Budget Development

Budget Development

Getting Started

Some initial questions to ask yourself and your project team include:

• What will it take to accomplish your scope of work?
• Who will be involved?
• What supplies/materials will you need?
• Does your project require large equipment?
  • If so, do you have access to this equipment?
• Do you need to hire someone outside of SU to fulfill a portion of your scope of work?
  • If so, are they a subrecipient/collaborator or a consultant/contractor?
• Will students be involved?
• How and where will the project be completed?
• How will you evaluate and disseminate your results?

Please contact OSP to discuss your budget with a Sponsored Research Officer.

Allowability, Allocability, & Reasonableness

All components of a sponsored project budget must be allowable, allocable, and reasonable as described in Unallowable Cost Categories Policy.

• Allowablility - Is the charge allowable? Consider:
  • Specifications of the program solicitation and funder’s financial policies
  • If federally funded, must adhere to CFR 200 federal cost principles
  • All awards must adhere to Seattle University policies
  • Is it included as an indirect or direct cost? (it cannot be both and must be treated consistently)
• Allocability - Is the item/cost allocable to this particular project only?
  • It should solely advance the work in this proposal
  • If it benefits two or more projects, it should be reasonable and proportionately paid for and documented.
• Reasonable - Would it withstand external review by a prudent individual?
  • A cost is reasonable if, in its nature and amount, it does not exceed that which would be incurred by a prudent person under the circumstances prevailing at the time the decision was made to incur the cost.
  • It reflects market prices for comparable goods or services in the geographic area.

Primary Budget Components

• Personnel
  • SU faculty and staff salary 
• Fringe
  • current rate = 28.4%
  • if SU faculty or staff are paid from the award, the budget will always need to include fringe benefits at the current rate
• Student Wages
  • in accordance with SU's student employment policies
• Goods/Services
  • supplies and materials, vendor services
• Travel
  • typically field research trips, visits with collaborators, or professional meeting to disseminate your project findings
• Equipment
  • specifically allocated for this project 
• Consulting
  • external professional services that cannot be accomplished by SU personnel 
• Subcontracts/subawards
  • See the next section to determine what relationship you have with an external collaborator and what documents are required
• Participant support
  • expenses specifically for trainees/ program attendees if hosting a conference or workshop (if allowable) 
• Facilities & Administration (or Indirects)
  • the unallocable costs of the institution to do business and accommodate the project
  • always included on federal awards at the negotiated rate
    • current rate = 42% of modified total direct costs
  • always sought on private awards at the sponsor’s allowable rate or SU’s default 15% 

 Related policies can be found on the Policies & Compliance page

Subaward vs. Subcontractor

Depending upon the nature of your relationship with your external collaborator, they will either be classified as a subaward/subrecipient (these names are interchangeable) or subcontractor. Each relationship requires different documentation at the proposal stage and during post-award contracting. Below are characteristics to help determine the nature of your relationship and the documentation required. Please document the rationale with the Subrecipient or Contractor Checklist and provide to OSP for confirmation.

Subaward/Subrecipient

• Substantive, programmatic work or an important or significant portion of the research program or project is being undertaken by the other entity. 
• The research program or project is within the research objectives of the entity.
• The entity participates in a creative way in designing and/or conducting the research and has responsibility for programmatic decision making.
• The entity retains some element of programmatic control and discretion over how the work is carried out
• Performance is measured in relation to whether objectives of the federal program were met
• Uses federal funds to carry out a program for a public purpose, as opposed to providing goods or services for the benefit of the pass-through entity

Subcontractor

• The entity is providing specified services in support of the research program.
• The entity has not significantly participated in the design of the research itself, but is implementing the research plan of the SU investigator. 
• The entity is not directly responsible to the sponsor for the research or for determining research results.
• The entity markets its services to a range of customers, including those in non-academic fields.
• Little or no independent decision-making is involved in the design and conduct of the research work being completed.
• The agreement only specifies the type of goods/services provided and the associated costs. 
• The entity commits to deliverable goods or services, which if not satisfactorily completed will result in nonpayment or requirement to redo deliverables.

Documents required with the proposal

 Subaward/Subrecipient proposal documents

• Subrecipient Commitment Form
• Scope of work
• Budget
• Budget Justification
• Other documents as required by the sponsor
  • For example, NSF requires a biosketch; Collaborators and Other Affiliations document; Facilities and Other Resources Document; and Letter of Commitment

Subcontractor

• Scope of work with costs
• Letter of Commitment