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Pre-Proposals
All pre-proposals leaving the University of
North Dakota should be clearly marked as such,
and should include a statement such as: "This
pre-proposal does not obligate the University
of North Dakota to this project. Upon request
of the sponsor, a formal and properly authorized
proposal will be submitted."
Budget
Sponsors often require a detailed budget for
the evaluation of a proposal. This level of
detail implies that the University can track
expenditures in greater detail than can be provided
by our administrative accounting system. To
avoid misunderstandings and to maintain consistency
from proposal to award, the following note should
be placed at the bottom of the Budget Page of
any proposal submitted to an external sponsor:
The
budget detail is being submitted for proposal
evaluation purposes only. Due to limitations
within the university's accounting system,
the system does not provide for accumulating
and reporting expenses at the level of detail
submitted. A budget summary is also presented
in a format consistent with how costs will
be accounted for and reported.
Fringe
Benefits
The following paragraph should be placed in
Budget Notes, Budget Justification, or as a
note at the bottom of the Budget Page:
Amounts
shown for fringe benefits are estimates determined
by historical data and are provided for proposal
evaluation purposes only. Actual fringe benefit
costs will be charged to the grant according
to each employee's actual benefits.
Overload
Situation
Ordinarily, salary funds requested to pay for
work performed in an overload situation are
not allowed, unless the existence of the overload
is specifically described in the proposal Budget
Justification. The following text would be appropriate
for such a notification:
Work
performed in the conduct of this project is
above and beyond that expected for this job
position. Funds requested are for salaries
in compensation for the overload.
Graduate
Student Tuition
Amounts
shown for graduate tuition costs are estimates
for a full-time non-resident student, for
one full year. The actual tuition costs will
be charged to the grant according to the student's
resident status and number of credits taken
per semester.
Indirect
Costs
The following explanation should be placed in
Budget Notes or Justification, unless directions
in the proposal guidelines require it elsewhere:
The
indirect cost rate included in this proposal
is the federally approved rate for the University
of North Dakota. Indirect costs are calculated
based on the Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC),
defined as the Total Direct Costs of the project
less individual items of equipment $5,000
or greater and subcontracts in excess of the
first $25,000 for each award.
Office
Supplies
Federal guidelines require that office supplies
to be paid for by the grant must be specific
to the project and adequately described; otherwise,
purchases for office supplies may be disallowed
by the agency's fiscal manager. To avoid limitations
on the purchases of office supplies, the following
paragraph may be placed in Budget Notes or Justification
(additional specific items should be included
if in doubt):
Office supplies include items specifically
related to the proposed project and may be
such items as pens, pencils, paper clips,
printer paper and toner cartridges, notebooks
(if needed), Post-It notes, computer diskettes,
transparencies or other presentation materials,
duplicating materials or charges, and other
miscellaneous items required to complete the
project.
Communication
Costs
Federal grant proposals require that any communication
costs included as direct charges to the grant
be specifically mentioned in the budget. Coverage
of the use of a cell phone must specifically
be mentioned. The following paragraph would
be appropriate in Budget Notes or Justification:
Direct
charges for communications costs include telephone
and fax line charges, cell phone charges (if
appropriate), postage for regular, air, and
express mail, and other data or document transmission
costs.
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