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Proposal Budgets

COLLEGE OF SCIENCES BUDGET TEMPLATES (Updated 3/4/24)

For additional information on NC State’s policies on budgeting, please visit the SPARCS budgeting guidelines.

RoleResponsibility
PI
  • Develops budget


Department Research Administrator (if applicable)
  • Assist PI with budget development
  • Coordinate communications with the College Research Office


College Research Office
  • Point of contact for PI and Department Research Administrators for Proposal Submissions
  • Review and approve budget and justification

F&A / INDIRECT COSTS

NC State requires that full F&A / Indirect Costs be requested in a proposal unless the sponsor prohibits or limits F&A / Indirect Rates.

NC State has three F&A rates for research activities:

  • On Campus – 52%
  • Adjacent to Campus – 27.6%
  • Off Campus – 26%

In order for your proposal to qualify for the Adjacent to Campus or Off Campus rate, more than 50% of the project work must take place off campus. Using either of these rates requires permission from the Associate Dean for Research. Please contact the Associate Dean for Research directly and include cos_preaward@ncsu.edu

RoleResponsibility
PI
  • Contacts Associate Dean for Research with request for F&A rate other than On Campus rate


COS Associate Dean for Research
  • Approve Off Campus F&A rates

COST-SHARING

Cost-sharing should only be included in a proposal budget if it is required by the sponsor. If the FOA you are applying to does require cost-sharing, please contact your Department Head to discuss potential sources for this money.

Please note that all cost-sharing will be recorded in the Cost Sharing tab (“CS / Locations”) of the PINS prior to routing for approval. Back-up documentation should also be uploaded into the Supporting Documents of the PINS record. Examples of appropriate cost-sharing back-up documentation include signed letters or emails from the administrator in charge of the funding source and can be loaded in PINS by the College of Sciences Research Office

If the FOA limits or prohibits a certain budget category, but this expense is necessary for the project, you will need to use cost-sharing (i.e. non-federal funds) to cover the expense.

  • For example, if the FOA limits or prohibits graduate tuition or fees, you will need to identify an alternative source of funds to pay for any tuition or fees. The alternative source of funds would be documented in the PINS record.

For additional information on NC State’s policies on cost-sharing, please visit the SPARCS budgeting guidelines on cost-sharing.

RoleResponsibility
PI
  • Identifies Cost-Sharing needs
  • Contacts Department Head to request Cost-Sharing


Department Head
  • Assist with finding funds for cost-share commitments


COS Associate Dean for Research
  • Assist with finding funds for cost-share commitments

REVISED BUDGETS

If a sponsor funds the project at a lower rate, the process by which this is handles varies depending on the sponsor.

Some sponsors, such as NSF, request that a new budget be submitted ahead of awarding the funds. Once you receive an email from your program officer, we usually have 5 business days to submit the revised budget. The revised budget must be submitted through FastLane, so please contact the College of Sciences Research Office as soon as you hear from your program officer. A proposal processor will be assigned to assist you with this submission.

Please note that if your Program Officer contacts you directly about providing a revised budget, you should involve the College of Sciences Research Office as soon as possible. If the Research Office is not involved in these negotiations, it can slow down the award process and delay the establishment of your account.

Other sponsors, such as NIH, simply award the grant at a new rate. However, before the university can set up your new account, you will need to provide a detailed budget of how the new awarded amount will be spent. A proposal processor will assist you with this process.

In both cases, if there is more than a 10% change in the budget, you will be required to submit a new PINS record and include a Budget Impact Statement that describes how the original scope of work will change with the reduction of funds. Please note that it is not acceptable to simply state that there will be no change in the scope of work with the budget reduction. This would indicate that you originally over-budgeted for the project.

RoleResponsibility
PI
  • Develops rebudget according to sponsor’s request
  • If greater than 10% change, provides Budget Impact Statement
  • If greater than 10% change, completes, routes, and approves PINS record


Department Research Administrator (if applicable)
  • Works with PI to develop required documentation
  • Assist PI with budget development
  • Coordinate communications with the College Research Office


Department Head
  • Approves PINS on behalf of the department


College of Sciences Research Office
  • Review and approve new budget
  • If required, submits documentation to the sponsor
  • If required, reviews and approves PINS record


SPARCS
  • Submission of rebudgets to non-FDP sponsors

PRE-AWARD ACCOUNTS

Some sponsors allow “pre-award spending” up to 90 days ahead of the start date of the project. In the event that the PI needs access to the award funds before the sponsored agreement is finalized with the university, a pre-award account can be requested. Examples of appropriate justification for requesting a pre-award spending account include hiring project personnel and purchasing initial supplies or equipment by the project start date. There is some inherent risk in pre-award accounts because the funds are not yet on campus. Therefore, any requests for pre-award accounts must be approved by the appropriate department head, ensuring that if the grant is not ultimately awarded, the department will be responsible for any costs incurred from pre-award spending.

If you wish to request a pre-award account, please contact the College of Sciences Research Office. You will have to provide the following:

  • Documentation of the sponsor’s intent to fund your proposal
  • Detailed description of the amount requested for pre-award spending

Please note that a pre-award account can only be established before the award arrives at NC State. If SPARCS has already received the award, they most likely are not able to create a pre-award account, and you will need to wait until the regular account has been established.

RoleResponsibility
PI
  • Determines the need for a pre-award account
  • Provides back-up documentation of the sponsor’s intent to fund the proposal
  • Works with departmental and/or college staff to determine the amount of request


Department Research Administrator (if applicable)
  • Works with PI to determine the amount to be requested


Department Head
  • Approves pre-award account request
  • Accepts departmental responsibility for any costs incurred from pre-award spending if the project is ultimately not funded


College of Sciences Research Office
  • Works with PI and departmental staff to determine the amount to be requested
  • Submits the official request to SPARCS


SPARCS
  • Review and prepare the proposal package for C&G
  • Negotiator reviews and approves documentation
  • Forward package to C&G


Contracts and Grants
  • Assigns ledger 5 account number