Proposal Development April 2014 Proposal Development After this session you will: • Understand the award lifecycle • Have a timeline to follow when planning to submit a proposal • Know about different types of programs you can apply for • Know where to find and what to look for in sponsor guidelines and instructions • Understand the typical elements of a proposal • Know the basic elements of budgets 2 Life Cycle of Award More Money! Proposal Development Locate Funding & Complete Proposal Package Institutional Review Proposal Submission and/or Signature Approval Close-outs and Sponsor Reports Award Lifecycle Just-in-Time submission Progress Report review & Submission Tracking and Accounting Account set up Incurring Costs and Purchasing Negotiate & Execute incoming & outgoing Subcontract & Contract agreements Prior Approval Requests 3 Proposal Timelines 2 – 3 Months Prior to Deadline Review Sponsor’s proposal Requirements Start writing – 2 to 3 months prior to deadline Confer with Colleagues Review RFA Review Criteria Talk to Federal Program Officers 1 Month Prior to Deadline Collect all Biosketches, etc..; Develop Budget & Justification; Obtain Subcontractor Documents (LOI, Budget, Scope of Work, etc.) 5 Days prior to Deadline (At least) Submit all internal paperwork, including COI forms, and preliminary proposal to BMC Grants Administration for initial review Submit completed proposal to BMC Grants Administration for final review-(Minimum 48 hours to ensure success) 4 Federal Program Types K01: Research Career Programs - Research Scientist Development Award For support of a scientist, committed to research, in need of both advanced research training and additional experience. K08: Research Career Programs - Clinical Investigator Award (CIA) To provide the opportunity for promising medical scientists with demonstrated aptitude to develop into independent investigators, or for faculty members to pursue research aspects of categorical areas applicable to the awarding unit, and aid in filling the academic faculty gap in these shortage areas within health profession's institutions of the country. R01: Research Projects To support a discrete, specified, circumscribed project to be performed by the named investigator(s) in an area representing his or her specific interest and competencies. R03: Research Projects - Small Research Grants To provide research support specifically limited in time and amount for studies in categorical program areas. Small grants provide flexibility for initiating studies which are generally for preliminary short-term projects and are non-renewable. http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/ac_search_results.htm 5 Proposal Development – General Sponsor Instructions • Read the Program Announcement / Instructions thoroughly Sponsor’s policies and procedures – often additional links Review Criteria • NIH SF424 RR Guidelines and Forms http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/424/index.htm BMC Grants Administration Websites • Contains links to sponsor guidelines, internal forms, sponsor forms and instructions • BMC Grants Administration: http://internal.bmc.org/grants/pre_award.html 6 Sponsor Requirements The Sponsor’s Program Announcement (PA) or Research Funding Announcement (RFA), etc contain the following information: • Paper or Electronic? When due? • Required NIH Forms Biosketch Other Support (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/424/index.htm) • Page Limitations • Budget Total Cost Cap? Direct Cost Cap • Review Criteria 7 “Typical” Proposal Elements • Cover page - PI contact info, title of proposal, funds requested, project duration, and signature lines • Abstract - brief description of proposed project (usually 1 page) • Narrative - detailed description of proposed project • Personnel - CVs, biosketches, or paragraph-size descriptions • Budget - annual costs of the project, using standard categories • Budget justification - narrative explanation of how amounts were calculated and how funds will be used • Supporting documents - letters of support and other items showing strength of partnerships, university commitments, etc. • Other - management, diversity, outreach, and/or evaluation plans 8 Institutional Requirements - Forms • Proposal Summary Form • Financial Conflict of Interest Form(s) • Letters of Intent (Subcontractors) • Rate Agreements http://internal.bmc.org/grants/pre_forms.html 9 BUDGETS 10 Criteria of a Good Budget • Translates resource needs to dollars • Conforms to agency guidelines • Estimates are realistic • Supports the program • Explains itself • Plans ahead • Identifies organizational concerns/issues 11 Direct Costs Direct costs are those costs that can be easily identified specifically with a particular sponsored project, institutional activity, or that can be assigned to such activities relatively easily with a high degree of accuracy. Identification with the sponsored work rather than the nature of the goods and services involved is the determining factor in distinguishing direct costs from indirect costs. 12 Direct Costs – Salary • 75 – 80% of Budget is Salary and Fringe Benefits • Salary Cap: Legislatively mandated limitation of direct salary charges to an NIH grant, currently $181,500 (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-14043.html) • Calculation of Salary Cost: Institutional Base Salary × Percent Effort or Institutional Base Salary Academic Appointment i. e. 12 or 9 × Person Months of Effort 13 Direct Costs - Fringe Benefits BMC FB Rates FB Rates - Federal Non-Federal FB Rates BU FB Rates* 10/01/12 31.2% BMC 27.6% Professional Staff 24.9% Support Staff N/A Consultant 9.5% Graduate Students 10/01/12 31.2% BMC 29.2% Professional Staff 26.5% Support Staff N/A Consultant 9.5% Graduate Students * BU FB Rates as of 07/01/2014; these are renegotiated each year 14 Direct Cost Budget Categories Consultants • BU and BMC employees can not be classified as “consultants” on a BMC grant proposal – if BU employee, they can either be part of a subcontract (primarily working in BU space), or they can be listed in the Salary/FB budget category (primarily working in BMC space). Capital Equipment • • Greater than $5,000 in acquisition cost (capitalization threshold) Sponsor often requires quote from equipment vendor Travel • Information about per diem costs for travel (car mileage on a federal grant can be found at:http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/100715; and http://internal.bmc.org/grants/policies_post/BMC-grants_travel.doc Animal • Per diem costs for animals, and purchasing costs for different species can be found at:http://www.bu.edu/animalcare/services/per-diem-rates/ and http://www.bu.edu/animalcare/services/animal-ordering/ Patient Care Costs • Pharmacy (Investigational Drug Service or IDS) and Inpatient/Outpatient Service chargeshttp://internal.bmc.org/grants/ClinicalTrials.html 15 Direct Cost – Subcontractors Subcontractors vs. Consultants • Subcontractor – A third-party organization that conducts a significant part of the research, assists in making programmatic decisions, and has deliverables to the final product. • Consultant* – An individual who lends specific technical expertise and whose relationship with the project is of limited duration and scope. * BMC employees can never be budgeted as consultants Budget Considerations • On subcontracts, only the first $25,000 is subject to the institution’s F&A Recovery (Indirect Costs). • Consultants, Vendors and Purchase Orders are subject to full F&A Recovery (Indirect Costs). 16 Direct Cost - Subcontractors Documents required: • Letter of Intent • Scope of Work • Budget & Budget Justification • Biosketch(es) (if sponsor requires) • Other Support (if sponsor requires) • DUNS number For NIH Grants: If direct cost budget is “capped”, the Indirect Costs for the subcontractor does not count toward the “direct cost cap” 17 Direct Cost – Unallowable • • • • • • • • • • • • Business Meals (non-travel) Alcohol Computer Supplies (paper, toner) Copier Charges Entertainment Fixed Phone Charges Maintenance of General Purpose Equipment Membership and Dues Office Supplies Postage Software (General Purpose) Subscriptions 18 Modular Grants http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/modular/modular.htm 19 BMC Indirect Costs Indirect Costs or IDC = Facility and Administrative Costs (F&A) = Overhead Federal Indirect Cost Rates Research: 10/1/12 10/1/13 10/1/14 10/1/12 69.% on site 71% on site 74% on site 17.8% off-site Clinical/Service/Edu./Other: 28% clinical/service/education Training: 8% training BMC calculates IDC using a “Modified Total Direct Cost” or MTDC method: Direct Costs minus subcontract costs, equipment costs, patient care costs, tuition and fees costs = MTDC 20 Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC) Modified total direct costs (MTDC), consisting of all salaries and wages, fringe benefits, materials, supplies, services, travel and sub-grants and subcontracts up to the first $25,000 of each sub-grant or subcontract (regardless of the period covered by the sub-grant or subcontract). Modified total direct costs shall exclude equipment, capital expenditures, charges for patient care, tuition remission, rental costs of off-site facilities, as well as the portion of each sub-grant and subcontract in excess of $25,000. 21 Indirect Costs Overview Grants and Contracts Administration Research Finance Administration Finance Costs that can not be directly assigned to any one program Purchasing Accounts Payable Human Resources Utilities (lights, heat, etc) House Keeping Building and Equipment Depreciation 22 Facility and Administration Allocations (F & A) F & A Allocations FACILITY COST POOLS Building Depreciation Land/Building Improvements Equipment Depreciation Operations and Maintenance Utilities ADMINISTRATIVE COST POOLS General Administration Hospital Services Grants Administration IACUC, IBC, IRB costs Compliance Costs 23 Questions? 24