UGA Travel Policy:
http://askuga.uga.edu/default.asp?id=1619&SID=&Lang=1. Airfare must be coach class, and, if
paid by a federal grant, booked on a US carrier whenever possible. For access to the University
of Georgia Approved Travel Agencies, please access the following site:
http://www.busfin.uga.edu/accounts_payable/authorized_agencies.html.
Domestic Travel
We request support for the PI and Research Associate [insert name] to attend the
Society conference in project years 3-5 to present results. Meeting cities are not yet set.
Airfare is estimated at $500 per person per trip. Per Diem is estimated at $200 a day for
5 days per conference.
$2,000 is requested for year 1. $1,000 is allocated for Dr. X to travel twice to each of the
10 district offices in-state. This includes mileage reimbursement as well as lodging and
meal expenses, where applicable (details below). $1,374 is budgeted in
year 1 for Dr. Y to attend a grantee meeting, location to be determined. This includes
$616 for airfare, $450 for lodging, $100 for meals, and $208 for ground transportation.
Trip: Albany, GA
Lodging: $0; Meals: $28;
Mileage Reimbursement (miles & rate): 400 miles @ $0.19/mile = $76
Trip: Washington, DC
Airfare: $315; Lodging: $250; Meals: $36;
Airport Shuttle Atlanta, GA (round trip): $66
Trip: Orlando, FL
Airfare: $301; Lodging: $200; Meals: $36;
Airport Shuttle Atlanta, GA (round trip): $66
Total: $1,374
1. The Research Associate will travel to six pilot sites, twice per year, to supervise data
collection and conduct quality assurance monitoring.
In-State Travel: Two days/one night: $567.30/Person/Trip
Air Fare
$200/person
Lodging
$125/night
Meals
$28/day x 2 days = $56
($6-Breakfast, $7-Lunch, $15-Dinner)
Rental Car
$40/day x 2 days = $80
On-Site Parking
$10/day x 2 days = $20
Airport Parking
$10/day x 2 days = $20
Mileage to Airport
130 mi RT x $.51/mi = $66.30
$567.30/person/trip x 10 trips = $5,573.00
2. The Project Director will travel to Washington, DC twice per year to meet with the
program officer and other grantees to review program progress and issues related to
implementation and evaluation.
Out-of-State Travel: Three days/two nights: $974.30/Person
Air Fare
$250/person
Lodging
$175/night x 2 nights = $350
Meals
$36/day x 3 days = $108
($7-Breakfast, $9-Lunch, $20-Dinner)
Rental Car
$40/day x 3 days = $120
On-Site Parking
$20/day x 3 days = $60
Airport Parking
$10/day x 2 days = $20
Mileage to Airport
130 mi RT x $.51/mi = $66.30
$974.30/person/trip x 2 trips = $1,948.60
Foreign Travel
We request $4225 support for Dr. X to travel to Chile to perform observations on the
Observatory Telescope. Airfare is estimated at $1000. Per Diem is $215 (including
lodging) a day for 15 days.
Participant Support Costs
This budget category refers to the costs of stipends, transportation, per diem, and any other
costs associated with participants or trainees going to proposed conferences or meetings.
These costs cannot be for UGA employees. They usually aren’t allowed to carry overhead and
cannot be re-budgeted without sponsor approval. If awarded, they are usually set up as a
separate account. Example:
Twelve High School teachers will be convened in Atlanta for three days each summer to
be trained in overcoming science misconceptions. Each teacher will receive a $200
stipend. Travel is estimated at $300 per teacher. The Atlanta summer per diem is
currently $250. Conference costs are estimated at $500 for handouts and other
materials.
Funds are requested for two face-to-face summer work sessions at the Atlanta Hub in
August in Years 1 and 2 to serve as model for museum partners. Ten teachers will
receive professional development in science and provide critical feedback on
instructional materials and xyz investigation in classrooms…
Other Direct Costs
Remember—costs can only be charged directly to a federal grant if they can be readily
and specifically identified with that particular project.
This is especially true of costs that are normally considered indirect costs such as:
 Office supplies
 Personal Computers
 Books and Subscriptions
 Memberships
 Local Phones and cell phones
 Postage and FedEx
 Parking
 Printing and Photocopying
However, if the costs above are essential to the project’s research and will be used solely for
the project, then they may be budgeted—when listed in budget with proper justification.
So, always be as specific as possible. List types of purchases, estimated costs per year
and, especially, why purchases are essential to and dedicated to the research on this
project. Examples of some justifications are below:
Materials and Supplies:
In Year 1, funds are requested for 4 laptop computers to be used by the PI, project
manager, postdoc, and graduate student ($8,000). These computers are necessary for
project personnel to collect data in the schools and other project sites, provide
professional development during the summer sessions, and edit and analyze the video
data; they will be used exclusively for the project. We will purchase 5 digital video
cameras and 5 digital tape recorders as well as video supplies in Year 1 to be used in
classroom data collection ($8,000). We will purchase a site license for XYC code, a
state of the art video analysis software program for qualitative analysis, at $25,000.
XYC code is a very powerful software tool used for coding and analyzing digital video
and audio files, and the transcription tool is used to customize the coding framework.
Fund of $5,000 is requested to cover portion of costs for sampling supplies, including
purchase small instruments (under $1500) for water sampling and food sampling, as well
as personal monitoring supplies.
The following supplies are required to create a registration packet, program syllabus and
training materials to be distributed to participants of the training program, “Hearing
Conservation in Industry.” The estimated attendance is 150. A CD will be distributed to
each attendee to be used during training sessions conducted in the computer lab. A
writing pad and pencil will be provided to facilitate note taking. In addition, each
attendee will receive a certificate of completion at the conclusion of the program.
2” Three-ring notebooks
Index divider sets
CD-R, 650 MB
#2 Pencils
Writing pads
Certificate paper
Name badges
150 notebooks x $2.36 ea =
150 sets x $1.89 ea =
150 CDs x $.92 =
13 boxes (12) x $.80 =
13 pkg (12) x $7.98 =
6 packet (25) x $4.42 =
3 boxes (50) x $19.32 =
354.00
283.50
138.00
10.40
103.74
26.52
57.96
$974.12
Funds of $4174 and $9060 are requested to cover costs for analysis of collected
samples, including laboratory standards, chemicals, and regular supplies.
Fund of $3,000 is requested for glassware and plastic ware, chemicals, and radioactive
chemicals (32P-labeled nucleic acids).
We will need to purchase sampling materials, including ball check covers, cove and liner
tubes, cove catchers, sleeves, etc. at a total cost of $2,024 in year 1.
Publication Costs:
Funds are requested for reprints and page charges for publishing the results of the
findings of the work conducted under this proposal ($1,000 per year).
We request a small amount for page charges. These costs are estimated based on the
publication rate of the PI over the past year and are budgeted for years 3 and 4 only.
Tuition Costs:
Tuition is budgeted for the GRA(s) at the out-of-state rate of $773.00 per credit hour for
6 credit hours per semester, 12 credit hours per academic year for a total amount of
$9,276. In-state tuition is $407.50 per credit hour.
Consultant Services:
This is where the services of non-UGA professionals (if paid by purchase order) and their
associated fringe rates might go. Examples:
Funds are requested for the 9-member Advisory Board. We plan to communicate using
cyber tools, but also plan to meet once per year in Years 1-3 in either Canada at the
XYZ Institute or in Athens, Georgia. We plan to provide breakfast, lunch and beverages
to advisors and project personnel during these all-day, two-day meetings ($800/year).
The board members will receive honorariums in the amount of $2,000/year ($1,000/day).
Funds are also budgeted to cover air and ground transportation, lodging, and meals for
the 8 members that live outside the area ($900 each).
Dr. X, President, of QNLC will consult with project personnel on an ongoing basis, 4 trips
per year, 5 days each in Atlanta. Dr. X’s compensation rate is $300/day. Airfare is
estimated at $500 per trip. Per diem in Atlanta ranges from $250-$284 throughout the
year.
Stipends for 10 Science Education Experts as Advisory Board members at a rate of
$200 per day, meeting one day each year in years 1-3 of the project. Five experts will
be local and will receive mileage and the $200 per day stipend. Five will be outside of
the local area and will be reimbursed for their travel ($400 each), lodging and meals
($284 Atlanta per diem), as well as the $200/day stipend.
Subawards
Please list subaward institution and a short description of the aspect of the project they will
perform. Examples:
A subcontract to Cornell is included for Dr. X’ work in the amount of $10,364 for year 1.
A separate budget page and scope of work is attached, describing ABC University’s
contribution to this project.
MIT will carry out the IPB test and ProtoExist2 ASIC design and is expected to need
$35,000 each year.
UCSD will design and build the Gondola pointing system, starting in year two and is
expected to need $20,000 per year.
UGA also requires a separate
 statement of work
 budget
 budget justification
 an authorized signature of approval from the subaward institution, and
 negotiated fringe and overhead rate agreement (if required by sponsor).
Indirect Cost Rates (F&A)
Indirect Cost rates are also called Facilities and Administrative rates (F&A) or overhead rates.
These rates are negotiated with the federal government on a periodic basis. Indirect cost rates
are meant to recover all of the “hidden” costs of doing research like building, utility and
maintenance costs, and administrative costs (e.g. the costs of purchasing and controller
offices).
The federally approved Facilities and Administrative rates2 are as follows:
Research On-Campus
Research Off-Campus
Experiment Station
On-Campus Public Service
Off-Campus Public Service
Marine Institute
Marine Extension
Cooperative Extension
SREL – Provisional
Instruction On-Campus
Instruction Off-Campus
2
Federal
48.5%
26%
39%
37%
26%
38%
46%
26%
30%
56%
26%
Non Federal
50%
33%
39%
38%
33%
38%
46%
26%
38%
57%
33%
Overhead rates change every four years or so, so be sure to check the OSP website for the latest rates
(http://ovpr.uga.edu/osp/frequent-info?toggle=costs).
These rates do not apply to equipment, tuition remission, or participant support and are taken
only on the first $25,000 of expenses charged to each subaward.
Example:
Indirect costs are calculated at 48.5% MTDC, our federally negotiated rate for on-campus
research.
The federal negotiated Facilities and Administrative (F&A) rate for the University of Georgia is
37% for on-campus Public Service (see attached DHHS Agreement Letter Dated 12/23/2008).
Facilities and administrative costs are calculated at 15% of the total direct costs, in compliance
with the requirements of the ABC Foundation.
Overhead costs are calculated at the prevailing rates at the University of Georgia (48.5% oncampus and 26% off-campus). This project is conducted 50% on- and 50% off-campus, and
overhead is charged accordingly to the XYZ Grant and cost-share budgets.
Have a suggestion or need more information?
Email CPH Dean Office’s Grant Unit at cphgrant@uga.edu.