Vice President for Research & Creative Scholarship
Vice President for Research & Creative Scholarship
To facilitate budget development, an internal template is provided below. If you have questions regarding budget development or with the template itself, please contact your departmentally-assigned pre-award specialist.
In order for this template to be current and user-friendly, it will be tweaked as necessary; as a result, always download the most current version from this page rather than saving to your desktop.
A cardinal principle to keep in mind when preparing a proposal budget is that the elements of cost must be necessary to accomplish, and directly benefit, the supported activity.
Direct costs are those which can be specifically identified with a sponsored project, or that can be directly assigned to such activity relatively easily with a high degree of accuracy.
Unlike direct costs, indirect costs (also referred to as F&A - Facilities & Administration) are those that are incurred for common or joint objectives and therefore cannot be identified readily and specifically with a particular sponsored project. Such costs include:
Budget Narrative: A budget narrative should be appended to the budget to fully identify and/or explain unusual items or activities. Examples of unusual items or activities include the use of 1) consultant services, 2) items of equipment having a unit cost of $5,000 or more, or 3) foreign travel (see more below under "Travel").
Major budget categories for sponsored projects include:
Units are expressed as hours, days, months or as an academic or fiscal year, depending upon the type of employee. Employee salary compensation rates change annually as of October 1 or, for faculty, with the beginning of the academic year. It may be necessary to consider inflationary adjustments that may be effective either July 1 or October 1.
Fringe benefits apply to all employees and represent that employer share of fringe benefits including, when applicable: F.I.C.A. (Social Security), retirement, unemployment insurance, health insurance, workers' compensation insurance, and
sick and annual leave costs. Contact the ORSP Office for rates applicable to your proposed employees.
The components of the fringe benefit cost category most frequently change either January 1, or July 1, however, some items may change without notice.
Employees registered for six (6) credits or more will be classified as students and as such carry an extremely low fringe benefit rate.
Domestic: Identify all travel associated with the project activity. Vehicle mileage rates vary with the type of vehicle used. Per-diem (meals/lodging) rates are dependent upon whether travel is "in-state" or "out-of-state." Contact ORSP for current rates. Budget foreign travel separately.
Foreign: If anticipated, identify and budget foreign travel separately in the proposal. As stated above under Budgeting Basics/Budget Narrative, foreign travel is typically considered an unusual item or activity and, as a result, must be specifically addressed in the budget narrative. If not identified and approved as part of the proposal process, review the terms and conditions of the award as many sponsors require prior approval for foreign travel. Additionally, sponsors may differ as to whether travel to Canada or Mexico is considered foreign or domestic.
Equipment is identified as any item having a unit cost of $5,000 or more and a useful life of one year or more. Identify all items of equipment you plan to purchase for the project which the University does not currently have or which otherwise are not available for your use, but which are necessary for the completion of the project. When establishing your equipment budget, allow for inflation price adjustments, cost of freight from the supplier to your facility, and any other costs associated with procurement and installation.
Should building alterations or renovation be necessary to accommodate new equipment (including electrical or mechanical considerations) please contact ORSP
This category includes standard items to be used or consumed during the course of the project, such as chemicals, glassware, paper products, disks, and xeroxing costs.
Include here the estimated costs of services to be provided by others on a per-sample or other unit-price basis; special testing, professional or consultant services, including travel; or subcontracts to be issued for a part of the sponsored project activity.
If you are collaborating with an individual from another organization, firm, institution, or agency, it will be necessary to secure documents reflecting that firm's approval, proposed budget, and assurances of compliance for inclusion with your project proposal. Contact the ORSP Office early regarding minimum requirements.
Include under this heading those cost items that may be unique to your proposed activity, such as: communication costs, computer mainframe use, repair and maintenance costs for equipment, etc.
The University of Montana has negotiated rates for organized research, instruction, other sponsored activities, and off-campus.
Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Costs Rate Agreement
Per MUS Board of Regent Policy 404, The University seeks to recover all Facilities & Administrative (F&A) costs allowed by the sponsor. Per OMB-A21 G.7, UM will apply the appropriate F&A rate at the time of the initial award throughout the life of the sponsored agreement. As a result, when budgeting a multi-year project, UM’s F&A Rate in effect for the first year of the project will be applied for each competitive segment.
UM's negotiated rate is based on modified total direct cost (MDTC) as detailed on the F&A Rate Agreement above. If any rate other than the negotiated rate is used, F&A is based on total direct costs (TDC).
The off-campus rate is only used when the majority of all administrative and facility services to support the project are processed at an off campus site, even when part or all of the activity may occur off campus. To clarify:
Items which may be necessary for the successful completion of your project not identified elsewhere but which may warrant consideration for your specific project may include the following:
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Advertising Aircraft Flight Time Animal Care/Maintenance Art Work/Graphics Audit Costs Bonding Costs Building Alteration/Renovation Conference Room Rental Computer Disks, Tapes, Paper Computer Hardware Computer Software Drama Lighting, sets, etc. Dues/Subscriptions Equipment Rental Equipment Repair/Maint. |
Equipment Service Contracts Facility/Space Rent or Lease Freight/Shipping Hazardous Waste Removal Instructional Aids Insurance Legal Fees License/Permits Memberships Participant Support
Printing/Binding Professional Fees Proposal Costs |
Publications Recording Devices Recruiting Costs Reference Materials Release Time Relocation/Moving Report Production Reprints Royalties Scientific Apparatus Service Contracts & Agmnts. Utilities Vehicle License Vehicle Rent or Lease Veterinary Services Work-Study Help* |
*Discuss these items with ORSP personnel when reviewing your draft budget. They may be necessary for your project.
Office of the Vice President
Research & Creative Scholarship
University Hall 116
(406) 243-6670
Fax: (406) 243-6330